The Role And Impact Of Mainland Academic Returnees From Hong Kong Universities In The Disciplinary Development

With the globalization of higher education,cross-border higher education has gradually emerged.More and more Chinese students have chosen to study abroad.Since the return of Hong Kong in 1997,the number of mainland students studying in Hong Kong has exceeded 100,000.There is a special group,which is called ‘teacher returning from Hong Kong’ in this research.They came from the Mainland and obtained Ph.D.degrees from universities in Hong Kong.Now they have chosen to return to work in mainland universities.They are the academic talents which Hong Kong trained for the Mainland.Recently,Chinese returnees group has become a research hotspot in the area of higher education,but few researches have focused on mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities.As a group of mainland college teachers who are neither the same as the overseas teachers nor the local teachers,what kind of role do they play in the personnel training,scientific research,management and service in the development of disciplines in the Mainland? What kind of thinking do they have about the development of mainland educational disciplines? This study will take the education discipline as an example to explore the above issues.This study used the curriculum vitae analysis method to sort out the academic performance of mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities and mastered the basic information of the research objects;used the interview method to learn about their study in Hong Kong,their practice as mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities and also sum up their thoughts on the development of education in the Mainland;used bibliometric method to make statistics of their academic outputs.On this basis,the following conclusions are drawn:First,mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities are mainly selected to go to Hong Kong for study due to factors such as the degree of internationalization,cultural traditions,geographical location,scholarship system and length of study of Hong Kong universities.They return to the Mainland under the influence of the employment market,talent competitiveness,family and social integration.Second,the particularity of mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities is reflected in their academic,behavioral and returned characteristics.Generally speaking,they have a high level of internationalization in academic careers and can adapt to two publishing rules at home and abroad.They have close ties with the mainland and highly identify with Chinese culture.Also,they have a clear willingness to return and a good preparation for return.Third,mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities play an active role in promoting the internationalization of personnel training,scientific research,management and service in disciplines.This is an academic career development advantage that relies on cross-border human capital and crossborder social capital.It is also an academic strategy adopted by internationalized talents in the face of competitive pressure.Fourth,mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities believe that the education disciplines in the Mainland should develop the Chinese education discipline rooted in the locality on the basis of the diversity of research paradigm and academic staff.In this process,they should adhere to the idea and advantage of being local and extending to the international community,grasp the local perspective and identity as a Chinese researcher,and be alert to the negative impact of excessive internationalization.This study reveals the academic practice of the mainland academic returnees from Hong Kong universities in the field of education and their deep thinking on the development of the disciplines.It provides a reference for the education discipline to absorb multiple subjects participating in the discipline construction.It has enriched the relevant research of college teachers in China.