The Chinese University Institutional Reform For Selection And Appointment Of The Principal

The mechanism of selecting and appointing university principals is a crucial constituent part of the higher education administration system in China, and the proper use of this mechanism is one of the best indications to whether colleges and universities could be sustainably developed in China. Yet currently, such a mechanism is far from being well-established and thereby needs further modification and improvement. Guided by the materialist conception of history of Marxism, this dissertation takes contemporary higher education system as the theoretical basis and analytical perspectives, and applies the multidisciplinary theories and approaches such as politics, sociology, pedagogics and management science. On the basis of the analysis of the current situations pertaining to the mechanism, a systematic study is conducted of the basic constituents of the selection and appointment mechanism together with its running mode, assessment criteria and working procedures, seeking to solve such key problems as "who selects","who to be selected", and "how to select" in the procedures of selection and appointment.The ultimate goal of this study is to set up a system suited to the national conditions of China for the selecting and appointing of the principals of colleges and universities. In the meanwhile, this dissertation also reports an empirical study of the leading cadres of Jiangsu provincial colleges and universities who were recommended and selected by general acclaim. The results generated from the study may hopefully provide some empirical evidence for the ongoing reforms in the mechanism in China.This dissertation consists of the introductory part and seven chapters.Chapter One, titled with The administrative system for modern colleges and universities and its relations to the selection and appointment mechanism for university principals, probes into the basic principles of administrative system for modern colleges in the mechanism.Through the horizontal and vertical comparisons, Chapter Two and Three disclose characteristics of the selecting and appointing mechanisms both at home and abroad and the evolution of such a mechanism in China. This review works as a reference frame for the reforms of the current mechanisms in China, and also a suggestion for the necessity to reform and improve the current mechanisms.From Chapter Four to Six, the author tried to construct the an ideal mechanism of selection and appointment according to the rules of higher education and the national conditions, with the problems of "who can decide","who to be selected", and "how to do" in mind.Chapter Seven reports an empirical study of the public recommendation and selection of the college leading cadres in Jiangsu Province.The public recommendation and selection is a main part of the evolution of our selection and appointment mechanism for university principals for the situation in Jiangsu is typical for the whole country. This chapter summarized our experience in the public recommendation and selection, pointed out the weaknesses of this mechanism and the offered some suggestion to improve. A mix of theoretical research and empirical study blazed the trail in the selection and appointment mechanism for university principals in China.Based on the summary of the major findings in the study, the conclusion part encompasses the present researcher’s own reflections on the scientific, democratic and normalized approach to the selecting and appointing of the principals of the colleges and universities in China. The researcher’s viewpoints can be summarized as follows: first, the selecting and appointing of the principals must give priority to those who stick to the direction of the socialism with Chinese characteristics, and who stand firmly for their political ideas and have an international outlook. Secondly, the selecting and appointing of the principals must conform to the spirit and essence of contemporary higher education system. Third, the mode of the universities’ self-selection under the supervision of the government could be a feasible and practical route to the reform of the current mechanism. Fourth, the establishment of scientific assessment criteria may provide essential references for the selecting and appointing mechanism. Finally, the optimization of the process of selection may provide a warrant for the selection of principals with high-caliber qualities. The mechanism for selecting and appointing university principals in China is an open-ended question, which certainly needs further exploration. However, such an exploration should take into consideration the specific conditions in China, should observe the law of higher education reforms and development, and should draw upon the experience of the developed countries in that regard.