Seminar

On March 22nd, CERC was proud to host Professor Kevin Kester for its seminar series. The seminar focused on exploring Higher Education (HE) pedagogies for peace with university educators in four divided and conflict-affected contexts: China/Taiwan, Cyprus, Korea, and Somalia.

Professor Kester’s study investigated the teaching of peace and reconciliation through HE in settings affected by conflict. Using a combination of fieldwork, document analysis, and interviews with 40 faculty members, he employed inductive thematic analysis to generate four themes: community, complexity, criticality, and change. These themes were then further analyzed through the lenses of cultural political economy of education and borderlands.

The findings of Professor Kester’s research revealed contested interpretations and creative and resilient approaches to the teaching of peace in divided contexts. The study highlighted the challenges and opportunities of teaching peace in conflict-affected settings and emphasized the importance of education in promoting peaceful coexistence.

The seminar was joined by CERC members, master students in the Faculty as well as other scholars from around the world through online participation. CERC is looking forward to hosting more seminar in the coming April.

CERC is hosting a two-day roundtable jointly organized by CERC and Kyoto University on March 4th and 5th, 2024. This event will bring together presenters and discussants from both Kyoto University and The University of Hong Kong, creating a platform for vibrant discussions and valuable exchanges of ideas.

The roundtable will cover a wide range of topics, most of which fall within the field of Comparative Education in the context of Asia. To participate in this event, please refer to the following information:

Date & Time: March 4^th and 5^th (Monday and Tuesday)

Location: RMS 403 & Zoom (hybrid)

Zoom link: https://hku.zoom.us/j/5963291331

Meeting ID: 596 329 1331 (or scan the QR code on the poster)

Chairs: Lili Yang & Jeremy Rappleye

For details of presentations and seminars, please see the attached agenda.

On February 2nd, the Comparative Studies in Educational Traditions SIG held its first seminar of the year 2024. The seminar featured Dr. Zhu Yanzhen, a PhD graduate from the Faculty, who presented her doctoral research on Chinese intellectual traditions. Dr. Zhu shared her insights on constructing an analytical framework for interpreting Chinese intellectual traditions during the seminar. The term “intellectual tradition” is frequently used but rarely defined, leaving room for further theoretical and empirical inquiries. Dr. Zhu’s theoretical inquiry began with a comprehensive examination of the definition of tradition and further explored the theories of Edward Shils and Michael Polanyi. The inquiry was deepened with the inclusion of non-Western intellectual histories and traditional Chinese resources.

Dr. Zhu’s developed analytical framework defines Chinese intellectual traditions as patterns that guide the actions of Chinese intellectuals, both explicitly and tacitly. The framework also suggests that an individual’s real experiences can serve as a starting point for exploring intellectual traditions. Dr. Zhu’s presentation shed light on the complex topic of intellectual traditions and provided a valuable framework for interpreting Chinese intellectual traditions. Her approach emphasizes the importance of considering non-Western intellectual histories and traditional resources when exploring intellectual traditions.

The seminar was attended in person by Prof. Yang Rui, Prof. Nutsa Kobakhidze, Prof. Liz Jackson, Prof. Jeremy Rappleye and Prof. Yang Lili. Additionally, participants from around the world joined online. The seminar was facilitated by SIG secretary Fan Lijun and CERC secretary Tian Renxiang. We look forward to more seminars in 2024.

CERC was very proud to host Prof. Michael Crossley for a talk at the CERC public seminar on December 4th, 2023. The seminar, titled “Challenges for Comparative and International Education: Learning from Qualitative Methodologies and Research Traditions in Oceania,” provided a platform for CERC members to engage in a conversation with Prof. Crossley in the field of Comparative Education.

During the first part of his presentation, Prof. Crossley offered a historical perspective on the development of Comparative and International Education. He highlighted the challenges faced by the field in the current socio-political climate, where critical interrogation of the intellectual foundations has become a priority due to global changes and tensions. Prof. Crossley further explored the challenges posed by the dominance of Northern epistemologies and the influential projects of international organizations, such as PISA. He drew connections between these challenges and his own experiences with Oceanic research epistemologies and traditions, offering valuable insights into alternative approaches and perspectives.

The talk was chaired by Prof. Mark Bray, the UNESCO Chair at the University of Hong Kong. CERC members from the Faculty, including Dr. Liliyang, Prof. Ora Kwo, and Dean Yang, were present, along with more than 50 participants attending both online and offline.

The event was dedicated to the memory of Ronald Sultana, a professor of comparative education at the University of Malta, who passed away on November 23rd, 2023.

