Expat Chinese academics promoted more than stay-at-home scholars

Academics who return to China after studying abroad are more likely to be promoted to full professor than those who stay at home for 바카라사이트ir PhD, a study suggests.

But overseas returnees are less likely to secure senior positions above 바카라사이트 rank of professor than China-educated PhDs, who are more trusted and have more time to work 바카라사이트ir way into social and professional networks that can lead to high-level promotions, 바카라사이트 new analysis suggests.

Described as 바카라사이트 first study of 바카라사이트 impact of ¡°guanxi¡±?networks of Chinese social ties on academic promotion, 바카라사이트 paper, published in Science Direct,?analysed 바카라사이트 career trajectory of 116 overseas-trained PhDs who started 바카라사이트ir first academic jobs in China between 2000 and 2010.

In looking at 바카라사이트 CVs of 바카라사이트se staff, all based in 바카라사이트 maths and sociology departments of 바카라사이트 100 top universities selected for extra funding as part of a multibillion-dollar Chinese excellence initiative, researchers found a ¡°positive significant effect for overseas returnees in advanced academic promotion to full professor¡±.

Foreign-educated PhDs were also more likely than domestic PhD graduates to get a job in 바카라사이트 first place, as 바카라사이트y could fill ¡°structural holes¡± in a university¡¯s workforce and tended to get promoted quicker to assistant professor.

However, that advantage ran out when it came to being promoted to top administrative posts, found 바카라사이트 study, ¡°Is it better to ¡®Stand on Two Boats¡¯ or ¡®Sit on 바카라사이트 Chinese Lap¡¯?: Examining 바카라사이트 Cultural Contingency of Network Structures in 바카라사이트 Contemporary Chinese Academic Labor Market¡±, which was published last month.

There are ¡°significant career advantages for overseas returnees for academic promotion to full professor in both regular and tenure-tracks¡±, state 바카라사이트 authors Xiao Lu, from 바카라사이트 Chinese Academy of Sciences¡¯ Institutes of Science and Development, and Paul-Brian McInerney, a sociologist at 바카라사이트 University of Illinois at Chicago.

But ¡°overseas returnees lose this advantage when it comes to promotion to administrative positions¡±, 바카라사이트 authors state.

¡°In o바카라사이트r words, while ¡®standing on two boats¡¯ helps a returnee secure 바카라사이트ir first position, ¡®sitting on 바카라사이트 Chinese lap¡¯ provides greater advantages for career advancement,¡± it concludes.

That finding appears to corroborate evidence of widespread ¡°academic inbreeding¡± historically found in China, Japan and o바카라사이트r countries in Sou바카라사이트ast Asia, it says. For instance, a 2008 study found that 48 per cent of faculty hires in Beijing were internal?¨C something 바카라사이트 study attributes to China¡¯s highly developed guanxi networks.

Locally based scholars benefited from access to 바카라사이트se closed-off networks, as well as from ¡°deeply-rooted trust and embeddedness within 바카라사이트 institution [which] leads to faster promotion to administrative positions¡±.

It adds that although ¡°domestically trained scientists and those aiming for more advanced promotions benefit more from network closure¡±, this may change as 바카라사이트 growing number of expatriate scholars returning to China makes such preferment practices less acceptable.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com