Asia Pacific Education Review (ASIA PAC EDUC REV)

Publications in this journal

• Article: Teaching in the shadow: operators of small shadow education institutions in Japan

  Julian Dierkes
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  ABSTRACT: The shadow education sector plays a centrally important role in the Japanese education system. Advocates of Japanese shadow The shadow education sector plays a centrally important role in the Japanese education system. Advocates of Japanese shadow education institutions, or juku, claim that the pedagogy employed in these schools leads to superior results compared to teaching methods used in conventional education institutions, or juku, claim that the pedagogy employed in these schools leads to superior results compared to teaching methods used in conventional schools. The lack of value-added testing of juku results suggests that these claims have not been tested. In this article, schools. The lack of value-added testing of juku results suggests that these claims have not been tested. In this article, I examine the background of the owner– operators of small juku and the challenges they face in hiring teaching staff. The I examine the background of the owner– operators of small juku and the challenges they face in hiring teaching staff. The small juku examined were mostly founded during the juku-boom of the early 1970s and continue to teach 100–200 students with small juku examined were mostly founded during the juku-boom of the early 1970s and continue to teach 100–200 students with a staff usually numbering more than 10 part-time or full-time teachers. I find that almost no operators or employees come a staff usually numbering more than 10 part-time or full-time teachers. I find that almost no operators or employees come to the shadow education business by design. Instead, owner–operators “slide into” their role for lack of alternative options, to the shadow education business by design. Instead, owner–operators “slide into” their role for lack of alternative options, or through early success, or through frustration with previous careers. Subsequently, many of the owner–operators embraceor through frustration with previous careers. Subsequently, many of the owner–operators embrace their work as a pedagogical calling. In hiring teaching staff, owner–operators circumvent the larger employment market by their work as a pedagogical calling. In hiring teaching staff, owner–operators circumvent the larger employment market by hiring their own “graduates”. hiring their own “graduates”. KeywordsSupplementary education-Japan-Juku-Teachers-Teachers’ training KeywordsSupplementary education-Japan-Juku-Teachers-Teachers’ training
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 11(1):25-35.
• Article: In the red? Debt levels at higher education institutions in China

  Daguang Wu, Kai Yu
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  ABSTRACT: Borrowing from banks has become a common practice among Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs), and operating with a heavy debt load has become a characteristic of Chinese higher educational development. Substantial financial commitments acquired by HEIs during their rapid expansion since 1998 are now having serious consequences: numerous universities and colleges have found themselves with major debt problems. Some are even facing insolvency. This paper describes the background of Chinese HEIs’ debt problems, assesses the present debt and repayment situation, and suggests a possible solution for the university debt crisis, using empirical evidence from one HEI in China. KeywordsHigher education institutions–China–Educational policy–Funding
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(3):329-336.
• Article: Learner-friendly textbooks: Chemistry texts based on a constructivist view of learning

  Uğur Taşdelen, Fitnat Köseoğlu
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  ABSTRACT: In this study, the use of inquiry methods, learning cycles, a conceptual change model and analogy in creating alternative science texts was discussed. An alternative text on the topic of acids and bases was created by integrating the methods and models discussed in this paper. The alternative text and a sample of a traditional text taken from a textbook, which is still used in Turkish high schools, were given to two groups, totaling 42 pre-service teachers—the alternative text was given to an experimental group and the traditional text to a control group—in an experimental setting and their understandings of acids and bases were compared. In addition, in the second step of the study, the pre-service teachers read both texts and indicated their preferences in terms of interest, understandability and helpfullness.
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 9(2):136-147.
• Article: Development of action research in China: review and reflection

  Jun Zhou, Katrina Yan Liu
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  ABSTRACT: Action research in China during late 1970s and 1980s was influenced by positivist scientific research, believing the purpose of doing action research is to explore the general law of education. It was carried out through educational experimentations emphasizing the control of the experimental conditions. Starting from 1990s, action research in China followed the positivist model of hypothesis verification on the one hand, while on the other hand, it introduced the notion of hermeneutics: finding and solving problems in real teaching situations and thereby understanding the real situation. Entering the new millennium, action research in China has further followed hermeneutics, accompanied by the emergence of “grassroots” action research. KeywordsAction research–Chinese educational reform–Teacher professional development
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(2):271-277.
• Article: Beginning teachers’ perceptions of their levels of pedagogical knowledge and skills: did they change since their graduation from initial teacher preparation?

