Navigating Transnational Higher Education Management: Insights From Experience

Navigating Transnational Higher Education Management: Insights From Experience

Gareth Richard Morris, Junhua Mo, Fiseha Berhanu Tesema, Katherine Wang, Lei Li
Copyright: © 2024 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-2857-6.ch003
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Abstract

Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) has experienced many challenges in recent years. From the pandemic, and its legacy, to the emergence of generative AI, universities are faced with the prospect of bouncing from one issue to another. Making life additionally complex is the fact that regional instability is increasingly common globally now, with issues occurring in locations that had previously experienced periods of relative long-term stability. This chapter will consider some of the most pressing challenges that middle managers face in TNHE providers today by drawing on the insights of experienced middle managers who work at well regarded TNHE providers in eastern China prior to, during and immediately after the pandemic.
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Developments and Future Trends in Transnational Higher Education Leadership

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Introduction

Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) has experienced many challenges in recent years. From the pandemic, and its legacy, to the emergence of generative AI, universities are faced with the prospect of bouncing from one issue to another. Making life additionally complex is the fact that regional instability is increasingly common globally now, with issues occurring in locations that had previously experienced periods of relative long-term stability. Policies and practices are also evolving at national levels within education, as countries seek to reassess and redress earlier teaching and learning models and the thinking which underpinned their uptake. The business mentality which was preferential for many years in a number of countries today, holds fewer compelling arguments for its continued uptake, as Collini (2012) argues, in comparison to suppositions which advocate sustainable community-enhancing designs that Morris and Berhanu Tesema (2024) advocate the importance of. Indeed, a supportive community is incredibly important for long term health and wellbeing as Gladwell (2008) stresses. Navigating all of this is challenging and many transnational providers have encountered numerous difficulties as a result. These range from recruitment to retention deliberations, to pedagogic and provisional practice difficulties, alongside challenges surrounding financing, motivation and satisfaction. This chapter will consider some of the most pressing challenges that middle managers face in TNHE providers today by drawing on the insights of experienced middle managers who work for some of the most prestigious providers in eastern China just prior to, during and immediately after the pandemic. It will employ a qualitative case study methodology, to supplement discussions arising from published literature concerning these sites. In addition, this chapter will also consider some of the most pertinent lessons learned from these workplaces and draw on cross-disciplinary insights to discuss these as Gladwell (2008) suggests that these are important as his telling of the Oppenheimer story illustrates.

Case Study Background

This study builds on the work of Morris et al. (2024), who considered the experiences and insights from three very senior figures at one of the most prestigious TNHE providers in eastern China and, arguably, Asia. In that study, three highly regarded and long-serving leaders were interviewed with the intention of helping the next generation of aspiring and emerging TNHE managers and leaders at that site. This is an emergent need identified by other middle management leadership figures at other prestigious TNHE institutions, who suggest that staff are often tasked with stepping up into roles for which they have little or no training as O’Connell et al. (2024) draw attention to. O’Connell et al. (2024) also suggest how important professional development is to staff who are stepping up into management, and through association, into perceived positions of leadership based on hierarchical roles. Indeed, this echoes the work of Morris, Morris and Li (2023), who through synthesizing a series of studies at another highly regarded TNHE provider found similar sentiments being echoed. In this instance, four experienced practitioners and middle managers reflect on their current experiences and what was learned from these. These practitioners go on to provide readers with suggestions as to what would have helped them previously, and how they have navigated the situations they have encountered.

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