Education as a Political Tool in Asia

Education as a Political Tool in Asia
Author: Marie Lall
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2009-01-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134055129

This book offers a fresh and comparative approach in questioning what education is being used for and what the effects of the politicisation of education are on Asian societies in the era of globalisation. Education has been used as a political tool throughout the ages and across the whole world to define national identity and underlie the political rationale of regimes. In the contemporary, globalising world there are particularly interesting examples of this throughout Asia, ranging from the new definition of Indian national identity as a Hindu identity (to contrast with Pakistan's Islamic identity), to particular versions of nationalism in China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. In Asia education systems have their origins in processes of state formation aimed either at bolstering 'self-strengthening' resistance to the encroachments of Western and/or Asian imperialism, or at furthering projects of post-colonial nation-building. State elites have sought to popularise powerful visions of nationhood, to equip these visions with a historical 'back-story', and to endow them with the maximum sentimental charge. This book explores all of these developments, emphasising that education is seen by nations across Asia, as elsewhere, as more than simply a tool for economic development, and that issues of national identity and the tolerance - or lack of it - of ethnic, cultural or religious diversity can be at least as important as issues of literacy and access. Interdisciplinary and unique in its analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars of political science, research in education and Asian Studies.

Education as a Political Tool in Asia

Education as a Political Tool in Asia
Author: Marie Lall
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2010-06-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0415595363

This book offers a fresh and comparative approach in questioning what education is being used for and what the effects of the politicisation of education are on Asian societies in the era of globalisation. Education has been used as a political tool throughout the ages and across the whole world to define national identity and underlie the political rationale of regimes. In the contemporary, globalising world there are particularly interesting examples of this throughout Asia, ranging from the new definition of Indian national identity as a Hindu identity (to contrast with Pakistan's Islamic identity), to particular versions of nationalism in China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. In Asia education systems have their origins in processes of state formation aimed either at bolstering 'self-strengthening' resistance to the encroachments of Western and/or Asian imperialism, or at furthering projects of post-colonial nation-building. State elites have sought to popularise powerful visions of nationhood, to equip these visions with a historical 'back-story', and to endow them with the maximum sentimental charge. This book explores all of these developments, emphasising that education is seen by nations across Asia, as elsewhere, as more than simply a tool for economic development, and that issues of national identity and the tolerance - or lack of it - of ethnic, cultural or religious diversity can be at least as important as issues of literacy and access. Interdisciplinary and unique in its analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars of political science, research in education and Asian Studies.

The Strong State and Curriculum Reform

The Strong State and Curriculum Reform
Author: Leonel Lim
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2016-04-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317579224

As Asian education systems increasingly take on a stronger presence on the global educational landscape, of special interest is an understanding of the ways in which many of these states direct their schools towards higher achievement. What is missing, however, are accounts that take seriously the particular construction of the strong, developmental state witnessed across many Asian societies, and that seek to understand the politics and possibilities of curriculum change vis a vis precisely the dominance of such a state. By engaging in analyses based on some of the best current social and cultural theories, and by illuminating the interactions among various state and non-state pedagogic agents, the chapters in this volume account for the complex post-colonial, historical and cultural consciousnesses that many Asian states and societies experience. At a time when much of the educational politics in Asia remains in a state of transition and as many of these states seek out through the curriculum new forms of social control and novel bases of political legitimacy, such a volume offers enduring insights into the real if not also always relative autonomy that schools and communities maintain in countering the hegemonic presence of strong states.

Critical Studies of Education in Asia

Critical Studies of Education in Asia
Author: Leonel Lim
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0429785275

Critical Studies of Education in Asia features analyses that take seriously the complex postcolonial, historical, and cultural consciousnesses felt across societies in Asia, and that bring these to bear on the changing terrain of knowledge, subjectivities, and power relations constructed both within schools and across the public sphere. In documenting the multiple sites of conflict and contestation both between and within states in Asia and a host of pedagogic agents – ministries of education, state boards and agencies, schools, teachers and teacher unions, university departments of education, local interest groups, the media, international standards agencies, and global educational reform discourses – the chapters in this volume illuminate the struggles over knowledge, education, and the work of schools. Faced with emergent global and local forces that are determined to challenge ‘official’ knowledge and to offer alternative understandings of education and society in Asia, this volume offers critical insights for academic researchers, policy- makers, and graduate students seeking to understand the tensions and possibilities of educational change in the region. This book was originally published as a special issue of Curriculum Inquiry.

Education and Political Transition

Education and Political Transition
Author: Mark Bray
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This edition throws light on the links between education and political transition in a dynamic part of the world. Themes addressed by the book include globalization, internationalization and localization; democratization and nationalization; and liberal versus democratic approaches.

