This session could be seen as the regional discussion of ISME Policy Commission in Asia. One of the missions in this commission is ‘to examine and explore issues concerning cultural, education and media policy development and implementation'. As a result, we have invited present and past commissioners, participants, as well as other researcher from various Asian regions to discuss the issue we have encounters pertaining to culture and policy in music education. In addition, other researchers who are interested in this issue are all welcome to join our discussion and commission. European music's autonomy and hegemony has been believed and taken for granted for at least a century, and this tradition based on Western aesthetics has exerted a great influence on music education in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. However, Asian music traditions differed fundamentally from the music tradition of the West. The European concept of tonality or key functions, for example, was absent from those Asian sound cultures. In this discussion, questions are asked about: 1. Introductions of Euro-American Music into Asian countries. 2. How traditional and folk music in Asia survives. 3. How music educators in Asia should deal with this duplicity. 4. How music educators in Asian develop music education policies for the future. Korea: (Korean traditional music has its name called “gugak,” which literally means ‘national music' but has been relative concept of ‘western music.') Compared to popularity of K-pop music, the number of listeners of gugak has been absurdly small. Music educators suggest that having students experience gugak in school education is the key for traditional music to survive and insist to raise the percentage of covering gugak in statutory curriculum. Although music teachers who are used to western music have difficulty to teach gugak, but the difference between western/ gugak has been the facilitation to broaden the concept of music and enrich the understanding

香港教育學院教育學士課程於一九九八年九月正式實施，其中有不少創新的意念，本文嘗試從課程中「實習課」的課程目的、結構、教學法、評估等設計，分析「實習課」的特色、並探究其突破及展望。
[Copyright © 1999 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

Higher education worldwide is undergoing a process of globalization and internationalization. Hong Kong is no exception, supported by both government policy and defined visions of local universities. This process involves not just the recruitment of international students and faculties, but also the transformation of local/national higher education institutions into international higher education institutions operating beyond national boundaries and competing actively in international branding and the international ranking “game”. While internationalization of higher education is a natural outcome of the new globalized era, there are also concerns about the growing commercialization and commodification of education, as well as the marginalization or even loss of cultural and national identities in the name of internationalization. This paper discusses the context and challenges of internationalization, and the tensions between the local/regional and the international – highlighting issues such as: the definition of “international” scholarship; the language and venue of academic publication; the role of “local” knowledge and tradition; the benchmarking of educational achievements; the language of instruction; and the content of the curriculum. It raises some pertinent questions and addresses the fundamental question: Is internationalization necessarily in conflict with a vibrant local/national identity and knowledge tradition?

高等教育在香港已有百多年歷史，香港大學於1911年創立，是香港歷史最悠久的高等院校；1963年成立的香港中文大學則是香港第二所大學。及後，在不知不覺間，香港高等教育從上世紀八十年代精英型，走到九十年代的大眾化，至今成爲一個普及型高等教育的社會，過程中除了要面對如何增加高等教育學額的難題外，也經歷了兩次學制的改革。政府1989年決定將大學第一年學額調高至18%，使香港高等教育在九十年代初擴展為大眾型；及至2000年，特首在施政報告中建議在十年間將適齡入讀高等教育的比率增至60%，促使香港成爲普及型高等教育。這篇文章將以歷史角度回顧香港高等教育的擴展經歷，並分析在過程中出現的相關問題，及就未來香港高等教育的發展作出前瞻性的討論。
[Copyright © 2008 中正大學教育學院.]

為了面向21世紀的高等教育需要，教育統籌委員會於1999年間開展香港教育全面檢討，並提出建構終身學習的教育體系，其中以高等教育和持續教育的發展為重點。本文討論香港高等教育在新世紀發展的主要課題，從中亦勾劃出評審課程的質素和高等教育的多元的重要性。
[Copyright © 2003 北京師範大學.]

Well aware of the growing importance of the public accountability movement, many governments in Asia have introduced different polices, strategies, and mechanisms to maintain quality in higher education. Along with the massification of higher education and the prominence of new public management among Asian nation states, evaluation, accreditation and audit have been frequently employed to determine whether educational services offered by universities have been up to certain level. In order to fulfill the responsibility of securing quality education within its jurisdiction, many Asian governments are beginning to impose relevant regulations and quality assurance measures. These moves have substantially reshaped and redefined the relationship and configuration between higher education sector and government. The emergence of quality assurance, as a regulatory instrument, are also concerned with the differentiated roles and responsibilities of all the players involved such as universities/colleges, national quality assurance systems, independent accreditation bodies, professional bodies, and regional international organizations. Moreover, the popularity of transnational higher education such as branch campuses and twining/dual program and the increasingly integrated higher education area in Asia with the facilitation of ASEAN, UMAP and AEARU not only create the needs of recognizing the qualification and degrees regionally but also pose serious governance challenges to each country domestically. It is against these wider contexts that this panel will pay special attention to the emerging issues of quality assurance in selected societies such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and China etc.. Also, it is imperative to examine the challenges that further regional integration and transnational collaboration may face in Asian countries with respect to quality assurance.