Students as a Nexus of Cultural Diplomacy: Estimating the Outcomes of the International Higher Education Scholarship Program in Taiwan

Abstract

Internationalization policy in higher education facilitates a nation's economic growth and demonstrates generosity to other nations. This study investigates the impact of the International Higher Education Scholarship Program of the International Cooperation and Development Fund on recipients’ perceptions of and experiences in Taiwan. Based on the management, education, medical science, and engineering programs of four case study universities, it finds attitudinal changes, increased intercultural competence, and signs of institution transfer and knowledge network formation. Socialization has fostered scholarship holders’ cultural affinity and shared identity with Taiwan. As higher education institutions promote knowledge sharing and cultural diffusion, international students are also a nexus of cultural diplomacy, the attractions of which are more conspicuous than knowledge diplomacy's benefits. The empirical evidence of this study helps delineate theoretical frameworks of diplomacy in international higher education. Its longitudinal observation of alumni career trajectories can enrich cross-sectional evaluation.

Keywords

higher education Taiwan cultural diplomacy soft power scholarship

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arndt

(2005). The first resort of kings: American cultural diplomacy in the twentieth century. Brassey’s.

Asada

S. R.

(2021). Study abroad and knowledge diplomacy: Increasing awareness and connectivity to the host country, host region, and world. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 51(4), 580–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2019.1660143

Atkinson

(2010). Does soft power matter? A comparative analysis of student exchange programs 1980–2006. Foreign Policy Analysis, 6(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-8594.2009.00099.x

Bernard

H. R.

(2011). Research methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). AltaMira Press.

British Council. (2021). International cultural relations: Soft power and cultural relations institutions in a time of crisis . British Council.

Chan

(2020). Promoting governance model through international higher education: Examining international student mobility in China between 2003 and 2016. Higher Education Policy, 33(3), 511–530. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-019-00158-w

Cheng

I. H.

Chan

S. J.

(2022). Asian perspecitves and approaches for developing assistance in promoting human capital. Oxford Research Encyclopedias of Education.

Cheng

I. H.

Chan

S. J.

Lee

P. B.

(2015). The evolving patterns and history of Taiwan’s official educational aid. In Cheng

I. H.

Chan

S. J.

(Eds.), International education aid in developing Asia (pp. 97–109). Springer.

Copeland

(2015). Science and diplomacy after Canada’s lsot decade: Counting the costs, looking beyond. Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

10.

Cummings

M. C.

(2003). Cultural diplomacy and the United States government: A survey. Center for Arts and Culture.

11.

deLisle

(2010). Soft power in a hard place: China, Taiwan, cross-strait relations and US policy. Orbis, 54(4), 493–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orbis.2010.07.002

12.

de Wit

Altbach

P. G.

(2021). Internationalization in higher education: Global trends and recommendations for its future. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5(1), 28–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898

13.

Finch

Lewis

(2012). Focus group. In Ritchie

Lewis

(Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers (pp. 170–198). Sage Publications.

14.

Guatemala News. (2016). Angel Menendez, the Guatemalan who develops nanosatellites in Taiwan . https://www.soy502.com/articulo/historia-guatemalteco-disena-nanosatelites-taiwan-71746

15.

Hartig

(2015). Communicating China to the world: Confucius Institutes and China’s strategic narratives. Politics, 35(3-4), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.12093

16.

(2018). African student migrants in China: Negotiating the global geographics of power through gastronomic practices and culture. Food, Culture & Society, 21(1), 9–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2017.1398468

17.

Hunter

White

G. P.

Godbey

G. C.

(2006). What does it mean to be globally competent? Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306286930

18.

ICDF. (1998). International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) annual report . https://www.icdf.org.tw/ct.asp?xItem=2808&ctNode=30100&mp=1

19.

ICDF. (2020). International education and training, international higher education scholarship program . http://www.icdf.org.tw/lp.asp?CtNode=30019&CtUnit=172&BaseDSD=100&mp=2

20.

ICDF. (2022). International education and training, international higher education scholarship program . https://www.icdf.org.tw/wSite/ct?xItem=5269&ctNode=31552&mp=2

21.

JICA. (2019). Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) profile . https://www.jica.go.jp/english/publications/brochures/index.html

22.

Knight

(2015). Moving from soft power to knowledge diplomacy. International Higher Education, 80(Spring), 8–9. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2015.80.6135

23.

Knight

(2019). Knowledge diplomacy in action. British Council . https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research-knowledge-diplomacy-in-action.pdf

24.

Knight

(2022). Knowledge diplomacy in international relations and higher education. Springer.

25.

KOICA. (2019). Korea international cooperation agency brochure . http://www.koica.go.kr/search/mirsearchE.jsp

26.

LeCompte

M. D.

Preissle

(2008). Ethnography and qualitative design in educational research (2nd ed.). CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne.

