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A recent global reconnaissance of Christian higher education found a number of key themes that shaped current developments, such as the pressing challenges of secularization and nationalization but also the advantages of privatization and massification. This article provides an update to this older analysis by taking a birds-eye view of trends within the past 70 years of global Christian higher education. It reveals that privatization and massification trends do not predict new developments in countries and outliers always exist. Furthermore, it highlights some findings missed in previous analyses related to the importance of indigenous Christian groups and Christian general education.

UNESCO's relatively high prestige across East Asia has spurred intensifying efforts by governments to use its imprimatur to legitimate official narratives of the past and visions of the future. This article focuses on China's use of UNESCO as an arena for competitive national 'branding' in the education field, especially relating to STEM and AI. We analyse the Chinese state's engagement with UNESCO's education work in the context of shifts in budgetary and political influence within the organisation, and of a growing 'securitisation' of education within China itself. We show how Chinese engagement with UNESCO's educational agenda reflects both domestic political considerations and the 'major country diplomacy' of Xi Jinping, as manifested in the 'Belt and Road Initiative' and intensifying strategic competition with the USA. We conclude by discussing the implications of rising Chinese influence within the organisation for UNESCO's capacity for articulating a coherent and consistently humanistic vision for education.

This article aims to unpack global-local dynamics in education drawing on the cases of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and ASEAN Citizenship Education in Cambodia. By analysing recent education strategies and policies, curriculum framework, and textbooks, this paper unveils (a) to what extent have ESD and ASEAN citizenship been incorporated in education plans and policies, as well as curriculum and textbooks, (b) what changes are there in the discourses around each norm over time; and (c) how has the ministry appropriated these two norms similarly and differently to fit its agenda. These two cases highlight the fact that nation-(re)building has been, and still is, the key development agenda in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, and this agenda works as a filter through which transnational norms are interpreted and appropriated. A comparison between the two cases also highlights that the ministry strategically utilises time to achieve their best interests.

Recent calls for the decolonization of the academy demand recognition for diverse canons of knowledge. Asia's economic ascent also imparts rising confidence among Asian scholars and institutions to promote indigenous knowledge. While these global calls for emancipation are invigorating, decolonial scholarship is prone to sterile theorization, historical fixity, and an overt romanticization of the Global South. Drawing on my lived experiences as an Asian academic, I reflect on decolonization and Asian epistemology from five different spaces in my life: (1) Northern Europe, (2) Toronto, (3) Southeast Asia, (4) Kazakhstan and (5) the United Kingdom. I analyze these spaces by using the concepts of intellectual captivity and decolonization from Syed Hussein Alatas and Kuan-Hsing Chen. Specifically, the tendency for decolonization movements to descend into nationalism, nativism, and civilizationalism provides provocative insights on epistemic justice (Chen, 2010). I demonstrate how epistemology as practice can reveal a colonial mindset even among academics who engage in social justice discourse and international work. I also highlight examples of indigenous knowledge that reinforce inequality based on race, gender, sexual orientation and religion. As more individuals with hybrid identities (race, culture, and nationality) enter academe and pursue careers that require international mobility, it is imperative that decolonization moves beyond reductive categories of identity that reproduce stereotypes. I conclude with reflections on the role of comparative and international education research in decolonization movements.

Methodological nationalism (MN) pervades higher education scholarship and practice, particularly in the arena of globalisation of higher education (HE) (Shahjahan and Kezar 2013). MN refers to the assumption that national boundaries define the natural category or unit of analysis for society. Drawing on affect theories, this conceptual article aims to problematise how the 'nation state' as a natural category (or container) pervades global HE practices and policies. Affect refers to emotions, responses, reactions and feelings that are relational and transpersonal, and an object's (e.g., nation-state) continuous emergence and unfolding in a world driven by intensities and feelings. Based on three real-life examples in/about South Asian HE, we demonstrate how the 'nation-state' category comes into being (and becomes 'sticky') through the experienced and imagined encounters among: (a) individuals, (b) national policy and (c) transnational actors. We show how, through imaginaries and practices, the 'global' manifested through using the 'nation-state', indicating a strong and evolving relationship between the two categories, informed by emotional and imaginative futures. We argue that an affect lens illuminates how MN is perpetuated as the nation-state becomes a naturalised container for (potential) encounters in the enactments of HE globalisation and moving beyond MN requires an ontological shift.

