Higher education internationalization lessons from korea and singapore

Although national identity and culture are keys to higher education internationalization, learning from other countries is also very important to any nation who wants to success in inter

HIGHER EDUCATION INTERNATIONALIZATION:

LESSONS FROM KOREA AND SINGAPORE

Nguyễn Thị Vân Hạnh, Dr.

U n iv e rs ity o f S o c ia l S c ie n c e s a n d H u m a n itie s - V N U H a n o i, V ie tn a m

Abstract

Internationalization of education in general and higher education in particular is a vital trend in this globalized world Internationalization of higher education is seen as one o f the way a country responds to the impact of globalization Although national identity and culture are keys to higher education internationalization, learning from other countries is also very important to any nation who wants to success in internationalization of their higher education

Korea is a developed country in Asia and Singapore is one in Southeast Asia which have many common

in ideology and culture with Vietnam Both Korea and Singapore are quite successful in developing their internationalized higher education system Those two countries’ experiences in internationalizing their higher education system may be some useful lessons for Vietnam

This paper will discuss on the following issues:

Concept and approaches toward internationalization of higher education;

Higher education internationalization in Korea;

Higher education internationalization in Singapore;

Lessons for Vietnam

K e y w o rd s : higher education, internationalization of higher education, Singapore, Korea

4. - INTRODUCTION- : -

-The major task o f the higher education system is to create high quality human resources and provide chances for life-long learning and self-learning In the era o f globalization and the knowledge based economy, higher education plays more important role as a vital part of the social- economic - political system of any country

The international dimension o f higher education is a topic o f intense interest and debate in these first decades of the 21st century The most simultaneous emergence of similar reforms across continents has led some to suggest that the current restructuring of education needs to be understood as a global phenomenon and the dimension of higher education internationalization has become one of the most intense issues The new realities facing the higher education sector, both domestically and globally, are presenting changes, introducing new trends and posing different challenges for internationalization

Although education often functions to stabilize and maintain the status quo, it also reflects and contributes

to social change in a number o f ways and in this changing globalized world, internationalization of education in general and higher education in particular is a vital trend One of the important functions of education in contemporary societies is that of cultural production and diffusion which means national historical and cultural features are the foundations for any education system as well as its dimension However, although national identity and culture are acknowledged as keys to higher education

International Conference Internationalization o f H igher Education: North-South Perspectives

internationalization, learning from other countries is also very important to any nation who wants to succeed in internationalization of their higher education

Korea is a developed country in Asia and Singapore is one in Southeast Asia These two countries have many in common in ideology and culture with Vietnam Both Korea and Singapore are quite successful in developing their internationalized higher education system Those two countries’ experiences in internationalizing their higher education system may be some useful lessons for Vietnam

APPROACHES

Internationalization is a coming and going phenomenon in the course o f the development o f globalization The “Internationalization o f higher education" probably began to gain ground in the latter half of the 20th century While the internationalization o f higher education is a counter measure that a certain nation takes against the influence of globalization, it respects the individual qualities of the home nation Therefore, the perception of the internationalization o f higher education varies by nation and area

Internationalization means different things to different people and as a result there is a great diversity of interpretations attributed to the concept Internationalization of higher education may be considered the process of integrating an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service functions o f the institution" (OECD, 1999) Simply speaking, internationalization of higher education is basically the process of presenting exchange activities in education and research of various kinds among universities and institutions in different countries

The internationalization o f higher education may comprise mainly of: (1) human exchange, mainly of students, teachers and researchers; (2) the exchange and accreditation of programs, courses and degrees, including the sharing of curriculums and especially the development of transnational programs, and (3) research project activities, including the organization of international conferences and joint research, mainly for presenting research results and academic exchange

There are not only many w ays to define the concept of internationalization of higher education but also many ways to approach this issue According to Zha Qiang (2003), there are basically four different approaches being used to describe the concept of internationalization of higher education

The activity approach is one that has been most prevalent and is characteristic of the period when one described the international dimension in terms of specific activities or programs (ZhaQ iang, 2003)