27.

Lee

J. T.

(2015). Soft power and cultural diplomacy: Emerging education hubs in Asia. Comparative Education, 51(3), 353–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2015.1037551

28.

Pan

(2016). Confucius Institutes and China’s soft power: Practices and paradoxes. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(4), 512–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2014.916185

29.

Marginson

(2013). Student self-formation in international education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315313513036

30.

Mark

(2009). Discussion paper of diplomacy: A greater role of cultural diplomacy. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy. Brill Academic Publishers, The Hague.

31.

Marshall

Rossman

G. B.

(2016). Designing qualitative research (6th ed.). Sage.

32.

Mason

Kearns

Livingston

(2013). “Safe going”: The influence of crime rates and perceived crime and safety on walking in deprived neighbourhoods. Social Science & Medicine, 91, 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.011

33.

Mawer

(2017). Approaches to analyzing the outcomes of international scholarship programs for higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(3), 230–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315316687009

34.

Mok

K. H.

Wang

Neubauer

(2020). Contesting globalisation and implications for higher education in the Asia–Pacific region: Challenges and prospects. Higher Education Policy, 33(3), 397–411. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00197-8

35.

Mulcahy

K. V.

(2014). Cultural diplomacy in the post-cold war. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 29(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632929909597281

36.

Mulvey

(2019). International higher education and public diplomacy: A case study of Ugandan graduates from Chinese universities. Higher Education Policy, 33(3), 459–477. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-019-00174-w

37.

Nye

J. S

. (1990). Bound to lead: The changing nature of American power. Basic Books.

38.

Nye

J. S.

(2005). Soft power and higher education. Forum for the Future of Higher Education . http://forum.mit.edu/articles/soft-power-and-higher-education/

39.

Nye

J. S.

(2010). Soft power and cultural diplomacy. In Public Diplomacy Magazine (pp. 120–124). https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5be3439285ede1f05a46dafe/t/5be34faf1ae6cfee29d51ef7/1541623732917/CulturalDiplomacy.pdf

40.

Pajtinka

(2015). Cultural diplomacy in the theory and practice of contemporary international relations. Politike Vedy, 1(17), 95–108. ISSN 1335-2741.

41.

Pamment

(2013). New public diplomacy in the 21st century: A comparative study of policy and practice. Routledge.

42.

Peterson

P. M.

(2014). Diplomacy and education: A changing global landscape. International Higher Education, 75, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2014.75.5410

43.

Piros

Koops

(2020). Towards a sustainable approach to EU education diplomacy? The case of capacity-building in the eastern neighborhood. In Carta

Higgot

(Eds.), Cultural diplomacy in Europe: Between the domestic and the international (pp. 113–138). Palgrave Macmillan.

44.

Praetzel

Curcio

Dilorenzo

(1996). Making study abroad a reality for all students. International Advances in Economic Research, 2(2), 174–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02295057

45.

Punch

(2009). Introduction to research methods in education. Sage.

46.

Rivas

C. V.

(2010). Cosmopolitan constructivism: Mapping a road to the future of cultural and public diplomacy. In Cultural Diplomacy Magazine, Public Diplomacy Council (pp. 45–56).

47.

Scott-Smith

(2008). Mapping the undefinable: Some thoughts on the relevance of exchange programs within international relation theory. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 173–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716207311953

48.

Scott-Smith

(2019). Transatlantic cultural relations, soft power, and the role of US cultural diplomacy in Europe. European Foreign Affairs Review, 24(Special), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.54648/EERR2019017

49.

Wang

Y. C.

(2008). The conception of soft power and its policy implications: A comparative study of China and Taiwan. Journal of Contemporary China, 17(56), 425–447. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670560802000191

50.

Wilson

(2014). International education programs and political influence: Manufacturing sympathy? Springer.

51.

Wilson

(2015). Ends changed, means retained: Scholarship programs, political influence, and drifting goals. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 17(1), 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-856X.12012

52.

Wilson

(2017). Exchanges and peacemaking: Counterfactuals and unexplored possibilities. In International education exchanges and intercultural understanding (pp. 21–39). Palgrave Macmillan.

53.

Zha

(2018). A new typology for analyzing the direction of movement in higher education internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(3), 259–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318762582

54.

Yang

(2007). China Soft power projection through higher education. International Higher Education, 46(Winter), 24–25. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2007.46.7938

55.

Yang

Gao

C. Y.

(2020). Rethinking cultural competence education in the global era: Insights from fei Xiaotong’s theory of cultural self-awareness. Frontiers of Education in China, 15(4), 539–563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-020-0026-4

56.

Yang

(2015). China’s international aid in education: Development, determinants, and discord. In Cheng

I. H.

Chan

S. J.

(Eds.), International education aid in developing Asia (pp. 113–130). Springer.