The engagement of quality assurance in the recognition process of overseas qualifications became an emerging issue in Asian nations with the increased interest in student mobility in the region in the 21st Century. This study explores the links between quality assurance and qualification recognition, and approaches adopted within national regulatory frameworks in the Asia Pacific region from the perspective of quality assurance agencies. Three major findings are obtained. First, governments are primarily responsible for academic qualification recognition in Asia. Second, professional qualification recognition is heavily restricted by governments due to nationalism and protectionism within the job market. Third, a divergence model between quality assurance and qualification recognition exists in the Asian context.

Emma Willard's map-drawing geographic pedagogy revolutionized early nineteenth-century American education, turning students into participants in the crafting of the new nation. This essay explores the conditions under which map drawing was transported to American missionary schools in South Asia and helped instigate a Tamil nation in British Ceylon. What did the missionaries intend the teaching method to impart? What were the consequences of this pedagogical form on dominant Tamil portrayals of space and identity in Ceylon? To answer these questions and to track the foreign career of American didactic mapmaking, this essay draws on print and manuscript archival materials, including two maps by a Tamil student at the American Ceylon Mission named Robert Breckenridge. The essay argues that the use of map-drawing pedagogy in Ceylon partially transmitted American ways of being in the world, which were consequential for local spatial knowledges and the crafting of a Tamil national identity on the island.

The author examines whether gains of learning of Asian students are the same or different if they are from (a) East Asia, (b) South and Central Asia, or (c) Southeast Asia at undergraduate and graduate levels. Results indicated that East Asian students' gains of learning in personal development, science and development, general education, vocational preparation, and intellectual skills were statistically different from other students from South and Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Graduate Asian students' gains of learning in all domains were found higher than undergraduate Asian students' gains of learning. Based on these findings, the author offers implications and recommendations for educators and practitioners to improve international students' support and their college experience.

A developmental model of children's understanding of nationality (Nationality Perspective-Taking Ability or NPTA) was proposed and evaluated in this study. The NPTA model expands extant definitions and provides a theoretical foundation for the developmental progression of national identity. Children (Mean age = 9.33 years) from Latin American and Asian countries who were sojourners in the U. S. for an average of 20.70 months were administered the NPTA assessment and scored according to the NPTA model. Results indicated children's understanding of nationality was predicted by children's chronological age and by the amount of their cross-national exposure. Additionally, the relative importance of children's identification with their national, racial and linguistic status was explored. A developmental trend revealed that children's identification with nationality increases across age while identification with racial status declines across age.

This article explores language policy in Southeast Asia, focussing on two recent state and other institutional reform efforts and directions: one towards English, and the other towards the mother tongues. However, what needs to be highlighted is the bifurcated nature of language policy reforms in the region. That is, these two policy directions are rarely conceptualized together. In terms of implementation, they are mobilized independently as if they are products of completely different phenomena. A set of broad assumptions upon which policies and policy reforms should be based must be articulated. Educational and social justice, nationalism, and global competitiveness saturate discussion on language policies in the region. With a coherent and inclusive framing of this discussion, language policies should unite -- not divide -- people.

In the last few years, there has been a growing trend of anti-globalism and the rise of nationalism spreading across different parts of the world. Promoting internationalisation of Higher Education has brought with it the globally connected phenomenon with regard to inter-university collaboration and student mobility across national borders but also the locally divided phenomenon when people question the value of international education. Recent elections not only in Europe and the United Kingdom but also in the United States show the rise of popularism and nationalism. Against such a wider sociopolitical context an increasing number of people believe the call for internationalisation of education has indeed favoured the elite and the rich but marginalised the poor. The major objective of this article is to set out the wider policy context for the present special issue with a theme of 'Transnationalisation of Higher Education and Student/Faculty Mobility'. More specifically, this article identifies and discusses key issues confronting the growing tides of transnationalisation and internationalisation of Higher Education, highlighting the major arguments presented by the selected articles in this issue. This article concludes by critically examining the implications of internationalisation/transnationalisation of Higher Education for education policy and university governance.

