ABSTRACT
Although late to industrialize, East Asia has witnessed rapid development whilst maintaining some of the highest educational enrollment rates and indicators of academic achievement globally. From major players, such as China, to small city-states, such as Singapore, economic success and the growth of education have seemingly unfolded simultaneously. This book seeks to better understand the relationship between these powerful economies and their commitment to educational expansion.
Exploring the universalization of upper secondary schooling, it assesses the social foundations of the region’s economic development. Chapters covering each of the countries of East Asia trace how upper secondary school functions as the support for the mass manufacturing labor force, which has been instrumental in East Asian economic expansion. These analyses then compare the experiences of the different nations along two major axes: the relationship between public and private provision and the balance between general and vocational tracks. Finally, the analyses go on to examine recent trends, including the slowing of social development and declining fertility, and ultimately asks, can East Asia maintain its world leading development and educational standards in coming decades?
Combining a wealth of quantitative data and policy analyses, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Asian and international education.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|70 pages
Introduction, theoretical framework, and preliminary comparisons
chapter 2|30 pages
Towards an original contribution based on “Asian education”?
chapter 3|22 pages
Upper secondary education in Asia
part II|60 pages
Mass high school societies
chapter 5|20 pages
Private and vocational high schools within the expansion of secondary education
chapter 6|21 pages
Structural analysis of the expansion of upper secondary education in Taiwan
part III|48 pages
Mass education city-states
chapter 8|24 pages
Foreseeing the new educational dream just before the post-industrial reality
part IV|36 pages
Mass education in post-socialist societies
part V|30 pages
Comparative analyses and conclusions