The Educational Needs of Knowledge Economies Project

Faculty of Education Collaborative Research Initiative

The emerging educational needs of knowledge economies in the Asia-Pacific region: implications for Australia

Team leaders:

Professor Joseph Lo Bianco (Language and Literacy Education)
Professor Simon Marginson (Centre for the Study of Higher Education)

Other members:

Sophie Arkoudis (CSHE)
Emmaline Bexley (CSHE)
Kieran O’Loughlin (LALE)
Jane Orton (LALE)
Erlenawati Sawir (CSHE)

Project worker and administrative coordinator:

Emmaline Bexley (613 8344 7435), bexleye@unimelb.edu.au

Summary:

The research program investigates (1) the education and research needs of emerging knowledge economies in the Asia Pacific region in the context of globalisation and regional relations, social organisation and demography, educational systems and institutions, and languages and cultures, including the use of English in the Asia-Pacific region; and (2) the implications of these Asia-Pacific developments for Australian policy, education and research, and for the development and the regional positioning of institutional education in Australia, including the University of Melbourne. Over time and through the evolution of a number of strands of inter-disciplinary investigation, supported by funded projects, the research program will build capacity and expertise in the Faculty, facilitating innovative academic collaborations within the University and Australia and with international scholars and centres, and the development of applied policy work and consultancy in Australia and in the Asia-Pacific.

Rationale for the research program:

Everywhere education systems, policies and institutions are being transformed by globalisation, which is ‘the widening, deepening and speeding up of world wide interconnectedness’ (Held et al. 1999, p. 2). Educational institutions and policies have always been relatively open to international influences because of their immersion in knowledge, language and culture, which freely cross national borders; and because of the central role of modern education systems in national development within the world context. Now, more than before, worldwide networking and exchange are reshaping social, economic and cultural life in the developed and emerging nations; and the institutions and national systems of education and research are deeply implicated. Education is the medium for a wide range of cross-border relationships and continuous global flows of people, information, knowledge, technologies, products and financial capital. Education plays a major part in forming individual and collective identities. Education and the capacity of people are central to global competences, capacity and competitiveness. Inclusion/exclusion in relation to education and knowledge (including R&D and also ICT networks) have become key dividing line in shaping relations of global power and inequality. In a world characterised by both greater mobility and significant human insecurity, education is one of the sites where human rights are secured and social protections are enhanced. And educational institutions, systems and policies are themselves being transformed and reinvented by local and global changes.

No single discipline or field of knowledge by itself is sufficient to fully comprehend globalization, or to capture all of the implications for education and research. This makes an inter-disciplinary approach essential. Further, the implications of global changes vary greatly by culture, nation, city and locality and can play out quite differently in the various kinds of educational institution. Of all the world’s major regions the countries closest to Australia in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific constitute both the fastest growing countries, and the most diverse. There is immense cultural and educational variation, and a major gap between wealthy nations such as Singapore, approaching near universal post-school participation, and poorer nations such as Myanmar and Cambodia with low rates of participation and funding, and instability in policy: for example in Cambodia, the Royal University of Phnom Penh has experienced nine major shifts in language of instruction since 1960, reflecting diverse colonial statuses, as well as aid and development dependency. There are also varied traditions of government and democracy. To understand and respond to globalisation and to position education effectively it is essential to understand not just global systems and flows but also these national and local dimensions and contexts, and to work in partnership with regional researchers.

A major site of change is language use where globalisation has at the same time foregrounded the expanding role of English; encouraged more plural and hybrid approaches to English/ Englishes in many nations; problematised national language policies; brought some stronger regional dialects, often crossing national borders, to the fore; and created needs for language plurality in countries like Australia, such as skills in Putonghua (‘Mandarin’) and other Asia-Pacific languages. Language policy is often at the heart of global competence and is a live issue in all nations. Another significant site of development is national policy and university strategy in research and development. Some Asian nations such as Japan, Korea, China and Singapore are investing strongly in basic research capacity, seen as crucial to shaping now only national capacity but national autonomy and identity in the global setting. Other Asia-Pacific nations remain more dependent on foreign PhD training and access to worldwide research resources. There are also policy issues concerning the respective roles of global English and national languages in research, particularly in research in social sciences and the humanities.