In spite of the fact that historical issues are challenges of political education, Japanese educational studies have not been able to properly deal with them. One of the reasons is that Japanese educational researchers have accepted without question the presence of nationalistic understanding of history as the most important cause of the difficulties in East Asia, while supporting textbook lawsuits over the last few decades. On this point, it is unreasonable to compare Japan with Germany which is more progressive in terms of overcoming its past, and to conclude that the undemocratic nature of the Japanese culture has bred such a social situation. Austria, which is deemed to be culturally closer to Germany than Japan, has likewise experienced history problems repeatedly since the 1980s. What this suggests is that the degree of progress made in efforts to critically examine history is dependent on the country's international environment rather than on its own culture. This understanding corresponds with a recognition that has gained increasing acceptance over recent years, which is that Japan is not necessarily the sole party at fault in these historical conflicts in East Asia. Needless to say, this does not release the Japanese and Japanese educational research from their special responsibility to deal with these issues. What is demanded of Japanese educational research today is to reveal what sort of axis of conflicts has been formed over the understanding of history in each of the post-war East Asian countries, and how they interact with each other across national borders. By seriously addressing this task, Japanese educational research will be able to construct a new research field that can respond to the expectations of peoples beyond East Asia who either already have faced or may face similar problems in the future. (Contains 9 notes.)

This paper discusses structural and ideological challenges to mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) which has in recent years been gaining ground in many educational contexts around the world. The paper argues, however, that MTB-MLE is set against these challenges - referred to here as inequalities of multilingualism - which prevent MTB-MLE from being implemented successfully. The first section provides a brief background of significant phenomena which have led to the emergence of MTB-MLE as a viable form of education around the world. The second section describes some features of inequalities of multilingualism by situating the paper within sociolinguistic and sociopolitical contexts in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, to be followed further in the third section with a more targeted discussion of such inequalities using a recent case of linguistic discrimination in the Philippines as an example. The paper highlights the continuing vulnerabilities of mother tongues in education even if official discourse and policy seem to work for them.

The English language is significant to the internationalisation of higher education worldwide. Countries in Asia are proactive in appropriating English for their national interests, while paying attention to associated national cultural identity issues. This article examines the ways in which the role of English is interpreted and justified in different countries in Asia, with a particular focus on Japan, as these nations attempt to internationalise their higher education within the broader processes of regionalisation and globalisation and their own nationalist discourse. Through critical analyses and discussions of Japan's two major government initiatives, the Action Plan 2003 to "Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities" and the "Global 30" Project 2008, the article investigates how cultural national identities are shaped, are altered and are put "at risk" in policies and practices for the internationalisation of higher education and the overemphasis on English. It argues for the importance of understanding the intersections of English language policy, the internationalisation of higher education and national cultural identity and also considers how the over-promotion of English in the case of Japan has been energetically driven by the nation building agenda that tends to undermine local languages and what this might mean for internationalisation.

Identity in south Asia was anchored by, on the one end, community, and on the other, an appreciation of sub-continental (geographical and cultural) space. People, historically, drew their identity as part of communities, which in turn existed in continuity to each-other in the seamless regional expanse of south Asia. Imagination as nationals--a post-colonial construct--faced contestations, both, from community affiliations and spatial imagination contrary to the territorial--modular form of nation-state. As a response, the state fabricated the idea of "patriotic-citizen" and used nationalist historiography to create citizens who are taught to believe the nation as prime-marker of self-definition and act like soldiers, guarding national identity against alternative imaginations. Education has become the most potent devise through which this is achieved. The article, on the basis of textbook narratives in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, would demonstrate (i) how educational practices build a militarist idea of citizenship and, (ii) in doing so co-opts the demands of community by showing the nation as vindication of community-aspirations and on the other hand erasing conceptualisation of a south Asian space from cognitive maps of its subjects. The idea of "active" citizenship understands "active" as responsible citizenship, emphasising a right based discourse. On the contrary education in south Asia is used to "activate" citizenship which is relational in content--based on ideas of "us" versus "them"--instead of allowing critical understanding of rights and identities.

