Education Reform in Asia-Pacific

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

16 hours of study each week over a 15 week period to complete on-line course work and assessments. This includes a structured schedule of 2 hours of formal on-line tutorials per week throughout the period of study.

340 hours

To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted in the Specialist Certificate, or the Postgraduate Certificate or the Master of Global Studies in Education (PC-GLBSTED, or MC-GLBSTED). This subject is not available for students admitted in any other courses.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject assesses the impact of globalisation on the education systems over the past two decades of a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific Region, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. It examines how increasingly interdependent economic systems in the region have driven policy change and education reform. It discusses how policy makers in these countries have responded to changes required in educational outcomes in order to equip their societies for new global conditions, exploring the impact of new approaches and ideologies related to globalisation, and making comparisons across the region.

The subject uses a case study approach. Each week it will introduce students to a particular policy specific to one of these countries, such as the policy of privatisation of higher education in Vietnam, governance policy in South Korea, decentralisation policy in China, language policy in Malaysia, policy driving pedagogic reform in Singapore, policy focusing on creativity and criticality in Japan, education develop policy in Timor Leste, and gender equity policy in Indonesia. Each student will then be required to focus on one of these policies for a detailed investigation.

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

• Understand the similarities and differences in approaches to education reform adopted in different Asia-Pacific education systems;
• Interpret and explain how different national policies address the competing requirements of globalisation, on the one hand, and local cultural traditions, on the other;
• Evaluate and justify some of the main obstacles to education reform in Asia-Pacific countries and the region.

A minor essay - topics to be announced (3000 words) Due mid Semester 30%
A class presentation on case study (10 minutes, equivalent to 1000 words) Due two weeks before the end of Semester 10%

A major essay - topics to be announced (6000 words)
This assignment will build on the previous assessments, benefiting from feedback from their completion. The key expectation is that the assignments together will demonstrate that students have an adequate understanding of the issues explored in classes and readings, together with an ability to apply these to issues specific to the student’s place of work Due end of Semester 60%

This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 80% participation in online tutorials

Mok, K. (2005). Education reform and education policy in East Asia. London: Routledge.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.