Social Education in Asia

Critical Issues and Multiple Perspectives

Edited by:
David L. Grossman, The East-West Center
Joe Tin-Yau Lo, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

A volume in the series: Research in Social Education. Editor(s): Brad M. Maguth, The University of Akron.

Published 2007

This book aims to fill this gap in the scholarship on social education by drawing on the research findings and/or experiences from scholars in eight East and Southeast Asian societies. In this regard the editors of this book hope that it will be a significant addition to the literature, and will shed light on how the social education curricula are constructed and implemented across these societies in response to both internal and external forces. At the same time this book is not a comprehensive survey of social education in the region. Rather it is a selective set of case studies examining contested and compelling issues in the debates about social education in eight diverse societies in East and Southeast Asia.

The book will be intellectually stimulating and inspiring, not only to the social educators and comparativists who can see more about social science education from non-western perspectives, but also to curriculum developers, policy makers, social educators and front-line teachers who can enrich their professional experiences through learning from other countries/regions.

CONTENTS
Introduction, David Grossman and Joe Tin-Yau Lo. Negotiating Ideological Borderlines: Korean Social Studies Teacher Gatekeeping in the Teaching About North Korea, Daehoon Jho. The Kokoro Education: Landscaping the Minds and Hearts of Japanese, Julie Higashi. History Curriculum Reform in the People’s Republic of China: Context, Content, and Challenges, Guichun Zong. A Critical Reflection on the Reform of the High School History Curriculum in Taiwan, Sharon Hsiao-Lan Chen. Developing an Integrated Approach to Social Education: A Case Study of Two Junior Secondary Schools in Hong Kong, Sum-Cho Po and Joe Tin-Yau Lo. Discourses and Practices of the Moral and Civic Education Curriculum in Secondary Schools in Macao, Sou-Kuan Vong. Secondary Social Studies in Singapore: Intentions and Contradictions, Susan A. Adler and Jasmine B. -Y. Sim. Social Education in Malaysian Secondary Schools: A Perspective on Environmentally Sustainable Development and Related Critical Issues, Ai-Hwa Quek. Epilogue, David Grossman and Joe Tin-Yau Lo. About the Authors.

REVIEWS
"The book will be intellectually stimulating and inspiring, not only to social and comparative educators but also to curriculum developers, policy makers, and front-line social studies teachers. Social studies educators and researchers can compare and learn from the differences and similarities of distinct socio-economic and political contexts. Curriculum planners will have the opportunity to understand various curriculum implementation problems. Administrators and ministry officials can learn the need to help teachers in the implementation of the curriculum effectively." Ashwani Kumar University of British Columbia in Education Review (Read full review)