Asia Pacific Education Review

Education policy has been undergoing great transformation in China since the initiation of economic reforms and the open-door policy in the late 1970s. These market-oriented reforms and the pursuit of rapid economic growth in a globalized economy have significantly impacted China’s education policy and development. In line with the development of the market-oriented economy and its increasing integration with the global market, a more pragmatic perception of education has gradually taken shape in the post-Mao era, resulting in the decentralization and marketization of education in China. This article aims to examine the development of Chinese education policy in the context of decentralization and marketization since the start of the economic reforms. It will firstly make a brief contrast between the education policies before and after the economic reforms. Then, the decentralization and marketization in the field of education since the initiation of the economic reforms will be examined. What follows is an assessment of the impacts that marketization and decentralization had on education policy. This paper argues that the weakening role of the state in education provision and the disparity between rural and urban areas are key issues facing China’s education policy following the economic reforms and the open-door policy. It concludes by suggesting that equal and balanced development in education in China entails bringing the state back into the education sector.

This paper illustrates the on-going efforts of an innovative science program called “Kids as Global Scientists” to take full advantage of Internet technology for better learning and teaching. We analyzed electronic communication between students and scientists on the Message Board and the development of students’ scientific understanding through electronic communications. Our research shows that the Internet has great potential to foster the development of students’ scientific understanding, which is difficult to achieve through traditional instruction alone. Despite increasing interest in the use of the Internet in the classroom, research on the educational benefits of the Internet on learning and teaching are still limited. This study will serve in this continuing research base in order to help expand our understanding by opening a discussion around the following questions: What are the characteristics of new learning opportunities and interaction patterns that students experienced? What new classroom dynamics and challenges are introduced as a result of the use of our technological innovations?

This study investigates the mediating role of teachers’ psychological empowerment and the moderating role of team psychological safety in the relationship between empowering leadership and teachers’ innovative behavior in teaching and research groups (TR groups) as professional learning communities. In total, 507 teachers from 114 TR groups in China participated in this study. The multilevel model results show that empowering leadership improves teachers’ innovative behavior by increasing teachers’ psychological empowerment, which is not influenced by team psychological safety. A supplementary analysis shows that the relationship between team psychological safety and teachers’ innovative behavior is also mediated by psychological empowerment.

Preschool curriculum reform is currently underway in Taiwan. Privately-managed public preschools (PMPPs) currently play the role of bellwethers because they stand halfway between public and private preschools, and serve as testing grounds for curriculum reforms promoted by the government. This study originated from Curriculum Development Program (CDP) which is one of Taiwan government’s policies toward PMPPs. The researcher and the research subject consisted of the expert and case school participating in this program. The main objective of this article was to discuss the course about a privately-managed public preschool how to overcome difficulties and establish a process pattern of CDP. This paper employed the qualitative research methods; it included focus group, interviews, and action research. Then, the study made use of grounded theory and conducted data analysis in the three stages of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Based on the results of this study, the CDP exerted a mediating effect that harmonized the tensions between external impact and internal resistance. The difficulties for the external impact of CDP included: educational policy reforms, competition in the education market, and parents’ right to choose. The internal resistance of CDP included: changes in the curriculum power structure, limitations on in-school resources, and conflicts of interest among organization members. The process pattern included: use of curriculum guidance experts and action research; integration of interested parties’ resources and organization of a specialist curriculum development team; responding to internal and external needs by establishing a compromise between school-based curriculum vision and assessment approach; harmonizing external impacts and internal resistance to complete the school-based curriculum; and cyclic reflection on and revision of action plan. This study provided practical insights and offered an integrated solution of how an assistance approach with experts’ participation can be combined with curriculum policy and academic research.

Trong những năm đầu của thế kỷ 21, có vẻ như một mô hình phát triển mới đã xuất hiện với sự hỗ trợ của các nhóm viện trợ đa phương như Nhóm Liên Hợp Quốc, Ngân hàng Thế giới, Ngân hàng Phát triển Châu Á và nhiều tổ chức phi chính phủ khác. Bài báo này sẽ: (a) phác thảo ngắn gọn sự xuất hiện của các khái niệm chính và các hành động được đề xuất tạo thành mô hình mới cho sự phát triển; (b) phân tích những hệ quả chiến lược đối với sự thay đổi giáo dục ở cấp quốc gia và địa phương; và, (c) phê phán cả mô hình chung, đặc biệt là xem xét những hạn chế của nó trong việc lập kế hoạch và thực hiện cải cách giáo dục. Phân tích và phê phán sẽ bao gồm một lập luận cho rằng chính thống phát triển mới đòi hỏi những thay đổi đáng kể và, đôi khi, không thực tế trong khả năng và hậu quả của các chương trình và hệ thống giáo dục.

Because parameter estimates from different calibration runs under the IRT model are linearly related, a linear equation can convert IRT parameter estimates onto another scale metric without changing the probability of a correct response (Kolen & Brennan, 1995, 2004). This study was designed to explore a new approach to finding a linear equation by fixing C-parameters for anchor items in IRT equating. A rationale for fixing C-parameters for anchor items in IRT equating can be established from the fact that the C-parameters are not affected by any linear transformation. This new approach can avoid the difficulty in getting accurate C-parameters for anchor items embedded in the application of the IRT model. Based upon our findings in this study, we would recommend using the new approach to fix C-parameters for anchor items in IRT equating.

The purpose of this paper is to examine current status, issues, and visions of higher education reform in Korea by focusing on ‘Brain Korea 21’ (BK21). ‘Brain Korea 21’ (BK21), is a major higher education reform project initiated by the South Korean government to prepare Korean human resources for the 21st century. ‘Brain Korea 21’ (BK21) aims at fostering world-class graduate schools and high quality scholars by providing funds to higher education institutions. In this paper, societal, economic and educational changes which led to the initiation of BK 21 and its implementation processes are described first. Then, some resistance and controversies against BK 21 are discussed. Major achievements of BK 21 are highlighted and future directions of higher education reform in South Korea are addressed.

Nghiên cứu hiện tại nhằm chứng minh một hiệu ứng ức chế đáng kể giữa các chiến lược đối phó và khả năng phục hồi. Hai mẫu khác nhau đã được sử dụng để tái hiện hiệu ứng ức chế. Người tham gia trong ví dụ đầu tiên là 391 thanh thiếu niên (học sinh trung học) ở Hàn Quốc, và người tham gia trong ví dụ thứ hai là 282 người lớn tuổi (sinh viên đại học) ở Hàn Quốc. Cả hai mẫu đều hoàn thành các công cụ tự báo cáo về các chiến lược đối phó và khả năng phục hồi. Để xác minh sự quan trọng của hiệu ứng ức chế, mô hình phương trình cấu trúc và quy trình bootstrapping đã được sử dụng. Kết quả cho thấy hiệu ứng ức chế có thể tái hiện được ở cả hai mẫu. Ngoài ra, kết quả của cả hai ví dụ đều tiết lộ các hiệu ứng ức chế đáng kể, với việc đối phó bị động tăng cường mối quan hệ giữa đối phó chủ động và khả năng phục hồi. Nghiên cứu này đưa ra các khuyến nghị cho việc hiểu các mối quan hệ giữa các chiến lược đối phó trong bối cảnh của các hiệu ứng ức chế.