Positioning Research, Xinjiang Universities And Educational Goals

The goal identity of higher institutions, determined by different colleges and universities, are the target and orientation of the development in some period. The goal identity of higher institutions answers these two questions: "What's the character of a college or a university?" and "How to form its character?" It influences not only discipline construction and curriculum design, but also the distribution of resources, higher education reform and the formation of a competitive nucleus in higher institutions. Therefore, all higher institutions, henceforth, should place great emphasis on goal identities.The research into the goal identities of higher institutions in Xinjiang is a positive research. The author gathered data from ten colleges and universities about their goal identities and interviewed many staff involving in determining goal identities by investigating method. On the basis of investigation and analysis, the article probes into causes of determining goal identities of higher institution in Xinjiang, and sums up their characters. First, the guiding ideology of running higher institutions is chiefly political with unnoticeably educational notions. Second, the service subject and scope of higher institutions has a explicit and reasonable identity, but is not clear in the national system of higher education. Third, the identity "chiefly developed undergraduate education" is practical and corresponding, but in fact, "the goal identity often higher institutions chiefly developed graduate education" is radical and obscure. Last, although those ten institutions have formed their unique characters, they still show a tendency to pursue comprehensive discipline. Therefore, it is the most important for them to solve how to stress their characters.After considered, studied and pondered the goal identities of domestic higher institutions, the researcher hold the opinion that higher institutions should make the goal identities guide their development, not be ornament, if they want to determine their goal identities practically. There are some problems to need attention. First, the administrators of higher institution should put emphasis on educational researches and enrich their guiding ideology of running colleges and universities by educational notion. Secondly, they also should lay stress on the determination of developing, basic and long-term goal hi order to make present goal identities clearer. Thirdly, they should consider the developing concept to renew their educational opinion continually. Fourthly, they should focus on the specialization and discipline construction and accelerate their colleges or universities to form their unique characters.