In this study we used grounded theory framework to explore how preparation for studying abroad affects the academic success of East Asian undergraduate students in U.S. universities. Based on interviews with 12 participants from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, we found that knowledge of English language and American culture, which is closely involved with their preparation for study abroad and their undergraduate study in the United States, are two core categories affecting East Asian students' academic success. High levels of preparation for study abroad help East Asian students better adapt to American universities. At the same time, East Asian students spend more time on English proficiency tests than learning the culture both before and after they arrive to the United States, which can be detrimental. We suggest that U.S. universities provide more support for cultural adaptation such as learning communities to have active cultural exchanges within context. Copyright ©Nepalese Student Association at University of Louisiana at Monroe.

This paper analyzes global education policy and curricular documents in Singapore and Hong Kong. Using a discursive approach, we characterize curricular aims through various cosmopolitan perspectives. We posit that although touted as Asian global cities, Singapore and Hong Kong are cases where neoliberal and nation-centric educational agendas have effectively rebranded cosmopolitanism and tamed its transformative potential. To develop this argument, we review theories and critiques of cosmopolitan forms of global citizenship education deemed necessary to prepare young people for complex global social conditions. We discuss cosmopolitan principles on identity, values, and deliberation and draw on critical cosmopolitanism and Asian forms of cosmopolitanism to provide a discursive framework for analyzing curricular intentions in the two cases. Copyright ©Routledge.

Cross-border partnerships are increasingly important for higher education in the twenty-first century. Drawing from the business sector’s resource-based theory, this paper explores international partner selection among higher education institutions in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. According to resource-based theory, institutions may seek partners with specific technical capabilities, managerial capabilities or other intangible resources to access external knowledge and capabilities, develop internal resources and gain competitive advantage. Through document analysis and interviews, this investigation identified twelve attributes that influenced international partner selection for higher education institutions in these contexts. Eleven fit within resource-based theory’s criteria areas of technical capabilities, managerial capabilities and intangible resources. These determined the attractiveness of potential partners. However, existing relationships, the twelfth attribute, wasoften the deciding factor of whether or not a partnership would move forward. Importantly, while contextual differences were observed, these attributes were present across contexts.
[Copyright of Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management is the property of Routledge.]

Visual methods are effective in facilitating human learning while metacognition is a critical aspect of the learning process. In this context, the purpose of this study is to explore the metacognition of pre-service teachers in response to their participation in a series of visual reflections after an online dialogue on the topic of inclusive education. A global online platform was used to facilitate dialogue in three discussion sessions of real-time videoconferencing between pre-service teachers in England, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. A group of Hong Kong pre-service teachers participated in a face-to-face post-discussion session using visual methods. Their transcripts and artefacts were recorded and analysed by applying a shared metacognitive construct. The power of visual methods in online collaborative inquiry for teacher education was noted by the participants’ deeper reflection on discussion issues when the issues were presented visually.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge.]

Despite the trendsetting of East Asian HPES, education policy commentary and literature on this region remains rather underdeveloped and predictable. In Comparing High-Performing Education Systems: Understanding Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, Dr Charlene Tan moves scholarship on East Asian HPES in a new, sorely needed direction. This review essay of Comparing High-Performing Education Systems describes the guiding conceptual framework of the book and summarizes the book, chapter-by-chapter. This review essay also comments on two striking issues – the explanatory power of Confucian habitus, and the intersectionality of performativity, Confucianism, and neoliberalism. The aim in this review essay is to both celebrate the boldness of Comparing High Performing Systems and offer questions to further enrich the employment of Confucianism as a conceptual and analytical tool to examine education policies, processes, and outcomes in East Asian systems.
[Copyright of Discourse-Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education is the property of Routledge.]

Post-secondary admission and community college (CC) transfer are two common routes of entry to baccalaureate study. Previous studies comparing the academic performances of native and transfer students have generated inconsistent findings and, furthermore, they were largely conducted in Western educational contexts. This study compared the workloads, grade point averages (GPA) and attrition rates of native and transfer students in an Asian educational context. Various measures related to GPA, credit load and attrition rate were collected from the institutional dataset of a Hong Kong university in 2019; this dataset contained records of 14,141 native students and 7308 transfer students enrolled between 2012 and 2018. Results show that the transfer students experienced transfer shock and had heavier study loads but lighter non-academic loads than the native students. Despite the transfer shock, they attained a higher award GPA and had a lower attrition rate than their native counterparts. Discussion and implications are presented, in relation to transfer shock and transfer student success. In particular, this article argues that CC education does not necessarily produce academically inferior degree-seeking students and that CC transfer is a viable pathway to baccalaureate study.
[Copyright of Higher Education Research & Development is the property of Routledge.]

Although the development of Asia adolescents’ citizenship values has been widely discussed, limited attention has been paid for the role of religion in shaping those values. The possibility has been suggested that Asian religious contexts may be understood differently from those in the West and research findings in those contexts are not necessarily applicable to Asia. This study, therefore, sought to understand further the association between the religious engagement of Asian adolescents’ and democratic values. The results indicated that attitudes to equality were moderately influenced by an understanding of democracy while religious engagement showed small, negative or non-significant associations with equality. Students’ understanding of democracy did not mediate the effect of students’ religious engagement. These results provide further support for the view that in Asian contexts religious engagement may not necessarily provide a conductive environment for supporting traditional democratic values. Copyright © 2020 British Association for International and Comparative Education.

This paper analyses the learning impacts of a social justice learning unit, which was implemented through three lectures in each of two undergraduate teacher education courses in 2017/18 across two semesters. The design of the unit allows for social inquiry and experiential learning in the undergraduate curriculum. A sequential mixed-methods design was adopted, with pre and post questionnaire and interview data gathered from undergraduate students. We argue that learning and applying social justice concepts through group inquiry and other learning activities on social justice related issues, together with an experiential learning site visit, can facilitate the development of understanding of both the concept and application of social justice, a positive perception towards ethnic minorities and a desire for further learning and engagement in the community. This study would be useful for any university educators who want to teach about and for social justice in ways that may help students to develop an increased willingness for community service. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s).