Yannan CAO
caoyannan@bfsu.edu.cn
Assistant Professor
Prior to joining BFSU, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Tsinghua University’s Institute of Education, where I participated in the Ministry of Education’s national evaluation of the “Double First-Class” Initiative. My current research continues to examine world-class university and discipline development, with particular focus on higher education governance mechanisms. More broadly, my interests include education policy and governance, higher education, comparative education.
Education
Ph.D., Policy, Administration and Social Sciences Education, The University of Hong Kong
M.A., Higher Education, Beijing Normal University
B.A., Economics and Business Administration, Beijing Normal University
Research Fields
Social and Policy Studies in Education
Higher Education Reforms, Development and Evaluation
Comparative Education
University Governance
Teaching
Sociology of Education (graduate course)
Higher Education Governance (graduate course)
Frontiers of Higher Education Reform and Development (graduate course)
Education Policy and Administration (undergraduate course)
Representative works
Cao, Y. (2025). Academic Exploration of Socialist Educational Modernization in the Early Stage of the People’s Republic of China: Case Study of Cao Fu’s Educational Research and Practice. Education Sciences in China, 8(1),89-99.
（Chinese：曹燕南，新中国成立初期社会主义教育现代化的学术探索——以曹孚的教育研究与实践为例，《中国教育科学（中英文）》）
Xie, M., & Cao, Y. (2025). Research on Value Implications and Strategies for Enhancing the International Influence of Philosophy and Social Sciences at China's Leading Universities. University Education Science,(2),30-39.
（Chinese：谢梦&曹燕南（通讯作者），中国高水平大学哲学社会科学国际影响力发展的价值意蕴与策略研究，《大学教育科学》）
Cao, Y., & Yang, R. (2023). China’s Academic Excellence Initiatives. International Higher Education, (115), 12–14.
Cao, Y., & Shi, J. (2022). Spirit and Form: Some Envisions on the Construction of Quality Governance Mindset in Higher Education with Chinese Characteristics. China Higher Education Research,(8),69-75.
（Chinese：曹燕南&史静寰，神形兼备：中国特色高等教育质量治理思维建设的若干构想，《中国高教研究》）
Cao, Y., & Cao, N. (2021). Cao Fu and Early Exploration of the Sinicization of Marxist Education Theory. Educational Research,42(5),148-159.
（Chinese：曹燕南&曹南来，曹孚与马克思主义教育理论中国化的早期探索，《教育研究》）
Cao, Y. (2025). The Practice of Learner-Centered Higher Education Evaluation—Characteristics and Implications of British Teaching Excellence Framework. Jiangsu Higher Education,(3),13-20.
（Chinese：曹燕南，以“学”为中心的高校教学评价实践——英国“教学卓越框架”的特点与启示，《江苏高教》）
Cao, Y., & Yang, R. (2019). World-Class University Construction and Higher Education Governance Reform in China: A Policy Trajectory. In C.D. Wan, M. Lee & H.Y. Loke (Eds.), The Governance and Management of Universities in Asia (pp. 21-42). New York: Routledge.
Research Grants (As Principle Investigator)
“A Study on the Operational Mechanisms of World-Class University Development Policies from an International Comparative Perspective”, the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of the Ministry of Education (grant number 24YJC880006), 2024-
（Chinese：教育部人文社会科学研究青年基金项目《国际比较视野下世界一流大学建设政策的作用机制研究》）
“Assessing University Governance under China's 'Double First-Class' Policy Framework”, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant
number 2022QD011). 2022-2025
（Chinese：中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金资助项目《“双一流”建设背景下中国特色院校治理评价研究》）
Academic Affiliations
Peer Reviewer for Studies in Higher Education and other leading journals in the field.
