Across Asia, the international school scene has experienced marketisation and corporatisation. A consequence is that many wealthier families -- outside of expatriate communities -- view international schools as a desirable choice, and they seek ways to enrol their children in international schools. States have responded to this situation through…

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, resulting in disruptions to education at an unprecedented scale. In response to the urgent need to recover learning losses, countries worldwide have taken RAPID actions to: Reach every child and keep them in school; Assess learning levels regularly; Prioritize…

Since the early 1990s, the Open Society Foundations have supported early childhood development, recognizing it as a prerequisite for sustainable political and social change--with a focus not only on young children, but on parents, caregivers, and the wider community. This report commemorates the Open Society Early Childhood Program, which, from…

This report is based on a rapid survey of recently published materials, guidance documents and media commentary. It summarises what is known and understood about the impacts of the prolonged school closures that followed the spread of COVID-19 and the context of school reopening and plans for learning recovery. In March 2020, schools around the…

Since 2018, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has worked in more than 80 countries to ensure that children and youth have access to the education and skills they need to be productive members of society. The launch of USAID's Education Policy in 2018 encouraged USAID Missions to be as adaptive, flexible, and responsive…

The World Bank's focus on foundational skills requires that issues of language and Language of Instruction be brought to the forefront of education policy discussions. Poor Language of Instruction policies harm learning, access, equity, cost-effectiveness, and inclusion. Yet nearly 37% of students in low- and middle-income countries are taught in…

This article synthesises findings from two systematic reviews that examined evidence of the link between large-scale assessments (LSAs) and education policy in economically developing countries and in countries of the Asia-Pacific. Analyses summarise evidence of assessment characteristics and policy goals of LSAs that influence education policy,…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) offers opportunities for governments to address key education challenges of quality, equity, and efficiency. While governments and educational institutions in developed countries may have taken up these opportunities, many developing countries in Asia and the Pacific region have often missed them out.…

Not much is known about the ways in which assessment data have actually been used in education policy to date. Understanding the role of assessments in informing system-level decision-making is a first step towards helping stakeholders improve the design and usefulness of assessments. Moreover, this understanding can help to further discussions…

"The Wiley International Handbook of Educational Foundations" features international scholars uniquely qualified to examine issues specific to their regions of the world. The Handbook provides readers with an alternative to the traditional texts in the foundations of education by taking aim at the status quo, and by offering frameworks…

"Education for All" (EFA) identifies goals and targets and translates these into indicators which are used to evaluate progress and influence flows of external financing. The search for evidence based policy depends on measures of performance that can link cause and effect and that represent real gains in progress towards desired…

This paper examines private tutoring systems in three East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, and Cambodia) with the purpose of examining the relationship between those systems and formal education systems. The study of private tutoring systems in each nation can be used to reveal the inadequacies of the formal education system in meeting the…

The relationship between the state and higher education institutions has always been a complex one. The "state" itself in this context is a heterogeneous mix of elite people--bureaucrats, politicians, committees of co-opted academics and business leader--and it increasingly faces pressures from diverse stakeholders, including students…

This book on education in South-East Asia is the very first of its kind to comprehensively cover and discuss the education systems and issues in all the countries in the region--the ten member nations of the Association of South-East Asian nations (ASEAN) plus Timor Leste. The eleven chapters on country case studies are written by education…

The symposium entitled "Social Changes in East Asia and Educational reforms: China, Korea, and Singapore" suggested that these countries are carrying out rather drastic educational reforms in the context of rapid social changes. The knowledge gained from the symposium also has important suggestions for Japanese educational reform. In…