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Set against the backdrop of increasing economic interdependence in East Asia, the idea of regional integration is now being discussed as a long-term political process in the region. As in the field of the international economy, de facto integration and interdependence exist with respect to the internationalization of the higher education system in East Asia. Based on the results of a comprehensive Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI) survey of 300 leading higher education institutions active in cross-border higher education, located in ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member Southeast Asian countries and three Northeast Asian countries (China, Japan, and Korea), this paper examines universities perceptions of the degree of cross-border activities, the significance of their expected outcomes, and their regional preferences for partners. The objective is to envision a direction for a future regional higher education framework in East Asia and to consider the policy implications of the internationalization of higher education in East Asia in the context of regionalization. The findings related to the degree of cross-border activities suggest a current perception that there is more prominent in conventional than in innovative activities, but that innovation will rise considerably in the future. With respect to the significance of expected outcomes,academic and political expected outcome are perceived to be more significant than economic expected outcome, which are nevertheless expected to be more significant in the future. Finally, in terms of their preferred regions of partners, universities in East Asia overall place a high priority on building partnerships within their own region. Yet, among Northeast Asian universities, North America is perceived as the most active partner. (Contains 3 figures, 21 tables, and 13 footnotes.) [This paper was prepared as part of a Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI) research project titled, "Cross-border Higher Education for Regional Integration and the Labor Market in East Asia."]

The purpose of this study is to measure the comprehensibility of the Expanding Circle nations' citizens, namely Burmese, Cambodians, Indonesians, Laotians, Thais and Vietnamese towards the Outer Circle Englishes, namely Bruneian English, Malaysian English. Philippine English and Singaporean English. Ten universities in the Expanding Circle that participated in the study, namely Assumption University, Chiang Mai University, Khon Khaen University, King Mongkut University of Technology North Bangkok, Mahapanya Vidayalai University, Mahidol University, Prince of Songkla University Hat Yai Campus, Rajamangala University Srivijaya Songkhla Campus, and Rajamangala University Srivijaya Trang Campus in Thailand, and University of Riau in Indonesia. Participants in the data collection process consist of two hundred and one subjects in undergraduate and graduate level. Eight comprehension tests and a questionnaire were used as main tools in the data collection process. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were used to analyze the results of the comprehension tests and to reveal the questionnaire's results. The following are the results of the study. (1) The Englishes spoken in the Outer Circle were moderately comprehensible to the citizens of the Expanding Circle nations. Based on the standardized comprehensibility scales and levels set in this study, the comprehensibility scores of Bruneian English, Malaysian English, Philippine English and Singaporean English are M = 4.90, M = 5.57, M = 5.01, and M = 4.76 respectively. All fell under the moderate comprehensibility level set at 3.34-6.67. (2) The Expanding Circle citizens exhibited varying degrees of comprehensibility towards the Outer Circle Englishes. The least comprehensible variety among the Burmese is Malaysian English; among Laotians and Thais is Bruneian English; and among Cambodians, Indonesians and Vietnamese is Singaporean English. The most comprehensible varieties are Malaysian English among Cambodians, Thais and Vietnamese; Philippine English among Indonesians, and Singaporean English among Burmese and Laotians. (3) There are types of exposures related to the Expanding Circle's citizens' comprehension of Outer Circle Englishes. They are exposures to English through education, work experiences, outside the classroom, social media, and travelling and staying abroad. Based on Pearson correlation coefficients, this study established the positive significant correlations between graduate studies and comprehension scores at p less than 0.01 level. Positive significant correlations were also found between comprehension scores and several factors, namely exposure through work experiences at p less than 0.01 level, the use of social network and watching TV at p less than 0.05 level, reading newspapers and watching movies at p less than 0.01 level, and studying in Thailand at p less than 0.01 level. Based on ANOVA results, there was a significant effect of pre-school education on comprehension scores at F (3, 198) = 4.94, p = 0.002; primary education on comprehension scores at F (2, 199) = 6.93, p = 0.001; and, graduate studies on comprehension scores at F (3, 198) = 7.46, p = 0.000. However, there is no significant effect of secondary education and undergraduate studies on the subjects' comprehension scores. (Contains 6 tables. and 4 figures)

Using principles derived from critical pedagogy theory and constructs from motivation theory such as meta-cognition and self-regulation, the authors elicit teacher candidates' voices so as to deepen an understanding of the major factors that shape their identity in becoming teachers, especially in light of today's multicultural societies. They describe preservice and inservice teachers' responses to assignments that engaged them in using critical pedagogical processes which helped them operationalize a philosophy of their teaching and strengthened their motivations to teach. The findings support the importance of identifying and working with the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which teachers work and live. The participants spanned three university settings (two in the south western United States and one in Brunei, Darussalam), underscoring that the cultures within which teachers derive their identity play a significant role in shaping the many different types of "self" that are engaged in the social context of a teacher's practice at particular points in space and time. (Contains 1 table and 3 footnotes.)