This essay seeks to explore the representation of Asia in Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi's "El Periquillo Sarniento" (1816), which is often considered the first novel produced in Latin America. Although many scholars have examined the picaresque element as well as the nationalist aspect of the novel, the Asian presence in Fernandez de Lizardi's narrative has not received the attention that it deserves. My analysis focuses on the main character's voyage to the Philippines and the fictional Pacific island of Saucheofu, two places through which the author envisions an alternative model of society for colonial Mexico. The Philippines represents an ideal space in two ways: first, the protagonist begins the process of becoming an upright individual in Manila; and second, the discourse of antislavery can be articulated in an Asian country while it is prohibited in Mexico. Furthermore, Saucheofu symbolizes the idea of "utopia" to some extent, because of its exemplary system of productivity and the highly controlled mechanism of law and punishment. By studying the importance of these countries in the Far East, I propose a reading of "El Periquillo Sarniento" as the first transpacific novel in Latin American literature. (Contains 7 notes.)

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Kazakhs did not make up the majority of the population in their own titular state. Since then, Kazakhs have become the majority ethnic group and the government revised the education system to reflect this demographic change. Education is an important tool for shaping national identity in a multiethnic state, especially one undergoing demographic shifts. This article is a snapshot of how the demographic change in Kazakhstan has affected education and in turn how this is shaping national identity on young generations. This transformation is important to monitor and understand as Kazakhstan continues to develop and become an important security partner and increasingly vital source of energy supplies for Asia and Europe.

A unit on China's ethnicities provides students rich opportunities to explore multiple themes in the social studies while helping them to develop a deeper understanding of recent events in western China. Studying China's ethnic minorities encompasses such topics as stereotyping, cultural diversity, the creation of ethnic identities, and key historical and geographic concepts. The rise to dominance of Han Chinese culture within East Asia, the nature of Han/non-Han relations, the emergence of nation-states and nationalism, and the development of ethnic and political identities are major threads in world history. Finally, a study of the modern period presents students with opportunities to examine questions of power, authority, governance, human and civil rights, and international relations. Regardless of which thematic vehicle students use, they should be able to demonstrate an understanding of these key points: (1) Definitions of diversity vary among cultures and change over time; (2) Ethnic identities are not immutable; they result from a variety of forces--self, group, other groups and the state--and are negotiated or evolve over time; (3) The development of the majority Han Chinese identity and its relationship with minority groups has a complex history; (4) The emergence of nationalism is a relatively new development in world history; (5) The roots of the current issues in Tibet and Xinjiang go back to the expansion of the Qing Empire, the emergence of European-style nationalism, and the conflict between "empire" and "nation-state" that began with European expansion; (6) The designation, "nationalities" ("minzu") in China is the result of influence from Soviet social science; and (7) Modern concepts of civil and human rights are understood differently in different settings, both by those engaged in struggles for them and by those accused of repressing them. Helping students to develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the events in western China is not the only reason for spending class time investigating minorities in China. Through a rigorous examination of the Chinese case, students also develop a better understanding of the complexities of ethnic and political identities, questions of sovereignty, and civil and human rights globally, while they develop and hone their skills in critical analysis, persuasion, reading, writing, and action. (Contains 5 notes and 7 online resources.)

Research on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has hitherto attracted scholarly attention and debate by both regional and international scholars working in area studies, such as international relations and Asia-Pacific/Southeast Asia studies. Confined to area studies, scholarly research on ASEAN is limiting because the parameters of research are invariably locked into issues related to economics, politics, security, and trade development in and around the region. Notably, education has been an under-researched topic. On the cusp of its 40th anniversary ASEAN envisages the formation of an ASEAN identity and socio-cultural community. As a point of departure from area studies, this paper engages in "regionalist thinking" about ASEAN, education and identity making. This "regionalist thinking" is, however, only thinkable and imaginable with reference to the "global," because as a region ASEAN, whether perceived in geographical or in spatial terms, is part of the global sphere in which it is embedded. I argue in this paper that while historically education and schooling are directly related to the imaginaries of nation building and national identity making, the call for the creation of an ASEAN identity and the formation of a socio-cultural community requires that nation states in the region deparochialize education and redesign pedagogies that "teach and learn beyond the nation." (Contains 3 notes.)