  Doris Choy, Sylvia Chong, Angela F. L. Wong, Isabella Y.-F. Wong
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  ABSTRACT: This study investigated changes in beginning teachers’ self-perceptions of their pedagogical knowledge and skills after their first year of teaching. Surveys were administered to 322 graduating student teachers at the end of the initial teacher preparation programme and at the end of their first year of teaching to compare if there were any differences in their self-perceptions. The results of the study showed significant increases in beginning teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical knowledge and skills in three factors: Instructional Support, Accommodating Diversity and Classroom Management. Results established the development of teachers to be an ongoing process that is initiated but not completed in initial teacher preparation. Implications of findings for induction and mentoring of beginning teachers are discussed. KeywordsBeginning teachers–Teacher education–Teacher induction–Mentoring–Pedagogical knowledge and skills
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(1):79-87.
• Article: Effects of Jigsaw III technique on achievement in written expression

  Abdullah Şahin
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  ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to compare the Jigsaw III technique (of cooperative learning) with the instructional teacher-centered teaching method in six graders in terms of the effect of written expression on their academic success. The universe of the study consists of 71 sixth-grade students studying during 2009–2010 academic term in a primary school in the province of Erzurum. Two classes were randomly selected: one (n=35) of which was the control group where teacher-centered teaching method was applied, the other being experimental group (n=36) where the Jigsaw III technique was applied. In the study, one of the most common application, pretest/posttest with control group experimental design, was chosen. The data regarding the academic success of the groups were collected by means of the achievement test in Turkish course as pretest, posttest and retention test; the students’ opinions about the group works were obtained through feedback form, group work opinionnaire, and data were analyzed through 11.5 SPSS program. The results of the statistical analysis of teaching a written expression course showed that the experimental group did significantly better than the control group in terms of academic success. In addition, it can be said that the students had positive impressions on the Jigsaw III technique. KeywordsLanguage teaching–Written expression–Cooperative learning–Jigsaw III technique–Instructional teacher-centered method
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(3):427-435.
• Article: Transition, induction and goal achievement: first-year experiences of Hong Kong undergraduates

  Beverley J. Webster, Min Yang
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  ABSTRACT: Educators worldwide are faced with challenges of understanding how undergraduates are making their school-to-university transition and becoming inducted into their academic discipline. A recent study investigated Hong Kong first-year Chinese students’ experiences of transition from school to university and induction into their discipline in relation to perceived course experiences, approaches to study and achievement of goals. Analysis of the survey data of this study indicates that although students reported transition difficulties, these were unrelated to perceptions of the course, approaches to study or achievement of goals. Students who reported good understanding of their discipline were those who achieved their goals, had a good course experience and adopted deeper study approaches. These findings suggested that rather than focusing mainly on tackling students’ transition difficulties, efforts of promoting a positive first-year experience for Chinese university students and facilitating their goals achievement should be oriented towards constructing a facilitative learning environment. KeywordsFirst-year experience–Induction into the academic discipline–Achievement of goals–Course experience–Approaches to learning
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012;
• Article: Collegiate influences on the civic values of undergraduate students in the US revisited

  Byung Shik Rhee, Anna Kim
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  ABSTRACT: Even though colleges have long attempted to promote civic-mindedness among students, recently there have been strong calls for a return and rededication to this mission. Given the many social and political changes that have occurred since Pascarella et al. (J High Educ 59(4):412–437, 1988) in Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, study, the purpose of the present investigation was to extend their established line of inquiry by examining college’s influence on the civic values held by a more recent cohort of students. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we analyzed a sample obtained from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, a nationally representative panel study of college students administered by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, which sample includes 12,738 undergraduate students from 106 four-year universities. Our findings mostly confirmed our theoretic conceptualization of collegiate influences on the civic values of students. As expected, those values were positively associated with students’ involvement in diverse activities. Institutional impacts, however, disappeared, except for structural diversity. University administrators and educators might find these results informative when developing institutional policies and practices to prepare students for good citizenship in the global society. KeywordsCivic values–College impact–Structural diversity
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(3):497-508.
• Article: High school diversification against educational equality: a critical analysis of neoliberal education reform in South Korea

  Jeongran Oh
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  ABSTRACT: Recent reforms of high school education in Korea have focused on transforming the uniform and standardized system into a deregulated and diversified system that has an emphasis on school choice and competition. Situating the high school diversification policy in the context of the recent controversy of the neoliberal educational reform, this study argues that school diversification in Korea is deeply impaired and unfulfilled, such as in situations in which the school differentiation and elite high school credentials struggle are reinforced by the peculiar nature of the Korean educational market, namely the hakbul-based society and the development of private educational markets. It suggests that special attention should be drawn to integrate the reform efforts for high school diversification into the ways in which the policy is being configured and delivered within the pursuit of educational equality and social justice. KeywordsElite high school credentials struggle–High school diversification–Neoliberal education policy–School differentiation
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(3):381-392.
• Article: Emotional geographies of teacher–parent relations: three teachers’ perceptions in Taiwan