The competency approach is more closely related to an outcome approach to education where quality is thought of in terms of knowledge, skills, interests, values and attitudes of the students In the competency approach to internationalization the emphasis is placed on the human elem ent o f the academic community - the students, faculty and technical/administrative/support staff The issue which is central to this approach is how generation and transfer of knowledge help to develop competencies in the personnel of the higher education institution to be more internationally knowledgeable and interculturally skilled (Zha Qiang, 2003)

The ethos approach relates more to organizational development theories which focus on the creation of a culture or climate within an organization to support a particular set of principles and goals In the case of internationalization, the focus is on establishing an ethos or which encourages and fosters the development of international and intercultural values and initiatives (Zha Qiang, 2003)

The process approach stresses the integration of an international and/or intercultural dimension into academic programs as well as the guiding policies and procedures of an institution A major concern in this approach is the need to address the sustainability of the international dimension (Zha Qiang, 2003)

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The basic content of these four approaches can be summarized as below:

Table 1 Approaches to internationalization

Approach Description

Activity Categories or types of activities used to describe internationalization: such as

.curriculum, studerrt/faculty exchanges, technical assistance, international students

Competency Development of new skills, knowledge, attitudes and values in students, faculty and

staff As the emphasis on outcomes of education grows there is increasing interest in identifying and defining global/international competencies

Ethos Emphasis is on creating a culture or climate on campus which promotes and

supports international/intercultural initiatives

Process Integration or infusion of an international or intercultural dimension into

teaching, research and service through a combination of a wide range of activities, policies and procedures

Source: OECD, 1999

As we may have seen.it is challenging to find a definition of internationalization which is appropriate and sensitive to the higher education systems in a wide variety of countries and cultures In this paper, internationalization o f higher education is understood as both the concept and the process o f integrating

an international dimension into the teaching, research and service functions

South Korea is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula South Korea has a market economy which ranks 14th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity (PPP), identifvinq it as-one-oHhe-S 29-maior-eeoriemiesT-ltHS-alSB a high-ine9m e- develoDed GBuritFV-and-is a- member of O ECD South Korea is one of the Asian Tigers, and is the only developed country so far to have been included in the group of Next Eleven countries South Korea had one of the world's fastest- growing economies from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and South Korea is still one of the fastest- growing developed countries in the 2000s

Education in South Korea is regarded as crucial to financial and social success, and competition is consequently fierce, with many participating in intense outside tutoring to supplement classes

The origin of internationalization o f higher education in Korea stems from the introduction o f the first

W estern-type collegiate schools in the late Choson period (1880-1910) Until the late nineteenth century, the formal Korean elite/higher education system maintained the Chinese-type Confucian institutional

design According to the oldest Korean historic record, Sam guk-sagl [The Historic Records of Three Kingdoms], the first form al institution o f elite/higher education was known as Taehak (National Confucian

Academy) established in AD 372 After opening the National Confucian Academy, several similar national institutions o f Confucian elite/higher education were established as the primary or secondary key

International Conference Internationalization o f H igher Education: North-South Perspectives

A fter the establishment o f the Republic of Korea in 1948, the new South Korean government promulgated

a far-reaching Education Law on December 31, 1949 (Lee, 2000b, p 3) The Education Law included the concepts of internationalization as follows:

Development of a patriotic spirit for the preservation of national independence and enhancement of an ideal for the cause o f world peace (Article 2: 2),

Succession and development o f our national culture and contribution to the creation and growth of the world culture (Article 2: 3) (John c , Weidman, and Sang Duk John, 2008)

The main national policies of internationalization in Korean higher education are to enhance the quality of education in order to reach world standards, to focus on a nation’s cultural heritage so as to harmonize other ethnic cultures, and to become more market oriented, privatized, and diversified Below are some outstanding achievements reached by Korea recently

The expansion of study abroad by South Korean students clearly enhances the internationalization of Korean education Between 1971 and 1999, Korean students who studied abroad increased approximately 20 times (7,632 to 154,219 persons) Among 154,219 Korean students including all school levels, 53,888 students studied in Canada, 42,890 in United States, 12,746 in Japan, and 9,204 in China Only 39 of 154,219 were students on Korean national scholarships, and 186 were students invited from

