Shared Governance: A Comparison of Perceptions and Implementation between American and Chinese Higher Education Institutions

The purpose of this study was to assess the status of institutional stakeholders’ perceptions and application of shared governance on an American higher education campus and a counterpart in China and determine if there were differences among the groups of stakeholders both within and between the institutions. Significant differences were found among the four categories of participants at the Chinese institution. For the General Acceptance dimension of the Perceptions of Shared Governance Inventory (PSGI) the Chinese staff members reported significantly higher scores than all the other three categories. For the Implementation dimension, staff members and the students scored significantly higher than the administrators and the faculty members. For the two dimensions of the Application of Shared Governance Inventory (ASGI), administrators reported significantly higher scores than the other categories. At the participating American university, a significant difference was found between the students and the administrators in the General Acceptance dimension. Comparisons between the American institution and the Chinese institution found that the Chinese faculty members scored significantly higher than Americans in the General Acceptance dimension, but the American faculty members scored significantly higher in both the General Acceptance and the Implementation dimensions. Chinese staff members and the Chinese students scored significantly higher than Americans in both the General Acceptance and the Implementation dimensions, but the American staff members and the American students scored significantly higher in both the General Acceptance and the Implementation dimensions. Also, years of service plays a significant role in two Chinese groups.