ERIC Number: ED519595
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 255
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-1241-9108-9
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Introducing Writing across the Curriculum into China: Feasability and Adaptation
Wu, Dan
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Clemson University
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is a successful educational movement initiated in the US in the 1970s to promote better teaching and learning. It has developed to incorporate writing, speaking, digital educational technologies, and other communication modalities in the past several decades. WAC initiatives have now been successfully transplanted outside of the U.S. in nations and areas such as Australia, Sweden, Germany, and Hong Kong, yet one country that has not endorsed a WAC approach is China. Given the current tension between access and quality for Chinese higher education after an unprecedented enrollment expansion, incorporating WAC approaches is currently a debated option for easing this tension. Using a historical review of the political and cultural realities of Chinese higher education system, this study investigated into the feasibility of introducing WAC in China. A qualitative study composed of 8 interviews with US WAC experts and 28 interviews conducted in China with faculty members, higher education administrators, and employers was combined with activity theory to explore the embedded contradictions within and among the activity systems of university courses, university administration, and workplace. A total of 4 primary themes and 29 secondary themes were uncovered within the interviews, leading to a clear conclusion that there is an urgent need to include WAC researchers into the community of the activity systems of Chinese university courses to facilitate greater teaching and learning objectives. Even though challenges persist, such as the lack of technological resources and the issue of academic dishonesty, faculty interest is strong and there is a near-unanimous sense of a need for WAC insights. This study advances the application of activity theory in WAC research by focusing on the function of the community of the activity systems. It also suggests an approach for studying the feasibility of adapting WAC pedagogies and programs into the unique and dynamic local contexts, cultures and educational systems. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Expertise, Higher Education, Writing Across the Curriculum, Foreign Countries, Educational Technology, Teaching Methods, Feasibility Studies, Interviews, Educational History, Program Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Employee Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Educational Practices, Curriculum Implementation, Technology Transfer
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A