Neoliberalism, Consumerism and Internationalisation: Chinese Higher Education Institution Leaders Attending the U.K. Leadership Development Programmes

This chapter examines the impact of the overseas leadership development programmes delivered in the U.K. From 2012 to 2018, 233 Chinese HEI leaders visited 24 HEIs and organisations in the U.K. As one of the most popular destinations for degree education and international benchmarking, British HEIs subscribe to the ideologies of neoliberalism, consumerism and internationalisation. By visiting a wide range of British HEIs, the Chinese HEI leaders compared and contrasted two higher education systems and their underpinning values. Some best practices were adopted and adapted to serve Chinese HEI leaders’ professional development and their institutional needs. Some institutional-level changes were implemented after the programme, while some contextual differences were reflected upon by the participants.