International Perspectives on Educational Reform Series – serie

In this volume, eight leading Japanese scholars present their research on profound and sensitive issues facing Japanese society, much of which has not been available to the English-speaking world. Travelling from Japan to engage in a unique forum at the University of California, they joined eminent professors Befu, DeVos, and Rohlen to bring over fifty leading scholars up to date on the global challenges facing Japan and how education has and will play into the reformulation of its identity. Chapters examine such topics as education policy changes, the education of minorities, including the Burakumin, the hegemony of college entrance examinations, social mobility and basic human rights, increased economic competition and global migration, political influences on educational reform, and the future of Japanese education.

Based on a major international teacher education research project—the Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century Study (MT21)—this book investigates the pre-service preparation of middle school mathematics teachers in the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Bulgaria, and Mexico. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and the participating countries. William Schmidt (co-author of the influential TIMSS study on student test results in science and math) and Maria Teresa Tatto (director of the Teacher Education and Development study or TEDS-M) led a collaborative team of international researchers in this study. Using the results of more than 2,500 surveys, the authors examine the differential contribution of the six countries’ teacher-education models to the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of their future mathematics teachers. Case studies and detailed analysis of the teacher education curriculum across the participating countries provide rich contextual information to explain the survey findings. This study is the first to examine the resource allocation and economic support in teacher education vis-à-vis other mathematics-related professions, and shows that differential investment patterns are consistent with the level of teaching knowledge found in each country’s new teachers. The book includes a chapter on policy implications, with a special focus on teacher preparation in the United States.

Inspired by the work of the late Dr. Jacqueline Kirk, this book takes a penetrating look at the challenges of delivering quality education to the approximately 39 million out-of-school children around the world who live in situations affected by violent conflict. With chapters by leading researchers on education in war and other conflict zones, the volume provides a comprehensive and critical overview of the links between conflict and children’s access to education, as well as a review of the policies and approaches taken by those offering international assistance in this area. Empirical case studies drawn from diverse contexts―Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Uganda (among others)―offer readers a deeper understanding of the educational needs of these children and the practical challenges to meeting these needs. This inspiring collection:Extends the legacy of the work that Jacqueline Kirk passionately pursued in her lifetime.Includes several pieces of Jackie’s writings plus new chapters from preeminent scholars in the field of education in conflict.Focuses on lessons that can be learned from the views of children and educators on the ground. Introduces cutting-edge approaches to field research, including impact evaluation and the use of photo-narrative.Presents promising policy developments and pioneering programs that are making a difference in the lives of children affected by conflict.

This edited collection explores the possibilities, perils, and politics of constructing a regional identity. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a multinational institution comprised of 10 member states, is dedicated to building a Southeast Asian regional identity that includes countries along Southeast Asia’s Mekong River delta: Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. After successfully establishing an economic community in 2015, where capital and people can freely move across national borders, ASEAN and its partners now aim to develop a sociocultural community that is fully functional in a wide range of sectors by 2025. As part of this vision, ASEAN wishes to construct a regional identity by uniting over 600 million people, which will be achieved partly through national school systems that teach shared histories. In this text, the contributors critically examine the many questions that arise in the face of this significant change: What does an ASEAN identity look like? Is it even possible or desirable to create a common identity across the diverse peoples of Southeast Asia? Given the divergent memories of history, how would a regional identity exist alongside national identity? Memory in the Mekong grapples with these questions by exploring issues of shared history, national identity, and schooling in a region that is frequently underexamined and underrepresented in Western scholarship. Book Features:First comparative study of regional identity and schools in the Mekong. In-depth analysis of UNESCO Bangkok’s Shared Histories project.Use of historical memory theoretical tools to understand identity formation, extending the work on imagined communities.Chapters written by researchers from across the Mekong.