In July 2022, the Contributing to Solving Global-Scale Issues: Talent Cultivation for Professionals in Educational Policy Administration, one of the CAMPUS Asia Plus programs jointly administered by the East China Normal University (ECNU) in China, University of Tsukuba (UT) in Japan, Korea National University of Education in the Republic of Korea (ROK), Khon Kaen University (KKU) in Thailand, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Malaysia, and Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, was officially launched. The CAMPUS Asia program was jointly initiated in 2012 by the education authorities of China, Japan and the ROK, in order to promote in-depth exchanges of outstanding students in Asia, deepen practical cooperation among Asian universities, and build a cross-border platform for deep explorations of various topics.
The program covers three professional fields including pedagogy, innovative materials and environmental sciences. The ECNU Faculty of Education was deeply engaged in the design and implementation of the first and second phases this year. It has organically combined research results in professional fields with educational policies and, with the goal of cultivating professionals in education policy administration to “contribute to solving global-scale issues,” formulated, practiced and launched the program in a comprehensive manner according to local conditions.
On the afternoon of November 16, 2022, the second-phase thematic symposium of CAMPUS Asia Plus in ECNU was successfully held in Room 1113 of the Liberal Arts Building in sync with an online Zoom meeting. Focusing on “Educational Policy Contributing to Solving Global-Scale Issues,” graduate students from various schools made academic reports on relevant policy topics. The symposium was presided over by Associate Professor YOU Yun from the ECNU Faculty of Education. QIU Yue, Director of the Office of International Affairs of the Faculty of Education, delivered opening remarks, and Professor PENG Xinqiang, Associate Professor GAO Xingyuan, Associate Professor LI Lin, Associate Professor WANG Lijia and Associate Professor YOU Yun from the ECNU Faculty of Education served as reviewers. Reports were delivered by graduate students LIU Ruomeng, ZHOU Zhaolin, Kariyawasam Manage Tharanji Dilshani, and PhD student ZHOU Jie from ECNU; Hyun Jaegyun, a PhD student from the UT College of Education; and Jenjira Huaisai, a graduate student from the KKU Faculty of Education.
A group photo of attendees
Associate Professor YOU Yun presides over the symposium
Associate Professor YOU Yun opened with a brief introduction to the theme and agenda of the symposium and extended her warm welcome to the guests present. QIU Yue, Director of the Office of International Affairs, stressed the background and significance of the CAMPUS Asia Plus program, expressed her gratitude to the faculty and staff, and looked forward to future cooperation among the six partner institutions in her speech.
LIU Ruomeng, a graduate student from the ECNU Department of Education delivers a report
LIU Ruomeng, a graduate student from the ECNU Department of Education gave her report titled “Pursuit of Educational Equity and Quality: A Comparison Between China and Finland in Educational Policies,” dialectically analyzing the relationship between “educational equity” and “educational quality.” She compared the differences in educational conditions and cultural characteristics between China and Finland, and pointed out the inevitability and importance of the complementarity and promotion between educational equity and quality from the perspectives of social culture, teaching methods and teachers’ education, based on the interaction between the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and educational policies. Finally, when it came to educational policy, LIU proposed that more in-depth comparative studies on the educational status quo, concepts and policies in different countries could help us better explore domestic characteristics and learn from other countries for better reflections on policy and educational quality and equity.
ZHOU Jie, a PhD student from the ECNU Department of Preschool Education delivers a report
ZHOU Jie, a PhD student from the ECNU Department of Preschool Education, delivered a report titled “How to Better Promote Sustainable Development of Preschool Education — An Empirical Investigation in China.” Based on the goals and inclusiveness of the sustainable development of preschool education, ZHOU conducted research on the status quo of inclusive preschool education in China and discussed how to develop and improve the mechanisms for inclusive preschool education from the perspectives of management departments, principals and teachers. In view of the currently unbalanced development of inclusive education in different regions, especially the practical problem of “the collapse in central China,” ZHOU suggested that the policy should focus more on the “neglected” region of central China and emphasized the importance of improving theoretical foundations, establishing long-term mechanisms, and balancing the roles of different stakeholders, especially vulnerable populations.
