English-medium journals as a bridge: A study of Frontiers of Education in China

Abstract

International scholarly relations have been hegemonic in form and Euro-American in content. In academic publishing, inequalities have been widely sustained. This case is even worse in the human and social sciences. Despite a wealth of literature on such a longstanding theme, little research has focused on actual measures to combat the hegemony. Empirical studies have been especially lacking. Against the backdrop of a rising Chinese power, establishing English-medium learned journals is proactively designated to project China’s contemporary scholarship globally. Through content and citation analyses and interviews with three editors, this article empirically examines Frontiers of Education in China, China’s first English-medium journal in education to investigate how China engages with the international community in educational research. Reporting both interrogation and reproduction of the Anglo–American hegemony, the study calls for substantial cross-cultural intellectual dialogue and epistemological pluralism.