As part of the Hawaii International Conference on Chinese Studies (HICCS), the Education Symposium on International Understanding and Cooperation aims to deepen understanding andstrengthen ties between the United States and greater China through education. The symposium will take the form of several specialized panels within the HICCS conference. It will highlight the impact of historical and contemporary educational exchanges, promote innovative educational practices, explore the transformative role of technology, and strengthen cross-cultural competencies and partnerships. The topic will be “Cultural Integration: Promoting International Understanding through Education” featuring our Keynote Speaker, Professor Xudong Zhu.
Professor Xudong Zhu holds the esteemed position of Dean at the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University. In addition, he fulfills the role of Director at the Center for Teacher Education Research at Beijing Normal University and is recognized as a Distinguished Professor under the prestigious Yangtze River Scholar Program, an honor bestowed by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. Professor Zhu’s contributions extend beyond academia into education and social services both within China and internationally.
Furthermore, we would also like to introduce our host and panelists for our Education Symposium. Introducing our host, Baoyan Cheng, who is a Professor of Comparative and International Education at the College of Education at the University of Hawai’i. Her recent research focuses on international student mobility with a special emphasis on Chinese students studying overseas. She has published various books, articles, and book chapters on Chinese education, in particular, cross-cultural issues in the global context.
We would also like to introduce our featured panelists, Henan Chang, Wenqin Shen, Qiang Zha, and Zachary Howlett.
Dr. Henan Chang is the Executive Director of the Center on Chinese Education (CoCE) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Following the historical tradition of Teachers College’s engagement with China established by John Dewey, Paul Monroe, William Kilpatrick and other prominent educators, the Center on Chinese Education is a leading academic center on Chinese education research, training, and academic exchange in the U.S.. Dr. Cheng has been taking a leadership role in the overall management of a wide range of programs at the Center, including: collaborate with Chinese scholars on the research related to education policy and equity issues; design and implement seminars on educational reforms and leadership development for Chinese education leaders across China; actively participate in community outreach programs to promote the U.S.-China educational and cultural exchanges, mutual understanding and cooperation.
Wenqin Shen is Associate Professor of Higher Education at Peking University. His authored and co-authored publications focused on international academic mobility (especially the mobility of college graduates, doctoral students and postdocs) ,doctoral career trajectories and transnational history of idea and practice of liberal education (China, UK and US). His researches have been published in international journals such as the Higher education, History of education quarterly, Journal of Sociology, Higher education quarterly, Studies in Higher education, etc. He is currently serving as a coordinating editor for Higher education.
Qiang Zha is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, York University (Canada). He served as the Director of Graduate Program in Education in 2017-2020. He was appointed as a York University Provostial Fellow in 2021-2022, and as the Interim Director of York Centre for Asian Research in 2023-24. He holds a PhD (Higher Education) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto and a MA (Comparative Education) from the Institute of Education, University of London. His research interests include Chinese and East Asian higher education, international academic relations, global brain circulation, internationalization of higher education, global competence education, differentiation and diversity in higher education, theories of organizational change, and liberal arts education in China and elsewhere. He has written and published widely on these topics in scholarly journals, and in the form of books or book chapters.
Zachary Howlett is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on meritocracy and mobility in China and Chinese diasporas. He is the author of Meritocracy and Its Discontents: Anxiety and the National College Entrance Exam in China(Cornell University Press, 2021).
We look forward to your participation this coming Hawai’i International Conference on Chinese Studies!