Jenjira Huaisai, a graduate student from the KKU Faculty of Education, gives a report
Jenjira Huaisai, a graduate student from the KKU Faculty of Education, delivered a report titled “Strategic Proposals for School Administration Towards Sustainable Development.” Focusing on the “quality of work and life,” “sustainable environment,” “educational opportunities,” and “learning and innovation,” she interviewed five school administration experts in Thailand and analyzed the factors that would influence the sustainable development of school administration. She pointed out that the formulation of educational policy should be based on school realities and suggested that both schools and policy makers should pay attention to the “quality of work and life” and “sustainable environment.”
Kariyawasam Manage Tharanji Dilshani, a graduate student from the ECNU Department of Education, delivers a report
Kariyawasam Manage Tharanji Dilshani, a graduate student from the ECNU Department of Education, delivered a report titled “Reversed Gender Disparity in Secondary Education Amidst Economic Crisis in Sri Lanka.” He analyzed how the “reversed” gender disparity in the secondary education of Sri Lanka — educated females gradually outnumbering educated males — further affected the labor market and proposed that the government agencies concerned should strengthen their policy execution capacity to ensure that adolescents can complete compulsory education. At the same time, the guiding role of policies in leading the transition from the low-skilled to the high-skilled market should be strengthened to ensure women’s job opportunities.
Hyun Jaegyun, a PhD student from the UT College of Education, delivers a report
Hyun Jaegyun, a PhD student from the UT College of Education, delivered a report titled “The Approaches to Teaching Cross-Curricular Skills in Global Citizenship Education in Japan and South Korea: Enhancing Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusive Teaching in Diverse Environments.” Based on an analysis of the relationship between teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive teaching, global citizenship education, cross-curricular skills teaching, and teachers’ experience in diverse environments, he pointed out that with the increase of population mobility in East Asia, cross-curricular skills teaching is more conducive to fostering students’ awareness of global citizenship and that teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive teaching and experience in diverse environments are crucial to global citizenship education.
ZHOU Zhaolin, a graduate student from the ECNU Department of Educational Administration, delivers a report
ZHOU Zhaolin, a graduate student from the ECNU Department of Educational Administration, delivered a report titled “Investigating the Relationships Among Teachers’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior, Self-Efficacy and Practical Knowledge: A Mixed-Method Study in China.” He selected 383 teachers of basic education in Anhui Province as representative research subjects, and verified the moderating role of teachers’ self-efficacy in knowledge sharing behavior and practical knowledge based on the teachers’ professional development against the backdrop of curriculum reform. He suggested that schools and government agencies should provide support for teachers’ professional development, help them enhance their sense of self-efficacy, and encourage knowledge-sharing behaviors.
Experts give comments and summaries
Professor PENG Xinqiang, Associate Professor GAO Xingyuan, Associate Professor LI Lin, Associate Professor WANG Lijia, and Associate Professor YOU Yun from the Faculty of Education gave wonderful comments on each report respectively. While fully appreciating the students’ research literacy and potential, they also raised certain questions and gave valuable suggestions in terms of research methodology, theoretical frameworks, conclusions and policy recommendations. In the end, Associate Professor YOU Yun summarized the reviewers’ comments, and re-emphasized notable items in the research: to begin with, when it comes to core concepts, it should be assumed that the audience knows nothing about the concepts, which therefore must be clarified and defined; second, in comparative research, it is important to cautiously choose the database, look up related materials as much as possible in advance, and specify whether the data is culturally biased or representative; third, attention needs to be paid to the language used in academic reports.
The courses and teaching tasks in the first and second phases of the 2022 CAMPUS Asia Plus program have now reached a successful conclusion.
The Contributing to Solving Global-Scale Issues: Talent Cultivation for Professionals in Educational Policy Administration, one of the CAMPUS Asia Plus programs jointly administered by ECNU and five other universities in Asia, will last from 2022 to 2025. After that, ECNU will continue to work with partner institutions for international cooperation based on the previous program to solve problems in international education, develop educational policies, and cultivate talented individuals in education.
