|
| |
CERCular: No.2 of 1998
Comparative Education Societies: Local, Regional, Global
The 34th Annual Conference of Japan Comparative Education Society
The 34th Annual Conference of JCES was held at Reitaku University of Chiba Prefecture from July 4 to 5 1998. I was among the participants and made a pre-sentation on the changes of curriculum policy and the context in contemporary China. Although the number of presentations was not many, 65 presentations altogether in 13 sessions, the coverage of topics, areas, and countries was quite extensive. The sessions of presentations on the first day were 1) theory, thought, history; 2) education in East Asia; 3) education in South East Asia; 4) education in North America; 5) education in Europe; and 6) development and education. On the second day, presentations were made in the sessions which were ca-tegorised into topics on 1) pre-school and primary education; 2) higher education; 3) life-long education; 4) international education; 5) education and development; and 6) multi-cultural education.
The recent trend of presentations made in JCES pays more attention to education in East Asia, South East Asia and other developing regions. There were two sessions on education in South East Asia this year. Pre-sentations were also made on Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Latin America. Certain universities have established departments that teach educational issues in developing countries as Japan's roles as a donor for developing countries has risen and more young people get interested in the problems of economic disparity in the world.
There were few comparative studies in true sense. Most studies looked at historical development of education, recent trend of educational reforms and policy changes in a country or a region. There was no presentation on theoretical issues of comparative education research. I think that we should promote more discussion on the perspectives of looking at education in different societies and on the ways of comparing different educational phenomena in different cultural and social contexts.
There were many participants from overseas. However, most of them were foreign students from Asian countries. They made presentations in fluent Japanese. Only one presentation was made in English in a presentation by a Japanese and an American researcher. I received some inquiry from overseas about the conference in operating our electronic network service, 'ComparEd'. It seems to be difficult for non-Japanese speakers to attend the meeting since there was no application form in English and few scholars in Japan have good English communication skills. I hope that the society will become more international in the future.
An open symposium and two reports focused on special studies that were conducted with the support of JCES research fund. The symposium, 'Children's Crisis and Values Education' was organized in reaction to the increasing children's problems such as bullying, poverty, drugs, child abuse, and violence. Recent cruel murders and violence by secondary students have given a great shock to Japanese society. It has been widely asked why children become enraged with a little shaking of mind. Four presentations were made on the cases of Japan, America, France and Thailand.
The two collaborative studies were 'The Influence of Japanese Education in Asian Countries' and 'New Relationship between School Education and Parents Association'. The first study investigated the experiences and expectations of Asian students and trainees who used to study in Japan. A mid-term report on the findings was delivered in the session. The latter one talked about the relationship between schools and parents associations introducing the cases of Korea, France and U.K.
Comparative study in real sense is quite difficult to do individually. Thus, this kind of collaborative studies will become more and more significant.
Tomoko Ako
CESA's Second Conference
The Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA) held its second biennial conference in Beijing from 7 to 9 October 1998. Three CERC members participated: Mark Bray, Li Yancheng, and Gui Qin. The conference was hosted by Beijing Normal University, and attended by 200 delegates from around the region. The theme was 'Modernisation of Education vs Cultural Traditions: Prospect of Education in the 21st Century'. Mark Bray presented a keynote address on the financing of education in Asia.
Lee Wing On and Mark Bray have been Directors of CESA, representing Hong Kong, since the society's inception in 1995. They are now assisting with the search for replacement Directors.
World Congress of Comparative Education
The 10th World Congress of Comparative Education was held in Cape Town, South Africa, in July 1998. CERC members who participated were Mark Bray, Gui Qin, Lee Wing On and Ora Kwo. The Congress was held in Africa for the first time, and was hosted by the Southern Africa Comparative & History of Education Societies (SACHES) on behalf of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES). The event was widely described as the best in the history of the WCCES.
The WCCES embraces 30 member societies, including the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong (CESHK). Lee Wing On represented the CESHK in meetings of the Executive Committee of the Council. He also headed the search committee which identified nominations for the Presidency of the World Council. Prof. David Wilson was selected from three candidates for a second term as President.
CIES
The next conference of the US-based Comparative & International Education Society (CIES) will be held in Toronto, Canada from 14 to 18 April 1999. It is expected to have an especially large attendance of Hong Kong scholars because the President-Elect, who is organising the programme, is Prof. Ruth Hayhoe. Prof. Hayhoe is Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and is one of CERC's four distinguished Associate Members. The conference theme will be 'Facing the Global Century: Educational and Civilizational Interaction'. The website is: http://edu.oise.utoronto.ca/depts/ctl/cidec/cies99/.
BAICE
In September 1997, the British Association of International & Comparative Education (BAICE) held its inaugural conference at the University of Reading. The Association has been formed from the merger of the British Comparative & International Education Society (BCIES) and the British Association for Teachers of Overseas Education (BATROE). Two CERC members participated: Anthony Sweeting and Mark Bray. The theme of the conference was 'Doing Comparative Education Research: Issues and Problems'. Anthony Sweeting presented a paper entitled 'Doing Comparative Historical Research: Issues and Problems in and about Hong Kong'.
CESHK
The Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong (CESHK) has formed a new Executive Committee which includes several CERC members. Lee Wing On, who was President 1996-98, becomes Past-President in the committee (taking over from Gerry Postiglione, who was President 1994-96). Mark Bray becomes the new President (1998-2000), and Bob Adamson becomes the Secretary. Other members of the Executive Committee are Xiao Jin (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Ip Kin Yuen (Hong Kong Institute of Education, HKIEd). The CESHK is planning various activities including a conference to be held at the HKIEd on 27 March 1999.
CCES-T
The China Comparative Education Society-Taiwan (CCES-T) held its annual meeting in May 1998. CERC's Gui Qin attend as a special guest funded by the Society. The conference theme was 'Education for the New Century - Lifelong Learning for All', and Gui Qin presented a paper entitled 'Ideal and Reality: Consideration of Lifelong Learning towards 21st Century'.
Return to Table of Contents
Return to CERC homepage
Comments on the newsletter may be sent to CERC
|