UNESCO's relatively high prestige across East Asia has spurred intensifying efforts by governments to use its imprimatur to legitimate official narratives of the past and visions of the future. This article focuses on China's use of UNESCO as an arena for competitive national 'branding' in the education field, especially relating to STEM and AI.…

Recent research has focused either on the internationalisation of China's higher education (HE) as soft power, or on soft power with 'Chinese characteristics'. There is a paucity of research combining these two foci. This paper fills this gap by: (i) unravelling the meanings and features of the 'Chinese characteristics' embodied in the policies of…

It was not until the 1930s that comparative education, with the initiation of dedicated courses and programmes at universities in various countries, that the field became internationally recognised in its own right. And, it was not until the 1930s that the first internationally recognised journal in the field, the "International Education…

Singapore is described as a hybrid neoliberal-developmental state. While politicians have, since the city-state's independence, exercised 'strong' ideological leadership over Singapore's economy and society, including education -- there are simultaneously aspects of 'neoliberal' logics in Singapore's education system: extensive school choice and…

A review of the educational history of South Korea provides a frame for descriptions of authoritarianism in various school contexts. The lack of student rights, teacher rights, and parent rights is discussed, and the need for radical transformation of the educational structure and school culture is proposed. (Contains 31 references.) (SV)

Authoritarian rule in Africa has exacerbated poverty levels in six ways. Achievement of greater democracy depends upon political culture and civil society in Africa becoming more democratic; education must play a part in teaching democratic values and behaviors. Examples show how education has not furthered democracy in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and…

Examines the role of the state in South African university affairs during the apartheid era (1948-90). Suggests that interactions between the state and universities were more volatile than is generally portrayed in the literature and were especially so during the 1980s when the state struggled unsuccessfully to overcome popular challenges to White…

Compares the strategies, procedures, and outcomes of educational reform under Argentina's military autocratic government (1976-83) and the civilian democratic government that followed (1983-93). Points out that the harsh change strategies employed by the military regime proved ineffective, even disastrous, but the participative strategies of the…

Background for understanding the experience of Muslim immigrant students in French schools. Discusses the philosophy of equal education as equal access to the same knowledge (defined exclusively by the state and teachers); lack of teacher accountability; examination-based selection; and church-state separation. Describes government responses to…

Classroom observation and student group interviews in two French and two English elementary schools suggest that student understanding of such educational values as authority, thought, the nature of student control over learning, and educational goals and how to achieve them are related to national culture and affect student motivation. Contains…

The impact of the international donor-supported District Primary Education Programme on the thinking and actions of 234 primary school teachers in South India was influenced by four cultural constructs: "openness to regulation,""sense of duty," and views on social hierarchy and knowledge acquisition. Teachers were receptive to…