The Character and Goals of Integrity Culture in University Governance: A Case Study of Education System

Research team of the project “Improving the Effectiveness and Pertinence of the Integrity Culture Construction in Education System”

The Character and Goals of Integrity Culture in University Governance: A Case Study of Education System

Research team of the project “Improving the Effectiveness and Pertinence of the Integrity Culture Construction in Education System”

It’s widely believed that cultural influence and penetration is conducive to preventing corruption. Education system, as a subsystem of society, serves as the center for cultivating talents, imparting knowledge, transmitting civilization and promoting innovation. The construction of integrity culture in education system contributes to preventing corruption through education, which is of vital significance for social integrity in general. Integrity culture results from the combination of corruption prevention and culture construction, which involves four levels: concept, system, support and behavior.

In view of this, this major research project “Improving the Effectiveness and Pertinence of the Integrity Culture Construction in Education System” (project number: 12JZDO47) sponsored by MOE contributed five papers to launch a discussion on the related issues.

The topic of the first paper is “an empirical analysis of the current construction of integrity culture in Chinese education system”. Based on the analysis of a national survey (2,957sampls), the research team gained a clear understanding of the current situation and summarized the success and the existing problems from four aspects (concept, system, support and behavior). An in-depth analysis was conducted on how to improve the integrity culture of education system in China. The second paper focuses on the nature of integrity culture in education, which involves morality, fairness and rule of law.

In the third paper, the authors discuss integrity, risk prevention and the governance of modern universities. It’s suggested that universities should take the restriction and supervision of power as the core, the system reform and mechanism innovation as the dynamic, and the construction of universities governance as the key point. In addition, it’s necessary to strengthen risk governance mechanisms to ensure the proper enrolment, financial management, research fund, and etc.

The goal of constructing an integrity culture in universities is analyzed in the fourth paper. The goal of cultivating students embodies the coherence of the education and corruption prevention. The key to cultivating students is developing integrity character, which is a subtle process. Therefore, it is essential to have a comprehensive design, including educating students through the curriculum, management and environment.

How to activate research productivity by standardized fund management is discussed in the fifth paper. China's development is driven by innovation rather than by elements, and the importance of funding scientific researches and innovation is growing. However, the dilemma is how to deal with rigid fund regulations and the flexible innovation excitation. Based on international experience, the authors propose that the key solution is not only to strengthen budget management and follow the rules of scientific research, but also to establish a new system to facilitate the scientific researches and innovation.

integrity; culture, education system; character; governance; fund management