Cross-cultural catalysts in international academic partnerships: Canadian technical assistance to Chinese and Ukrainian universities

Research output: Contribution to conferencePapers

Abstract

The analysis in this paper engages the interplay of the boundary objects theory and multi-structural governance theory to shed light on opportunities and challenges of the university transformations driven by international projects. In particular, this presentation examines the roles and characteristics of cross-cultural facilitators in balancing the legacies of academic practices in the two different worlds: on the one hand, a post-modernist society, driven by critical inquiry and learning (as represented by Canadian universities), and, on the other hand, post-totalitarian hyper-regulated institutions of specialized education (as represented by Chinese and Ukrainian universities). The study draws on qualitative data collected through review of CIDA/CBIE reports, university institutional and scholarly accounts of technical projects. These data sources are triangulated then through emailbased questionnaires with Canadian, Chinese and Ukrainian co-PIs, as well as this author’s observation notes from several technical assistance projects in the field. Three aspects are elaborated in the process of data analysis: 1) major roles played by cross-cultural catalysts (national, institutional, and individual) in Canadian collaborations with Chinese and Ukrainian universities; 2) major challenges in the created/implemented partnerships; 3) expected and realized outcomes in the cross-cultural collaborations. Copyright © 2018 CSSHE.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - May 2018
Event2018 Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education - University of Regina, Regina, Canada
Duration: 27 May 201829 May 2018
https://csshe-scees.ca/conference/past-conferences/

Conference

Conference2018 Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education
Abbreviated titleCSSHE 2018
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityRegina
Period27/05/1829/05/18
Internet address

Citation

Oleksiyenko, A. (2018, May). Cross-cultural catalysts in international academic partnerships: Canadian technical assistance to Chinese and Ukrainian universities. Paper presented at 2018 Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE), University of Regina, Regina, Canada.

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