These developments are of crucial importance to Australian education planning and scholarship, yet so far (with honourable exceptions) the Asia-Pacific region have had little strategic impact on Australian education faculties except in student recruitment. To align itself more effectively with regional trajectories and emerging educational needs, Australian education must deepen its research-based understanding of the nations of the region, and the potential for regional collaboration, so as to develop the capacity for programs, projects and student recruitment strategies nested more effectively not just in Australian-centred contexts but in Asia-Pacific contexts: culturally sensitive, linguistically competent, based on knowledge of local histories, economies and polities. It is hoped that this Faculty CSRI on ‘The emerging educational needs of knowledge economies in the Asia-Pacific region: implications for Australia’ will take a qualitative lep forward in deepening research-based understanding and the capacity for engagement in the region, contributing to policy and pedagogical development not just in Australia but in the different Asia-Pacific contexts. At the same time, Australian institutions also needs to deepen their educational encounter with the international students from the Asia-Pacific region who come to Australia to study. This involves rethinking pedagogies, curricula and strategies for interaction between international and local students; as well as language related issues such as preparation in English, bi-lingual programs and issues related to IELTS and other language testing. Such a more sophisticated and competent educational encounter will necessarily be based on a closer knowledge of the educational backgrounds of students from the Asia-Pacific. This a heightened understanding of the region goes hand in hand with a stronger international education program.

The objective is a research program that can sustain (1) ‘basic’ research in core areas of inquiry; (2) the maintenance of basic data about education in the region and a website that becomes a significant resource on a global scale, together with a seminar and conference program; (3) applied research and consultancy work in areas of immediate relevance. These three domains would feed into the capacity of each other, and it is hoped that the program will be a springboard for ARC Discovery applications; ARC Linkage applications (some with foreign partners); funded projects supported by ARC, the University and elsewhere involving collaborations scholars in Asia-Pacific universities; and projects generating net revenues, including work with international agencies such as the World Bank, ADB and OECD. It is also planned that the program will sustain an extensive portfolio of academic publications in the form of articles, chapters and books, and conference keynotes and papers. Here the program  also links closely with Growing Esteem in which internationalisation bolsters the knowledge transfer, research and teaching components of the Melbourne Model.

Potential strands of research and development work:

The potential strands of research and development work for longer term development include:

1. The role of English as a language of instruction in secondary and higher education institutions in Asian countries
2. The impact of comparative literacy assessments on education policymaking in these countries
3. The role of Chinese and Japanese in research profiles of higher education institutions
4. Issues of cross-border people mobility including (1) lowering of barriers to mobility, (2) professional knowledge about Asia in Australia, and (3) issues related to the international student experience inside and outside Australia including English language preparation and use, IELTS and other testing
5. The internationalisation of education in the different countries of the region, including curriculum innovations in relation to cross-border student mobility
6. Comparative Asia-Pacific study of the international and global perspectives, strategies and activities of universities in the Asia-Pacific region
7. Research and development (including basic research), knowledge transfer, exchange and priority setting in emerging Asia-Pacific knowledge economies
8. Pacific and development education

Activities so far:

Following the initial planning meetings and Faculty approval of the CSRI a project worker/administrator was appointed (Emmaline Bexley) with a brief to assist the development of a larger scale research and development program. Emmaline’s current work consists of (1) construction of a data base on education, language and research in each Asia-Pacific nation; (2) identification of potential sources of funding for research and development work, and assistance with the preparation of funding submissions; (3) coordination of the further development of the potential research strands.

Data collection has commenced in relation to all Asia-Pacific nations, a summary/ overview for each nation has been prepared, and a body of resources in relation to language and language planning and policy is being collected. Emmaline is also collecting materials on research policy, capacity and strategy in Asia-Pacific nations.

Submissions for funded research

In the current Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant round, Professor Simon Marginson is seeking funding for a four year project (2008-2011) entitled ‘University position-taking strategies in the global environment: a cross-country study of the Asia-Pacific region’ [strand of research and development work 5 above]

Submissions are in preparation for the ARC Linkage Grant program, concerning professional and policy aspects of English language education and use.