  Hsin-Jen Chen, Ya-Hsuan Wang
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  ABSTRACT: This article attempts to use Andy Hargreaves’ theoretical framework of emotional geographies to analyze teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with parents in Taiwan. Based on the qualitative interviews with three primary teachers, the research findings show that teachers’ emotional distances from parents were intertwined with parents’ sociocultural status, teachers’ moral purposes, teachers’ notions of professionalism, teachers’ political pretense, and the frequency to contact parents. Thus, Hargreaves’ framework could be a useful tool to explore teacher–parent interactions. The paper closes with suggestions for policy considerations. KeywordsEmotional geographies–Emotional politics–Classical professionalism–Moral purpose–Teacher–parent relations
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(2):185-195.
• Article: Equity in educational resources at the school level in Korea

  Myung Suk Woo
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  ABSTRACT: This paper analyzed the equity of resources at the elementary school level in Korea using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The data included 2,327 Korean public elementary schools in 101 Local Governments within five Local Educational Offices (LEOs). This study found that schools in low property tax per resident areas receive fewer grants, showing a possible, positive relationship between wealth and educational resources. HLM analyses found that schools with higher percentages of free lunch students received more educational resources, indicating vertical equity. However, schools with higher percentages of special students received fewer resources, indicating inequity. These findings suggest recalibrating the school funding formula so that schools with high percentages of special students and with fewer grants from Local Governments could receive more funds from LEOs. KeywordsEducational resources-Fiscal neutrality-Vertical equity-Teacher salaries
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 11(4):553-564.
• Article: Individualism, collectivism, and client expression of different emotions: their relations to perceived counselor effectiveness

  Young Seok Seo
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  ABSTRACT: This study examined how individualism, collectivism, and counselor emphasis of different client emotions were related to perceived counselor effectiveness. Data were collected from 192 (122 women and 70 men) Korean students attending a large university in South Korea and from 170 (115 women and 55 men) American students attending a large Midwestern university in the United States. Participants read a counseling script in which a counselor emphasized client expression of either ego-focused emotions (e.g., anger) or other-focused emotions (e.g., guilt). Results from a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that South Korean students who were more individualistic showed more positive perceptions of counselor effectiveness when the counselor emphasized the expression of the client’s ego-focused emotions, whereas more individualistic American students perceived the counselor as less effective when the counselor emphasized the expression of the client’s other-focused emotions. Also, the results demonstrated that participants who were high collectivist and low individualistic showed more positive perceptions of counselor effectiveness when the counselor emphasized the expression of the client’s other-focused emotions, when compared to those who were high collectivist and high individualistic. Implications for counseling practice and future studies are discussed. KeywordsIndividualism–Collectivism–Ego-focused emotions–Other-focused emotions–Perceived counselor effectiveness
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(2):251-262.
• Article: Duality of educational policy as global and local: the case of the gender equity agenda in national principles and state actions

  Seung-Hwan Ham, Lynn W. Paine, Yun-Kyung Cha
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  ABSTRACT: This study provides cross-national empirical evidence that substantiates the dialectic relationship between global and local contexts with regard to educational gender equity both as a national principle and as a priority for state action. Cross-national data on educational gender equity policies across 160 countries were gathered from comprehensive datasets compiled by the International Bureau of Education of UNESCO. A series of descriptive and multivariate analyses of the data suggest that a nation-state’s adoption of a formal educational principle regarding gender equity issues is largely influenced by global epistemic models of education, whereas state actions for educational gender equity are contingent upon a range of concrete socioeconomic conditions. Educational gender equity policy appears to be an illustrative case that exemplifies the structural duality of educational policy through which nation-states successfully incorporate and display elements that conform to world models of education and yet preserve considerable autonomy of state action. KeywordsEducational policy–Structural duality of policy–Loose coupling–Global-local dynamics–Educational gender equity
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(1):105-115.
• Article: Teacher reactions to the performance-based bonus program: how the expectancy theory works in the South Korean school culture

  Bong-Woon Ha, Youl-Kwan Sung
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  ABSTRACT: This study was conducted in order to examine how and to what extent the implementation of the performance-based bonus program in South Korean schools has motivated teachers to improve their behavior, as well as to identify any other positive or negative effects of the program. Interviews with teachers indicated that a large percentage of teachers did not have a clear understanding of the evaluation system and did not feel that the evaluation standards were indicative of good teaching practice or that the evaluators were sufficiently experienced to conduct the evaluations. As a result, teachers generally had negative opinions regarding the program and did not support its continuation. Aligned with the expectancy theory, it was found that the Korean teachers’ expectancy probabilities were low, instrumentality was low, most did not value a bonus, and they perceived other negative outcomes from the program. Therefore, most teachers stated that the program was not motivating them to improve their instructional performance. Further, schools’ cultural factors such as seniority, the traditional concept of Sesheng, and mistrust of job security turn out to not facilitate the original intention of the policy. KeywordsPerformance-based bonus program–Expectancy theory–Teacher evaluation system–Teacher competency
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(1):129-141.
• Article: A survey of career guidance needs of industrial design students in Taiwanese Universities

