Announcement

By Andy Green

Chair: Mark Bray

In an era which is rapidly losing the idea of education as a ‘public good,’ it is useful to remember the origins of our modern education systems, and the role of the state in their creation. Today we see a rapid marketising of education around the world, with increasing privatisation of educational services, the introduction of private sector management practices in public schools, and a growing perception of education as a private consumer good. The collective purposes of education, which animated the formation of national education systems, are being attenuated as providers view parents and students as customers, and the latter see education as a ‘positional’ good for which they must compete and, in many instances, pay.

However, just as we need to remember the key role of the state in the formation of education systems, we need to challenge some myths around educational globalization and markets. There is little evidence that neo-liberal models of education raise standards. Furthermore, the adoption of markets in education has been very uneven, and not all countries are converging around a single market model of education.

Andy Green is Professor of Comparative Social Science at the UCL Institute of Education, and Director of the ERSC Research Centre on Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES). His main field of research is the com-parative (historical and sociological) study of education and training systems. He has frequently worked as consultant to international bodies such as the European Commission, OECD and UNESCO, and to UK Government bodies. His works have been translated into Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. A new and extended edition of his prize-winning 1990 book was published in 2014 as Education and State Formation: Europe, East Asia and the USA. Other books in-clude Regimes of Social Cohesion: Societies and the Crisis of Globalisation, Palgrave 2011.

Date: Wednesday 18 November

Time: 12.45 – 14.00

Venue: Room 203 Runme Shaw Building

All are welcome!

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Kevin Yung, Nutsa Kobakhidze

Zhang Wei (Authors)

Are you ready to believe in research findings just because they are published?

How can we cultivate a research culture for sustainable deep inquiry?

If you care about such questions, this book is for you!

 
Private supplementary tutoring, commonly known as shadow education, has greatly expanded worldwide. The topic is in some respects difficult to research. Contours are indistinct, and the actors may hesitate to share their experiences and perspectives. Presenting methodological lessons from diverse cultures, the book contains chapters from both high-income and low-income settings in Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East.

Highlights for the book launch:

•  the background stories leading to the critical reviews of all chapters
•  insights into the design and conduct of research

Date: Friday 6 November 2015

Time: 14:30 – 15:45

Venue: Room 203 Runme Shaw Building

Participants are entitled to a 20% discount off the list price (HK$250)

By Hugo Horta

Chair: Mark Bray

Time to completion of PhDs has been rising. This reflects an increased opportunity cost for those interested in doing a PhD. It has been a longtime concern for policymakers, students and universities in countries with developed scientific and higher education systems, but starts to be an issue in developing countries where doctoral education is emerging and expanding.

This seminar will focus on the extent to which public funded PhD grants, under a competitive framework, impact on time to completion of doctorates in a country where doctoral education only developed substantially since the mid-1990s. The analysis is guided by contract theory, from a signaling approach perspective, to show that credentials (signals) can have either a positive or negative effect on time to completion.

Hugo Horta is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong, His research interest focuses on overlapping issues of science and higher education policy, namely academic mobility, careers and knowledge networks, internationalization of higher education, scientific productivity, and comparative studies. He is a Coordinating Editor of Higher Education, a leading journal in higher education research.

12.45 – 14.00
Tuesday 20 October
Runme Shaw 202