Changing Education: Leadership, Innovation and Development in a Globalizing Asia Pacific (CERC Studies in Comparative Education Book 20)

"This book responds to the growing unease of educators and non-educators alike about the inadequacy of most current educational systems and programs to meet sufficiently the demands of fast changing societies. These systems and programs evolved and were developed in and for societies that have long been transformed, and yet no parallel transformation has taken place in the education systems they spawned. In the last twenty years or so, other sectors of society, such as transportation and communications systems, have radically changed the way they operate, but education has remained essentially the same. There is no doubt: education needs to change." "To those ready to accept this challenge, this book represents a welcome guide. Unlike most books on educational policy, this volume does not focus on improving existing educational systems but on changing them altogether. Its focus is not on doing things better, but on doing better things; not on doing things right, but on doing the right things to prepare students for a fast changing interdependent world."--BOOK JACKET This book responds to the growing unease of educators and n- educators alike about the inadequacy of most current educational systems and programs to sufficiently meet the demands of fast changing societies. These systems and programs evolved and were developed in and for societies that have long been transformed, and yet no parallel transformation has taken place in the education systems they spawned. In the last twenty years or so, other sectors of society – transportation, communication, banking, health services – have radically changed they way they operate, but education has continued essentially the same. There is no doubt: education must change. To those ready to accept this challenge, this book represents a welcome guide. To be sure, it is not a ‘how-to’ instruction manual, since the shape of change must be particular to the needs and situations of each setting, and societies are as varied as they are fast changing. Rather than provide specific directions, if provides a useful road map for the navigators of change, within which each can plot out their specific itineraries towards their goal. It illuminates the basic goal of education – the total and balanced development of individuals and, through them, societies – and depicts the main features, the imperatives, the demands, and the pitfalls of an ever more interdependent, globalized world in which this goal must be pursued. My work has exposed me to dozens of international conferences on various education themes, and several colleges of education worldwide. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: Challenges in the Leadership of Innovation and Development in Education in a Globalizing Asia Pacific....Pages 1-26 Globalization and Education: Characteristics, Dynamics, Implications....Pages 29-62 Rethinking Educational Aims in an Era of Globalization....Pages 63-91 Multiculturalism, Shared Values, and an Ethical Response to Globalization....Pages 93-113 Education and Alleviating Poverty: Educating for Equity and Diversity....Pages 115-134 The Intractable Dominant Educational Paradigm....Pages 137-162 Globalization and Paradigm Change in Higher Education: The Experience of China....Pages 163-181 Pulling Together amid Globalization: National Education in Singapore Schools....Pages 183-197 Education in the Years to Come: What We Can Learn from Alternative Education....Pages 199-224 Leadership in the Context of Complex Global Interdependence: Emerging Realities for Educational Innovation....Pages 227-247 The Changing Role of Leadership (or A Changing Leadership for a Changing World)....Pages 249-272 Interconnections Within and Without: The Double Duty of Creative Educational Leadership....Pages 273-296 Unraveling Leadership: ‘Relational Humility’ and the Search for Ignorance....Pages 297-322 Back Matter....Pages 323-348 Annotation This book responds to the growing unease of educators and non-educators alike about the inadequacy of most current educational systems and programs to meet sufficiently the demands of fast changing societies. These systems and programs evolved and were developed in and for societies that have long been transformed, and yet no parallel transformation has taken place in the education systems they spawned. In the last twenty years or so, other sectors of society, such as transportation and communications systems, have radically changed the way they operate, but education has remained essentially the same. There is no doubt: education needs to change. To those ready to accept this challenge, this book represents a welcome guide. Unlike most books on educational policy, this volume does not focus on improving existing educational systems but on changing them altogether. Its focus is not on doing things better, but on doing better things; not on doing things right, but on doing the right things to prepare students for a fast changing interdependent world Most current educational systems and programs are proving inadequate at meeting the demand of fast changing societies since they have hardly evolved and developed with the times. This book offers insights into the consequences of globalization for the leadership of educational change. Its focus is not on doing things better, but on doing better things; not on doing things right, but on doing the right things to prepare students for a fast changing, interdependent world.