Yingjie Wang (1945 - )

Short Biography & Significant Contribution

Wang Yingjie is a professor of education at the School of Education, Beijing Normal University, China. Born in China in 1945, he was educated at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and Beijing Normal University. Since 1973, he had held various posts at Beijing Normal University. He was Dean of the International and Comparative Education Research Institute from 1992 to 1995. He then served the university as Vice-President between 1995 and 1999. He was also Vice-Chairman of the Academic Committee of the university between 1996 and 2005. He took a two year leave between 1993 and 1995 from Beijing Normal University to serve the University of Macao as Dean of the Faculty of Education.

Prof. Wang holds the first Ph.D. degree in comparative education granted in China's mainland after 1949. He has focused his research work on the comparison of Chinese and American higher education. He is considered one of the authorities on the American education system in China. He is one of the major figures to promote the establishment of the field of comparative higher education in the mainland. In the 1980s, he led efforts to publish the first series of comparative education works in China. He likewise catalyzed debates on the identity crisis of comparative education within Chinese academic circles. He is author/editor of a dozen books and a hundred articles, one of which won a National Award for Outstanding Educational Research for the period of 1990-2000.

Wang's journal editorships include: Comparative Education Review (Beijing Normal University): Member of Editorial Board (1980-);
Frontiers of Education in China (China Higher Education Press): Member of Editorial Board (2006-);
Academic Journal of Beijing Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences): Member of Editorial Board (1998-);
New Horizons (Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Association): Member of Editorial Board (1998-).

He has also been a member of the editorial board of other academic journals, such as, Journal of Nankai Education (Nankai University),Journal of Educational Science (Beijing Normal University), and University: Research and Evaluation (China National Institute for Educational Research).

Wang Yingjie has conducted several research projects in China for UNICEF, OECD and Teachers College, Columbia University. His major focus has been on educational policies.

Wang's major focuses in comparative education research include comparative higher education, higher education policy, university governance, institutional cultures of universities, and American education history and development. His writings involve both academic findings and policy recommendations for educational authorities.

Wang has also actively contributed to the establishment and development of the Chinese Comparative Education Society (CCES), which was founded in 1979 as a national body and admitted to the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) in 1984. He attended the first annual conference of the society and is currently one of the society's vice-presidents.

Wang has helped nurture new generations of comparative and international education scholars in China. He has advised over a dozen doctoral and post doctoral students. Moreover, he has contributed to the institutionalization of comparative education through the establishment of Beijing Normal University's Comparative Education Research Centre in 1999, the only entity of its kind supported by the central government. Through his dedicated leadership, he has also helped make the field of comparative and international education at Beijing Normal University be designated as one of the national key disciplines given priority in China's state universities.

Educational Background

B.A. Portuguese, Beijing Foreign Studies University (1968)

Ph.D. Education, Beijing Normal University (1988)

Professional Background

Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. (1973-present)

Chair Professor, School of Education (2006 - present)

Professor, School of Education (1992 - 2006)

Vice-President, Beijing Normal University (1995 - 1999)

Dean, International and Comparative Education Research Institute (1992 - 1995)

Associate Professor, International and Comparative Education Research Institute (1988 - 1992)

Deputy Dean, International and Comparative Education Research Institute (1983 - 1992)

Lecturer (1985 - 1988)

Teaching Assistant (1973 - 1985)

University of Naruto, Japan: Visiting Professor (2004)

University of Trento, Italy: Visiting Professor (2002)

University of Macao, Macao: Dean of Faculty of Education (1993 - 1995)

Harvard University, USA: Fulbright Research Scholar (1991 - 1992)

University of Vermont, USA: Visiting Professor (1988 - 1989)

Stanford University, USA: Visiting Scholar (1980 - 1982)

Affiliations (associations, organizations, institutions)

Accreditation Group in Education, Committee of Academic Degree, State Council (China): Co-chair (2003 - )

National Society of American Study (China): Council Member (1996 - )

Chinese Comparative Education Society: Vice-President (2005)

National Committee of College-level Examination for Self-taught Learners (China): Member (1997 - )

UNESCO Institute for Life-long Education, Hamburg: Governing Board Alternate Member (2002 - )

Honorary Professorships in:

Liaocheng University, Shandong, China, since 1999.

Jiangxi Normal University, Jiangxi, China, since 2004.

Selected Publications

Wang, Yingjie (Chief-editor) (1992): Comparative Education Volume, Encyclopedia of Education, Shanghai Education Press, Shanghai, 604 pp.

Wang, Yingjie (1993): The Development and Reform of American Higher Education, People's Education Press, Beijing, 254 pp. Second edition 2002.

Wang, Yingjie (1993): 'University President and University Development', Comparative Education Review (Beijing Normal University), No.5, 1993, pp.1-10.

Wang, Yingjie with Lewin, Keith (eds.) (1994): Implementing Basic Education in China, UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), Paris, 174 pp.

Wang, Yingjie with Qu, Hengchang and Li, Jiayong (1997): Compulsory Education in Asian Developing Countries, People's Education Press, Beijing, 509 pp.

Wang, Yingjie (ed.) (1999): Comparative Education, Guangdong Higher Education Press, Guangzhou, 304 pp.

Wang, Yingjie (1999): 'Higher Education Crises and Reforms throughout the World', China's Higher Education, No.5, 1999, pp.8-11.

Wang, Yingjie (1999): 'Higher Education Should Not Be Commercialized', China's Higher Education, No. 21, 1999, pp.18-19.

Wang, Yingjie (2000): 'Building the World-class University in a Developing Country: Universals, Uniqueness, and Cooperation', Asia Pacific Education Review, Vol.2, No.2, December 2001, pp.3-9.

Wang, Yingjie (ed.) (2001) American Education, Jilin Education Press, Changchun, 403 pp.

Wang, Yingjie (2002): 'Towards Professionalization of Teachers in China - One Hundred Year Effort of Beijing Normal University', Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, Vol.5, No.2, 2002, pp.181-202.

Wang, Yingjie (2003): 'On Conservatism of the University', Comparative Education Review (Beijing Normal University), No. 3, 2003, pp.1-8.

Wang, Yingjie (2004): 'For the Nation's Future: An Urgent Need for Moral Education Reform in China', Bulletin of the Research Center for School Education, Naruto University of Education, No. 19, 2004, pp.1-10.

Wang, Yingjie with Liu, Baocun (eds.) (2005): College Innovative Education: An International Perspective, Shanxi Education Press, Taiyuan, 311 pp.

Wang, Yingjie (2007): 'Challenges of Building World-Class Universities in China', in Jan Sadlak and Nian Cai (eds.), The World-Class University and Ranking: Aiming Beyond Status, UNESCO-CEPES, Bucharest, pp. 333-353.

Created: 3/15/2008

Updated: 3/17/2008

Contributed By: Maria Manzon, Hong Kong University