  Ming-Ying Yang, Manlai You
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  ABSTRACT: School pupils in Taiwan spend most of their time in studying and having examinations, and consequently many of them decide what major to study in universities rather hastily. Industrial design (ID) programs in universities nowadays recruit students from general and vocational senior high schools through a variety of channels. As a consequence, ID students may vary considerably in their abilities, aptitudes, and career goals, and they are in urgent need of career guidance. This paper reports a survey of the career guidance needs of ID students in Taiwan. Eight focus groups (fifty-six students in total) were interviewed and a sample of 360 ID students, from four Taiwanese universities, were surveyed. Based on the implications of the findings, we make some proposals for design education and further research. KeywordsCareer guidance needs-Design education-Industrial design
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 11(4):597-608.
• Article: Developing new reading assessments to promote beginning reading in Singapore

  Kim H. Koh, Scott G. Paris
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  ABSTRACT: Effective reading instruction and intervention are rooted in effective assessments of children’s developing skills in reading. The article aims to describe the development of new reading assessments to help promote beginning reading in Singapore primary schools. We begin with an introduction to the educational landscape and policies before articulating the need for developing the new reading assessments to enhance teachers’ capacity in assessing children’s beginning reading for formative purposes. A detailed description of the reading assessments is included in the article as we hope that the innovation can shed some light on primary reading instruction and assessment in the Asia Pacific region. We conclude the article by discussing the implications of the new reading assessments on the teaching and learning of beginning reading. KeywordsNew reading assessments–Beginning reading–Teaching and learning
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(1):23-33.
• Article: Effects of role division, interaction, and shared mental model on team performance in project-based learning environment

  Il-Hyun Jo
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  ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive mechanism of project-based learning teams of college students on the basis of the Shared Mental Model (SMM) theory. The study participants were 237 female college students in Korea organized into 51 project teams. To test the study hypotheses, a structural equation modeling was employed. The major study findings are as follows: (1) As hypothesized, member interaction was a strong predictor both for team-related and for task-related SMM. (2) The level of the team’s division of labor reduced the member interactions. (3) Team-related and task-related SMMs were positively associated with team performance. The theoretical and practical implications based on these results are discussed. KeywordsShared mental model–Role division–Team performance
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(2):301-310.
• Article: Does attendance to a four-year academic college versus vocational college affect future wages?

  Shao-Hsun Keng, Ya-Fen Lo
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  ABSTRACT: Taiwan is one of the few countries in which bachelor degrees can be earned by attending either 4-year academic colleges or vocational colleges. This paper offers new evidence on whether returns to B.A. degrees are significantly different between academic and vocational 4-year colleges using the 1998–1999 Taiwanese College Graduate Survey. The multinomial logit model is applied to correct self-selection for employment status, and a wage equation is then estimated. The results suggest that the returns to 4-year academic colleges are 6% higher than those to 4-year vocational colleges. We also find a significant effect of college quality on wages. Moreover, public academic college graduates have the highest returns whereas those who attend private vocational colleges have the lowest returns. KeywordsHigher education–Vocational higher education–Return to education–School quality
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(1):117-127.
• Article: A longitudinal study of children’s social behaviors and their causal relationship to reading growth

  Hyo Jin Lim, Junyeop Kim
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  ABSTRACT: This paper aims at investigating the causal effects of social behaviors on subsequent reading growth in elementary school, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data. The sample was 8,869 subjects who provided longitudinal measures of reading IRT scores from kindergarten (1998–1999) to fifth grades (2003–2004) in the United States. To examine the causal relationship, propensity score methods were used to match higher and lower groups in four social behavior domains such as Approaches to learning, Interpersonal skills, Internalizing problem behavior and Externalizing problem behavior. Results showed that the matched sample achieved sufficient pretreatment balance between the two groups. To examine the effects of social behaviors on the reading growth, multilevel growth model (MGM) was employed. Comparisons of the matched samples showed that children in the high groups of pro-social behavior or in the low groups of problem behavior at kindergarten entrance started with higher reading skills and developed reading achievement faster than those who were not. This study suggests that children’s early social behavior is crucial in reading development. Practical implication and direction of future research are also discussed. KeywordsSocial behavior–Reading development–Propensity score matching–Multilevel growth modeling
  Asia Pacific Education Review 05/2012; 12(2):197-213.