This book examines how critical thinking is regulated in Singapore through the process of what the influential sociologist of education Basil Bernstein termed "pedagogic recontextualization". The ability of critical thinking to speak to alternative possibilities and individual autonomy as well as its assumptions of a liberal arrangement of society is problematized in Singapore’s socio-political climate. By examining how such curricular discourses are taken up and enacted in the classrooms of two schools that cater to very different groups in society, the book foregrounds the role of traditional high-status knowledge in the elaboration of class formation and develops a critical understanding of post-developmental state initiatives linked to the parable of modernization in Singapore. Knowledge, Control and Critical Thinking in Singapore offers chapters on: • Critical Thinking and the Singapore State: Meritocracy, Illiberalism and Neoliberalism • Sacred Knowledge and Elite Dispositions: Recontextualizing Critical Thinking in an Elite School • Power, Knowledge and Symbolic Control: Official Pedagogic Identities and the Politics of Recontextualization This book will appeal to scholars in comparative education studies, curriculum studies and education reform. It will also interest scholars engaged in Asian studies who are struggling to understand issues of education policy formation and implementation, particularly in the areas of critical thinking and other knowledge skills.

Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has become a globally-recognised industrial trading partner. With a 60% Muslim population, it also enjoys the reputation of being a moderate and peaceful nation. However, with just a short time left to realising its Vision 2020 of developed nationhood, the pathway of nation building still seems ambiguous. There is a brewing tension in its race and ethnic relations which has permeated the various fronts, namely politics, society, economics and education. This book analyses the education policies that have been formulated and implemented in Malaysia since independence. It demonstrates how these policy enactments have influenced the nation’s growth and transformation, and the challenges faced in creating a model of equity and multicultural co-existence among its racially and ethnically diversified people. Shedding light on these issues, it points towards the major mending that is needed for Malaysia to become a truly developed nation. Chapters include: Education of ethnic minorities in Malaysia: Contesting issues in a multiethnic society Access and equity issues in Malaysian higher education Graduate employability in government discourse: A critical perspective This comprehensive book is a case study on Malaysia that will supplement researchers and advance students in their understanding of a multi-racial society’s perspective and attitude towards education.

Since 1997 when Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, a string of education reforms have been introduced to improve the quality of education and maintain Hong Kong’s economic competitiveness in the age of globalization. This book provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of major issues and challenges faced by the education system, ranging from pre-school to higher education. It analyses the prospects for educational development in Hong Kong. It further addresses how the Hong Kong government has responded to the perceived challenges of the external environment and internal forces and explains the rationales for the actions taken. Not only does it review how the reform initiative challenges have been dealt with, it also reviews how effective these initiatives are and its implications on future directions.

This is the third volume of a trilogy on English Language education in Asia within the Routledge Critical Studies in Asian Education. Put together by editors and contributors selected by Asia TEFL, this book provides a timely and critical review of the current trends in tertiary level English education in Asia. It foregrounds the developments and trends, policies and implementation, as well as research and practice. Written by ELT scholars and educational leaders, this book presents articles on China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. While the authors focus on their own local issues, providing an overview of the state of tertiary English teaching in their respective territories, they also provide insights from their successes and failures which can help inspire solutions to similar challenges faced internationally in the field. Chapters in the book include: • Heading toward the global standardization of English education in Korean universities • English in tertiary education in India: A Janus-faced perspective with special reference to University of Delhi • Developing English language skills in the Singapore higher education context • ELT at tertiary institutions in China: A developmental perspective This book will be valued by administrators, researchers and scholars interested in bilingualism, language policy and planning in higher education.

Focusing on Singapore’s education system from an equity perspective, Chiong’s book describes the often unheard perspectives of socio-economically disadvantaged families in Singapore. The performance of Singaporean students on international education benchmarking tests has been widely recognised. Relatively less known is how socio-economically disadvantaged families negotiate Singapore’s highly competitive, stratifying and meritocratic system. Yet, families’ perspectives can provide crucial insight in understanding how policy is ‘lived’ and experienced, and its effects on people’s lives. Drawing on 72 interviews with 12 families, this book traces the development of surprisingly close, collaborative relations between the state, schools and families on Singapore’s socio-economic margins. It demonstrates that in the 'strong' state of Singapore, families’ dependency on schools and the state facilitates the internalisation of individual and familial responsibility for future success. However, these very processes can injure, and perpetuate inequality. The analysis presented in this book has relevance in other contexts, in times where advanced capitalist states face growing inequalities and challenging relationships between institutional authority and the wider populace. As socio-economic and educational inequalities widen, this book asks timely questions and provides recommendations on what a more equitable state-citizen compact might look like. The book will appeal to researchers and students who are interested in the fields of the sociology and politics of education, social policy, and Asian culture and society.

The creation of a sustainable and accessible higher education systems is a pivotal goal in modern society. Adopting strategic frameworks and innovative techniques allows institutions to achieve this objective. The Handbook of Research on Administration, Policy, and Leadership in Higher Education is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on contemporary management issues in educational institutions and presents best practices to improve policies and retain effective governance. Addressing the current state of higher education at an international level, this book is ideally designed for academicians, educational administrators, researchers, and professionals.

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.

This book examines the practices and effects of emerging international curriculum programs established by Chinese elite public high schools and supported by China’s New Curriculum Reform and the Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (CFCRS) policy. Drawing on critical theory, the book applies sociological and anthropological approaches to the study of the educational practices of such curriculum programs and the rising Chinese elite class, as well as educational policy globally. Through analyzing a wide variety of data sources, this book focuses on examining how changing local and global contexts have influenced and shaped the educational opportunities, experiences, and aspirations of privileged urban Chinese students who are able to attend these programs and who hope to study at U.S. universities. In doing so, the book is intended to define the problematics of the internationalization of Chinese education and an emergent form of elite education in China, which are complex and embedded in the process of modernization in China. Neoliberalism, Globalization, and "Elite" Education in China: Becoming International will appeal to undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics in the fields of curriculum studies, educational policy studies, sociology of education, and anthropology of education, as well as policymakers with an interest in globalization and education, education policy, and education and international development.

This book provides an overview of language education in Malaysia, covering topics such as the evolution of the education system from pre-independence days to the present time, to the typology of schools, and the public philosophy behind every policy made in the teaching of languages. The book consists of chapters devoted to the teaching of languages that form separate strands but are at the same time connected to each other within the education system. These chapters discuss: Implementing the national language policy in education institutions English in language education policies and planning in Malaysia Chinese and Tamil language education in Malaysia Teaching of indigenous Malaysian languages The role of translation in education in Malaysia It also discusses the development of language which enables the national language, Malay, to fulfil its role as the main medium of education up to the tertiary level. This book will be of interest to researchers studying language planning, teacher education and the sociology of education, particularly, within the Malaysian context.

This comprehensive handbook is the ultimate reference work, providing authoritative and international overviews of all aspects of schools and schooling in Asia. Split into 19 sections it covers curriculum, learning and assessment, private supplementary tutoring, special education, gender issues, ethnic minority education and LGBTQI students in Asian schools. The volume displays the current state of the scholarship for schools and schooling in Asia including emerging, controversial and cutting-edge contributions using a thematic approach. The content offers a broad sweep of the region with a focus on theoretical, cultural and political issues as well as identifying educational issues and priorities, such as curriculum, assessment, teacher education, school leadership, etc., all of which impact students and learning in multiple ways. The Routledge International Handbook of Schools and Schooling in Asia brings together experts in each area to contribute their knowledge, providing a multidimensional and rich view of the issues confronting the region’s school and education systems. Chapters 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.