Education and Development in Asia (online)

Key themes will include:

• the role of skills formation strategies in the East Asian 'Economic Miracle'
• the contribution of education to nation-building and identity formation
• the implications of globalisation (both cultural and economic) for education policy in Asia

A particular focus will be the tension in educational policies in China, India and elsewhere between:

• an elitist pursuit of high skills seen as crucial to competitiveness in the 'global knowledge economy'
• the promotion of basic education for the masses with a view to fostering greater equality of opportunity and 'social cohesion'

The course will use comparative methods to identify convergent and divergent trends within Asian education, to analyse their causes, and to assess the role of national, regional and international forces and institutions in influencing educational development and shaping the educational agenda for the future.