Civic Education in the Asia-Pacific Region

Civic Education in the Asia-Pacific Region
Author: John L. Cogan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2013-12-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135322120

This book examines the approach to civic education in six societies located on the Pacific Rim: Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and the US. In these scrupulously designed studies, the contributors investigate the recent re-emergence of civic education in this region. Developments such as globalization, nationalism, and sovereignty have profound effects on how schools make "good citizens." These essays reveal how definitions of citizenship are contested and revised under such influences, and interrogate differences in civic education from nation to nation. As societies attempt to strike a balance between obedience and critical thinking, schools become the primary site of these transformations. Analyzing both educational policy and its implementation, these contributors offer a groundbreaking, comparative study that grounds civic education historically and politically.

Asia as Method in Education Studies

Asia as Method in Education Studies
Author: Hongzhi Zhang
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2015-02-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317663640

Unlearning and re-inventing the theoretical frameworks of Intercultural and Asian Studies is central to this book as it is to Chen Kuan-Hsing’s evocative Asia as Method; this book’s inspirational source. Chen insists that studies of Asia move beyond their paralysing fixation on the West as either a positive or negative referent and that they develop their own standpoints, reference points and research agendas. Asia as Method in Education Studies, is therefore, a provocative and suggestive exploration of educational ideas imported from the West. Chen’s challenge provokes the writers in this collection to consider the implications of colonial and imperialist forces for education systems, policies and practices as well as for educational research itself. The writers offer examples of what it means to rethink and re-examine education in Asia beyond both the Western imperialist eye and the post-colonial ‘politics of resentment’. Asia as Method in Education Studies combines the diverse research of scholars from various countries of Asia as they consider, for example: Struggles to Construct New Research Imaginations in Response to Chen’s Challenges East-West Dialogue: Three Cases in Chinese Educational Research "Asia as [a] method" of Complexity and Dialogue Generalizing the Self? Asianizing Perspectives on International Education and the Formation of Self Against Asia-centric Methods: Australia-China Theoretic-linguistic Knowledge Co-production Highly anticipated for its novel contemporary perspectives, this book offers researchers specialising in educational studies and policy-making fresh practices of thought.

Critical Studies of Education in Asia

Critical Studies of Education in Asia
Author: Taylor & Francis Group
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2020-12-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9780367729868

Critical Studies of Education in Asia features analyses that take seriously the complex postcolonial, historical, and cultural consciousnesses felt across societies in Asia, and that bring these to bear on the changing terrain of knowledge, subjectivities, and power relations constructed both within schools and across the public sphere. In documenting the multiple sites of conflict and contestation both between and within states in Asia and a host of pedagogic agents - ministries of education, state boards and agencies, schools, teachers and teacher unions, university departments of education, local interest groups, the media, international standards agencies, and global educational reform discourses - the chapters in this volume illuminate the struggles over knowledge, education, and the work of schools. Faced with emergent global and local forces that are determined to challenge 'official' knowledge and to offer alternative understandings of education and society in Asia, this volume offers critical insights for academic researchers, policy- makers, and graduate students seeking to understand the tensions and possibilities of educational change in the region. This book was originally published as a special issue of Curriculum Inquiry.

Designing History in East Asian Textbooks

Designing History in East Asian Textbooks
Author: Gotelind Mueller
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136826912

This book analyses the efforts throughout East Asia to deploy education for purposes of political socialization, and in particular in order to shape notions of identity. The chapters also examine the trend of ‘common textbook initiatives’, which have recently emerged in East Asia with the aim of helping to defuse tensions arguably fuelled by existing practices of mutual (mis)representation. These are analysed in relation to the East Asian political context, and compared with previous and ongoing endeavours in other parts of the world, particularly Europe, which have been keenly observed by East Asian practitioners. Written by a group of international education experts, chapters discuss the enduring focus on the role of curricula in inculcating homogenous visions of the national self, and indeed homogenized visions of significant 'others'. Including contributions from scholars and curriculum developers involved personally in the writing of national and multi-national history textbooks this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian education, Asian history and comparative education studies. Gotelind Müller is Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany

International Handbook on Education Development in the Asia-Pacific

International Handbook on Education Development in the Asia-Pacific
Author: Wing On Lee
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 2588
Release: 2023-11-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 981196887X

The Springer International Handbook of Educational Development in Asia Pacific breaks new ground with a comprehensive, fine-grained and diverse perspective on research and education development throughout the Asia Pacific region. In 13 sections and 127 chapters, the Handbook delves into a wide spectrum of contemporary topics including educational equity and quality, language education, learning and human development, workplace learning, teacher education and professionalization, higher education organisations, citizenship and moral education, and high performing education systems. The Handbook is grounded in specific Asia Pacific contexts and scholarly traditions, using unique country-specific narratives, for example, Vietnam and Melanesia, and socio-cultural investigations through lenses such as language identity or colonisation, while offering parallel academic discourse and analyses framed by broader policy commentary from around the world.