On November 30th, CERC held a talk by Prof. Jeremy Rappleye on the topic of the approach to happiness. This talk was based on his latest book “An Interdependent Approach to Happiness and Well-Being” (Palgrave, 2023), co-authored with Yukiko Uchida. The talk aimed to provide a historical and comparative perspective on the definition of happiness. In particular, it highlighted the unique understanding of happiness in Japanese society and critiqued the dominant measurement frameworks used by international organizations such as the OECD, UNICEF, and UNESCO. These organizations and their indices, according to the speaker, tend to conceptualize happiness and well-being based on Western European and American philosophical, cultural, and social sciences. The talk delved into these policies and biases, drawing from the insights presented in the speaker’s new book.

This seminar was chaired by Nutsa Kobakhidze and attended by over 40 online participants from around the world, as well as 38 faculty staff and students. Following the talk, the audience engaged in a discussion, raising questions about the philosophical assumptions of happiness and its ontological and epistemological aspects. This led to critical reflections on how happiness is understood and how it can be known. CERC plans to organize more engaging seminars in the coming week, stay tuned for our next seminar on December 4th.

CERC and the Comparative Studies of Education Traditions SIG were very proud to host Professor Ruth Hayhoe for a seminar titled “East-West Crosscurrents in Comparative Education” on November 21st, 2023. The seminar consisted of a thirty-minute talk and a dialogical discussion about the challenges of bridging the gap between the rich Eastern higher educational traditions and the dominant Western university traditions. During the seminar, Professor Hayhoe shared insights from a recent book chapter on how Comparative Education and Comparative Higher Education have been influenced by the emergence of a Dialogue Among Civilizations and a value-explicit approach to educational research pioneered by scholars rooted in Asian civilizations. A book table was also set up at the event, showcasing four books that Ruth has contributed to CERC since the early 1990s. The event was attended by faculty staff, members of CERC, and the Comparative Studies of Education Traditions SIG from both domestic and international locations.

Ruth Hayhoe has been an old friend of CERC and is currently a professor at the University of Toronto. She previously served as the Cultural Secretary in the Canadian Embassy in Beijing (1989-1991) and as the Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, now known as the Education University of Hong Kong (1997-2002). Her research primarily focuses on Chinese higher education and educational relations between East Asia and the West. Some of her recent books include “China Through the Lens of Comparative Education” (2015), “Canadian Universities in China’s Transformation” (2016), and “Religion and Education” (2018).

CERC held a seminar on October 5th on immigrant parenting and social justice by Dr. Max Antony-Newman from the university of Sheffield Hallam University, the UK. The seminar focused on immigrant parenting and social justice within the Canadian context. Max presented two examples of the “funds of knowledge” approach to parental engagement for social justice, highlighting the importance of plurilingual parenting and curriculum orientations. Additionally, he emphasized the need to ensure teacher readiness for effective parental engagement through the implementation of professional standards. Following the presentation, Max engaged in a productive discussion with students and staff, addressing their questions and concerns. The seminar was chaired by Dr. Nutsa Kobakhidze, Director of CERC, and joined by 14 attendees at the meeting room and 18 online attendees from other countries and regions.

The Shadow Education Special Interest Group (SIG) organized a successful seminar on September 28th, highlighting the research work of three graduates from CGSED program. The event provided a platform for these talented individuals to present their capstone projects, shedding light on important aspects of the education system.

The seminar focused on two crucial topics: the identity of teachers and the expectations and choices of parents regarding supplementary private tutoring in the context of current education policies. The graduates presented their in-depth studies, demonstrating their dedication and expertise in these areas.

The event attracted participation from 16 members hailing from diverse countries and regions. The attendees were eager to engage in insightful discussions and learn from the research findings presented by the CGSED graduates.

On July 20th, CERC held its seminar titled: “The Tutoring Industry in Hong Kong: Changes, Threats, and Opportunities.” The seminar featured Richard Eng, Co-founder and Academic Director of Beacon College, a tutorial company in Hong Kong, as the guest speaker. The seminar also joined by two distinguished discussants: Mark Bray, UNESCO Chair Professor at HKU, and Zhang Wei, Executive Director for the Centre for International Research in Supplementary Tutoring (CIRIST) at ECNU. The seminar is chaired by Nutsa Kobakhidze, Director of CERC, and attended by 60 attendees from CERC members.

This seminar began with a brief introduction to the education system in Hong Kong in the 1980s, followed by the speaker’s discovery of a niche market for tutorial schools at that time. The seminar also described the growth of the speaker’s business from its humble beginnings 30 years ago to a publicly listed company in 2018. At the end of the seminar, the speaker shared his views on the future of the tutoring industry in Hong Kong, as well as the outlook for operating tutorial schools in mainland China in the face of the ‘Double Reduction policy’.