The strength of nationalism in East Asia has in recent years attracted a great deal of attention, both among the scholarly community and in the media. However, with the notable exception of Japan, little attention has been devoted to the subject of history education. As a result, the ways in which history education across the region both influences and is influenced by the politics of nationalism and identity is poorly understood. The purpose of this special issue is to begin to address this gap in the literature, and this introductory chapter briefly surveys the historical and ideological context within which debates over history education have taken place, highlighting some of the similarities and differences between European and Asian experience in this field. It concludes with a summary of the themes and issues covered by the remaining chapters in this issue

Surveys the existing treatment of Asia in upper elementary and secondary social studies textbooks. Treats improvements needed in such areas as: (1) global issues important to Asia, (2) content and approach, (3) economics and politics, (4) geography and resources, (5) international relations, and (6) treatment of subregions. Provides a comprehensive list of Asian Study Centers and instructional materials. (JDH)

As both a geographical and civilizational category, Asia is and remains a European creation. Its questioning is therefore part of the anti-colonial project in both India and China, where it is part of the sometimes fitful and contradictory way in which imperialism has been simultaneously inherited and repudiated. The economic and political emergence of both countries as global powers has made this inheritance relevant again, this time as a focus of identification, and their futures are bound up with how these states deal with the idea and reality of empire as their nationalisms begin to fragment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of China has led some commentators to claim that Asia will dominate the twenty-first century. In this article the author argues that, to the extent that countries in the region define and understand their politics in Western terms, the rise of Asia will simply continue the influence of modernity that had its origins in the West. In order to demonstrate this case, the author examines the character of political legitimacy in the region, which is founded on the concept of the state, an idea derived from the West. The modern state form has provided considerable advantages to countries in the region, bestowing international legitimacy on those that claim sovereignty, endowing smaller nations with increased political power in international negotiations, and allowing states to use the idea of non-intervention to shield themselves from international scrutiny. But the concept of the state has also defined new territorial boundaries superimposed on pre-existing political, ethnic and traditional sources of power, thereby creating new problems of legitimacy. In confronting and negotiating these challenges, Asian states have resorted to Western concepts of legitimacy, including democracy, nationalism and performance. Thus, an examination of the politics of legitimacy in Asia reveals the extent to which countries in the region are fundamentally shaped in their architecture of governance and their conception of legitimacy by Western ideas. The success of Asia in the twenty-first century will therefore not introduce a new type of ‘Asian’ global politics, or restore a more ancient kind, but simply confirm the dominance of modernity in shaping thought and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Typologies are widely used in the field of intercultural communication to explain cultural differences. Especially the typology ‘individualism versus collectivism’ (I/C) is a central theoretical construct in cross-cultural comparison. But are such typologies really suited for explaining cultural phenomena? Is their explanatory power limited because the theoretical underpinnings are based on a Western mindset? And is using typologies as scientific models appropriate to explain intercultural incidents and uncover cultural patterns from a non-Western view as well? Do such typologies meet the demands of a modern view on the field of intercultural communication? This article casts a critical light on the appropriateness and applicability of typologies. The aim is twofold. The first part examines the limitations of typologies from an East Asian standpoint, bringing out the hidden cultural mindset on which this bipolar construct is built. The second part presents a model meant to contribute to a more profound debate between East Asian and Western views on intercultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia and Japan have come to rely on each other for their economic security. However, they both share a worrisome distancing from their Asian neighbours. For a variety of reasons—some similar, some dissimilar, but all of them potent—they remain outsiders in the Asia-Pacific region. They are often perceived as states that relate awkwardly, sometimes counterproductively within the region: with each other, and with other regional contenders and would-be partners. This is evident in the suspicious pragmatism with which a rising China, for example, treats both Japan and Australia—for different reasons but with almost identical consequences. The causes of this alienation from mainstream Asia lie first in Australia's clinging to its British past and its dependence on its alliance with the Unites States. Secondly, Japan's failure to face up to its record of militarism during the Pacific War seriously constrains its relations with countries in the region—all of whom suffered from the crazy Japanese ambition to create a `Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere'. And Japan's reliance on the US security umbrella aggravates its isolation. Australia and Japan need to work together to help overcome their respective though similar forms of estrangement within the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]