A Comparison of Staff Professional Development Programmes at the First Sino-foreign University in Mainland China and the Largest Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) Institution in Hong Kong

James Walker and Dave Towey
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Ningbo, China

Ricky Yuk-kwan Ng
Vocational Training Council
Hong Kong SAR, China

It is critical that the management of tertiary level educators is not compromised by the use of uncalibrated practices. Continuing professional development (CPD) requires staff motivation to be effective. This study investigates the influence of two professional development programmes; one operates at a Sino-foreign university in mainland China and the other at a vocational and professional education and training (VPET) institution in Hong Kong Special Administration Region, China. The professional development programme at the university in mainland China has both voluntary and mandatory components and is accredited by the UK Higher Educational Academy. The professional development programme in the VPET institution in Hong Kong involves in-house mandatory training that is not externally accredited. This study is unique in that it investigates the effectiveness of a British professional development intervention in an Asian environment by comparing it to a staff capability-building programme developed by a VPET institution in Hong Kong. Through feedback from semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, staff opinions on both the professional development interventions yielded insights that can be useful for future proactive professional development strategies in institutions expanding their global outreach.

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