In 2014, the Australian Government introduced the New Colombo Plan (NCP), whereby undergraduate students would become 'informal ambassadors' enhancing Australia's 'soft power' within the Asia-Pacific region. Participation by students, universities, host organisations and communities expanded rapidly before Australia's pandemic-driven closure of…

Purpose: The Australian Government has long used its international scholarship programs as an instrument of soft power in international diplomacy. The paper examines an international scholarship program and its role in Australia's soft power efforts during a period in recent history. Design/methodology/approach: The Australia in the Asian Century…

Preservice teachers are soon-to-be graduates expected to deliver the Cross-Curricular Priority 'Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia'. Teachers of all learning areas are expected to teach about Asia, irrespective of their knowledge or capabilities in Asian contexts. The curriculum review has revised expectations for 'Asia literacy' in…

The 2014 national curriculum of Australia is a significant initiative that the Australian government has taken in proposing a curriculum that stresses Australia's engagement with Asia. In practice, this means that Asian cultures, beliefs, environments and the connections between Australia and Asia are embedded in the learning processes of…

Introduced in 2014, the New Colombo Plan (NCP) represents the Australian government's signature initiative of student mobility and public diplomacy. The programme aims to expose Australian undergraduate students to the Indo-Pacific. This article focuses on analysing Australian students' experiences in Asia via the NCP. The article draws on a…

There is an identifiable gap between Australian government policy aspiration and curriculum guidance found in the content of the renewed Australian Curriculum (2018) that has been designed to support the cross-curriculum priority (CCP) of "Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia." We have employed an inductive, interpretative research…

The Australian government has considered youth mobility to the Indo-Pacific to be crucial in building Australia's connection with the region. Despite a growing trend of Australian student mobility to the Indo-Pacific, there has been a dearth of research on mobility youth's agency in public diplomacy. This article makes an original contribution to…

This document presents a series of essays on the relations between Australia and its neighboring Asian countries. Several of the essays focus on the history of particular groups of Asians who have lived or still live in Australia. Reasons for, and effects of, migration to Australia are analyzed. Five essays are included: (1) "Australia and…

The cultural politics of the export of educational services by Australia to Asia are examined, focusing on tension between the persistent economic development perspective and an emerging market ideology that sees education as a commodity. Issues of postcolonialism, globalization, educational traditions vs. market orientation, educational aid and…

This workbook is a compilation of work sheets from the teacher's sections of the 1989 issues of "Asia Wise," an Auatralian magazine devoted to the study of Asia. Profiles and worksheets are provided for the countries of China, Indo-China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, and Thailand. Worksheets feature the following themes: Asian…

Student volumes and teacher guides for 10 issues of an Australian magazine devoted to the study of Asia comprise this document. The subjects of the ten issues are: (1) Trading for Our Future; (2) Korea: Two Nations--One People; (3) Women in Asia--A Confusing Picture; (4) Australia--Indonesia: A Developing Relationship; (5) The Land on the Roof of…

This volume contains papers on regional and global trends that affect the political factors which are changing the context within which academic mobility occurs: (1) "Introduction" (by Peggy Blumenthal and others); (2) "Political Dimensions of Regionalism in a Changing World" (David Leyton-Brown); (3) "Economic Dimensions…