CERC Monograph Series in Comparative and International Education and Development No. 11 ‘Changing Times, Changing Territories: Reflections on CERC and the Field of Comparative Education’ is now available for free download.
The book is edited by Maria Manzon and the authors are the former and present CERC directors. Please come to meet the editor and authors on Saturday, 7 Feb, 2015, at 3.00 pm in Rayson Huang Lecture Theater!
By Maria Manzon
Chair: Mark Bray
In this seminar, Maria Manzon will trace her research trajectory from being an MEd student of Comparative Education at HKU to a comparative education researcher in and from Singapore. Her in-depth sociological research on the global history of the field is presented in her book Comparative Education: The Construction of a Field (published by CERC in 2011). She will comment on aspects of her book and share insights on the evolution of her research agenda and the power of comparative research.
Maria MANZON is a Research Scientist at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. She is Chair of the Admissions and New Societies Standing Committee of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) and Editor of CIEclopedia. She is an Associate Member of the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC) at HKU. Her research interests include comparative education theory, history and methodology, sociology of knowledge, Asian pedagogies, shadow education and parental involvement. She was co-editor of a volume of histories of comparative education societies (2007), and of another volume about comparative education in universities worldwide (2008). Her 2011 book entitled Comparative Education: The Construction of a Field has been acclaimed for its comprehensive approach and path-breaking conceptualisation.
Date: Wednesday 4 February 2015
Time: 12.30 – 14.00
Venue: Room 203 Runme Shaw Building
All are welcome!
By Nirmala Rao
Chair: Mark Bray
Investing in early childhood education helps reduce repetition and drop-out in the early grades of primary education, and lessens the impact of income and social inequalities. Yet about 50% of children in the East Asia and Pacific Region do not receive preschool education. There is a need for programs to promote development, and a measurement tool to evaluate efficacy.
This seminar describes the process of development of such a tool and preliminary findings from its use. It reports on collaboration with UNICEF and partners in Cambodia, China, Fiji, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu.
Nirmala RAO is Serena H.C. Yang Professor in Early Childhood Development and Education and the Dean of Graduate School at University of Hong Kong.
Date: Monday 2 February 2015
Time: 14:00-15:30
Venue: Room 405 Meng Wah Complex
All are welcome!
By Abbas M. Arani Chair: Liz Jackson
This seminar will focus on aspects of government policy and gender relations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It will note the origins and justifications for the policies, and the implications for educational institutions. The phrase “ambivalent sexism” refers to both hostile and benevolent approaches to females and males in various social circumstances.
The seminar will focus not only on schools but also on private tutoring centers. It will note that the rigid requirements on schools are to some extent softened in the supplementary education sector. To date, the government has overlooked this matter, either deliberately or by default. As such, the seminar contributes to discussions on the social functions of educational institutions in the mainstream and in the shadow education sector.
Abbas M. Arani is a member of the Comparative Education Research Centre and a Postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Policy, Administration and Social Sciences Education at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Education.
Date: 12 January 2015 (Monday)
Time: 12.45 – 14.00
Venue:
Room 204 Runme Shaw Building
All are welcome!
Speaker: Anatoly Oleksiyenko
Chair: Mark Bray
This talk considers the dilemmas tackled by higher education stakeholders in China and Russia amid increasing global tensions that heighten the sense of polarity between traditional and modern academic roles and responsibilities in teaching, research and service. At a time when global scientific prestige becomes increasingly important for the differentiation of institutional goals, missions, and capacities in national systems of higher education, university strategists in the two countries are prone to overlooking the greater purposes of “studium generale” and its contribution to enhancing human dignity. The discussion builds on the speaker’s related publication in the Comparative Education Review.
OLEKSIYENKO, Anatoly is Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Division of Policy, Administration and Social Sciences Education at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Education.
Date: Thursday 27 November 2014
Time: 12.45 – 14.00
Venue:
Room 203 Runme Shaw Building
All are welcome!
Tuesday 30 September, 12.45 to 2.00 pm, Runme 202
Speaker: W. James Jacob
Chair: Mark Bray
This seminar will explore themes from the book co-edited by W. James Jacob, and published by CERC, entitled Inequality in Education: Comparative and International Perspectives. The book includes both conceptual chapters and national case studies using a range of methods. It also offers a strategic comparative and international education policy statement on recent shifts in education inequality. Perspectives are drawn from 18 countries across six geographic regions.
As a special arrangement, the thick book (584 pages) will be made available at half price during the seminar. [Normal price: HK$300; seminar price: HK$150].
W. James Jacob is Director of the Institute for International Studies in Education at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. He is also Historian of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES). His research interests include higher education management; good governance; culture, language, and identity; quality assurance; and organizational effectiveness.
Warmly invites you to the CERC film screening of “Girl Rising”: the innovative documentary at the heart of the campaign to Educate Girls and Change the World.
Time: 4:30-5:30pm, Monday September 22nd 2014
Venue: Room 206, Rumne Shaw Building
Film followed by group discussion chaired by Professor Mark Bray.
Click here to learn about the movie.
To RSVP email Jodi Mullen at the following address by Friday 19th 2014:rtrhkbooktober@gmail.com
Speaker: N’Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba
Chair: Mark Bray
May 22 at 10:30am to May 23 at 12:00am
Room 202, Runme Shaw Building, the University of Hong Kong
When analyzing contemporary educational systems in Africa, there has been a tendency to focus on formal education that resulted from the colonial experience. Yet, in spite of the profound and sweeping changes that were introduced into the African societies, the foundation and critical dimensions of Africa’s institutions and culture have survived.
This presentation will view the construction of education through the lens of African humanism as popularized by Nelson Mandela and others. The discussion will be allied to the theme of the 2015 annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in Washington DC: “Ubuntu! Imagining a Humanist Education Globally”.
N’Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba is a Professor of African, African Diaspora and Comparative/International Education at Cornell University, USA. She is the Vice-President of Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), and will serve as President in 2015/16. Her early education was in Côte d’Ivoire, followed by France, Canada and the USA. Dr. Assié-Lumumba is a leading scholar with several books, numerous articles and book chapters on various dimensions of education, especially higher education, gender and equity.
Trey Menefee
Chair: Mark Bray
12:30 – 14:00
Tuesday, April 15th
Runme Shaw 203
In what sense has education become like economics, a field primarily dedicated to the growth and prioritization of the object of its study? This seminar uses data collected from private schools for migrant children in Chengdu to illustrate Tilly’s (1998, 2001) framework of relational inequality. It shows how focusing on ‘more’ and ‘higher quality’ education is itself a mechanism that reproduces and sustains many of the very inequalities reformers hope to tackle, especially for those already at the bottom. This framework presents a significant conceptual challenge to the rights-based approach to international educational development, of which some implications will be explored.
Trey Menefee is a PhD student and part-time Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong and the author of Education in the Commonwealth and several works on the political economy of education and development.
“I invite all of you to join me in this exciting endeavor to extend our influence and impact across the region in the area of policy and leadership for change in higher education. I am sure we can bring an innovative edge to the Summer Institute and remain a leading source for new thinking about university futures.”
Professor Gerard Postiglione
Convener Summer Institute 2014
“The Summer Institute in 2013 has received positive endorsement from both the participants and all other contributors. It is a new way of learning for leaders for tomorrow. This is possible because of our unique position. It is not just a seminar or a training workshop. It is a great learning experience for everybody.”
Professor Kai-Ming Cheng
Convener Summer Institute 2013
Learn more at the Summer Institute website.
