Editorial

Citation

Ho Mok, K. (2012), "Editorial", Asian Education and Development Studies, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds.2012.57301aaa.001

Editorial

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Asian Education and Development Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1.

Welcome to the first issue of Asian Education and Development Studies (AEDS). AEDS is a new journal showcasing the latest research on education, development and governance issues in Asian contexts. AEDS fosters cross-boundary research with the aim of enhancing our socio-scientific understanding of Asia. AEDS is launched by a growing research consortium based in Asia with scholars researching in education and development studies. Three years ago, a group of scholars from Asia have started a research network promoting research and regional collaboration in the areas of education and development studies. This new journal is the official journal of this growing research platform. AEDS welcomes contributions in the broad areas of education development, globalization and regional responses, social development and social policy, urbanization and social change, politics and changing governance, critical development issues and policy implications and demographic change and policy issues. Articles with strong comparative perspectives and regional insights will be especially welcome. In-depth examinations of the role of education in the promotion of social, economic, cultural and political development in Asia are also encouraged.

Well aware of the growing pressure for internationalization and the need to strengthen their global competitiveness in attracting, retaining and nurturing talents in the highly competitive knowledge-based economy, many governments in Asia have introduced different strategies not only to transform their higher education systems to become more responsive to external changes but also to engage in developing regional education hubs to assert their regional/global influences. The rise of transnational higher education and the quest for regional education hub status among Asian countries has suggested more competition arising from these regional projects. Meanwhile, we have also observed more regional cooperation emerging through various kinds of bilateral and multilateral collaborations among Asian states. Similar to their European counterparts, university governance in Asia is now more global in scope; they are increasingly subject to new external standards of measurement while their own internal governance procedures have become more managerial. One of the major trends of changing university governance is the emergence of regulatory regionalism, which is reflected by the striking features of recent developments in regional governance, which transcend territorial spaces of nation states. This issue focuses on growing regionalization of education in Asia, with particular reference to examine major challenges and policy implications when regional competition and cooperation has become increasingly popular. The papers in this are selected from the senior seminar organized by the East-West Centre, USA in Hong Kong.

Regional cooperation has not confined only to education among ASEAN members but it has moved beyond to other aspects and also cooperation also moves beyond ASEAN members. Growing out of the annual ASEAN summit meeting are the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) process, with the involvement of China, Japan and South Korea. In addition, other forms of regional cooperation have emerged such as the ASEAN-sponsored East Asian Summits with the participation of India, Australia and New Zealand to the APT. ASEAN further extends beyond east Asia region by organizing multilateral consultations through the participation in the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. ASEAN also sponsors 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum to promote dialogue and consultation on political and security issues of common interest and concern in the Asia and Pacific region. As Arase (2011, p. 36) points out, “ASEAN is the linchpin of the most important regional cooperation processes,” while Ellen Frost (2008, p. 251) remarks that “Asian governments cannot afford not to pursue the integration because the consequences of not doing so are too risky.” Without engaging in regional cooperation, the region would be destabilizing which would leave smaller countries in the region at the mercy of unrestrained rivalry among the regional powers, particularly in the context of the rise of China and the potential rift between the rim democracies and non-democratic forces. The papers in this issue critically examine issues related to regionalization of education, changing patterns, major challenges and implications for public policy and governance in Asia.

Ka Ho Mok