16 different nations The others were students financing their study from their own sources (John c Weidman, and Sang Duk John, 2008) The number of South Korean students studying abroad has been increasing dramatically since the start of the new millennium and so far Korean students have chosen more than 80 countries to travel to study

The international academic exchange programs of Korean universities have rapidly expanded since the late 1980s So far, 130 Korean universities of 156 four-year institutions had sister relationships with 2,130 foreign universities in 110 countries in 1998 The countries of universities having sister relationships were: the United States, 640 institutions; China, 326; Japan, 288; Russia, 123; Taiwan, 83; United Kingdom, 74; and other countries, 596 (Jeong-Kyu Lee, 2004)

Because o f the Government's increasing concern for making the higher education o f South Korea more globally competitive, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MOE) has launched ambitious plans for successful educational globalization of Korea The MOE was allocated US$20 million

to increase the number of foreign students awarded national scholarships from the current 310 to a target

o f 1,200 US$2.86 million was also allocated to open more lectures in English and Korean Language Programs in order to increase the number of foreign students from around 35,000 to a target of 50,000 Besides, US$1.1 million was allocated to invite foreign scholars or professors Moreover, US$110 million was allocated to support development of ten to fifteen of the most advanced South Korea higher educational institutions so that they are ranked among the top 200 in the world This includes hiring distinguished foreign scholars and professors, holding international academ ic co nferences, and providing funds to support research that can be published in internationally recognized scholarly journals (John c Weidman, and Sang.Duk John, 2008)

The Korean governm ent has also encouraged the promotion of international cooperation and education with international organizations and institutions such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), The World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO) The government has stressed education for international understanding in all school levels, and has also promoted Korean studies in domestic and foreign countries (Jeong-Kyu Lee, 2004)

Finally, the National Institute for International Education fo r Development (http://www.studyinkorea.go.kr) was opened to provide information on South Korean education for foreign students This website is run by the Korean Government in 11 languages and provide all necessary information fo r foreigners about

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Universities should improve their curricula and research activities to the level of global standards; University scholars should endeavor to raise the quality of research to meet the standards of international economy and academy;

Focus more on enhancing students’ and teachers’ using of English as a vital bridge taking them to approach to the science world at international level;

To prevent the homogenization of national identity and culture, the country’s cultural identity should be emphasized and the teaching of cultural heritage should be paid attention to;

To accelerate the internationalization of higher education, universities should foster experts in international relations and affairs All students must be educated for international understanding

In summary, each nation has its own developing conditions as well as its own special culture which lead

to particular strategies in higher education internationalization but successful experiences of those above countries can give Vietnam some useful lessons in creating its own way and policies of internationalizing its higher education system It’s absolutely clear that we need to acknowledge differences in the political, economic, cultural and social complexion of each country to avoid risking- “íalsế universalism" (Carlos Alberto Torres and Ari Antikainen, 2003) whereby similarities are spotted w ithout reference to the context

in which they were developed Therefore, creatively and flexibly learning from others is necessary for Vietnam in its way o f higher education internationalization •

REFERENCES

1 Jeong-Kyu Lee 2004 Globalization and Higher Education: A South Korean Perspective Korean

Educational Development Institute

2 OECD 1999 Quality and Internationalization in higher education, OECD Publications, 2, rue

Andr'e-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France

3 Robert James Parelius and Ann Parker Parelius.1987 The sociology o f education, Prentice Hall,

USA

4 Lim Pin.1998 Internationalization in Higher Education National University of Singapore at

Universities 21 Annual Conference, Edinburgh & Glasgow

5 Zha Qiang 2003 Internationalization of Higher Education: toward a conceptual framework,

Policies futures in education, Vol 1, No 2

6 Gavin Sanderson 2002 International Education Developments in Singapore, International

Education Journal Vol 3, No 2

7 Carlos Alberto Torres and Ari Antikainen 2003 The International Handbook on the Sociology of

Education: An international assessment of new research and theory, Rowman & Littelfied Publisher, USA

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Education in South Korea, International Studies in Education 9

9 http://www.studyinkorea.qo.kr

10 http://heik.academ vinfo.qo.kr/m ain.tw