On April 14, 2026, as part of the 2026 International Academic Week, the delegation from East China Normal University’s (ECNU) Faculty of Education visited Teachers College, Columbia University.An academic symposium titled “New Frontiers of Education Policy and Evaluation in China” was held at Grace Dodge Hall.
The symposium was moderated by Dr. Henan Cheng (Executive Director and Principal Investigator, Center on Chinese Education, Teachers College), who highlighted the long - standing collaboration between the two institutions.
Professor Thomas Hatch (Professor at Teachers College and Director of NCREST) delivered welcome remarks, reflecting on the deep and sustained connections in Chinese education research and international academic cooperation.
The first session focused on educational development and economics.
Professor Yaozong Hu (Head of Educational Management and Professor at the Education Economics Lab, ECNU) presented on monitoring indicators for higher education, analyzing trends in scale expansion and structural optimization through core metrics like gross enrollment ratios.
Associate Professor Chen Xie (ECNU) shared a meta - analysis on the effects of vocational skills training on future earnings for unemployed youth.
Assistant Professor Renzhe Yu (Teachers College) discussed responsible AI and educational/social equity, emphasizing the need to consider application outcomes and fairness across multiple dimensions.
Dr. Dihao Leng (Chenhui Scholar, ECNU) examined whether new data adds value, drawing lessons from process data research in international large - scale assessments.
Dr. Jingwei Liu (Research Assistant Professor, ECNU) offered a learning sciences perspective on AI - supported deeper learning for educational evaluation and governance.
Associate Professor Alex Eble (Teachers College) explored the potential role of AI in educational research methods, data acquisition, and knowledge production.
Following the individual presentations, Dr. Henan Cheng moderated a panel discussion with Professors Hu, Xie, Yu, Leng, and Liu. The conversation ranged from higher education development and vocational training to AI - supported learning and educational data analysis, further expanding on the perspectives of Chinese and American scholars on educational transformation and research frontiers.
Early - career scholars also shared their research:
Duyu Li (PhD student, ECNU) analyzed talent introduction and management systems in higher vocational institutions in China.
Zhen Xu (PhD student, Teachers College) explored AI’s impact on syllabus analysis and higher - order competencies in higher education.
The ECNU Faculty of Education sincerely thanks Teachers College, Columbia University for a productive cross - cultural academic exchange. Stay tuned for more updates from Boston College and Harvard.
