Changing Education

This book responds to the growing unease of educators and non-educators alike about the inadequacy of most current educational systems and programs to meet sufficiently the demands of fast changing societies. These systems and programs evolved and were developed in and for societies that have long been transformed, and yet no parallel transformation has taken place in the education systems they spawned. In the last twenty years or so, other sectors of society, such as transportation and communications systems, have radically changed the way they operate, but education has remained essentially the same. There is no doubt: education needs to change.

To those ready to accept this challenge, this book represents a welcome guide. Unlike most books on educational policy, this volume does not focus on improving existing educational systems but on changing them altogether. Its focus is not on doing things better, but on doing better things; not on doing things right, but on doing the right things to prepare students for a fast changing interdependent world.

Peter D. Hershock is an Educational Specialist and Coordinator of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is trained in both Western and Asian philosophy, with a specialization in Buddhist philosophy. His research and writing focus both on historical dimensions of Buddhist thought and practice, and on their relevance to addressing such contemporary issues as technology and development, education, human rights, and the role of values in cultural and social change. Mark Mason is Associate Professor in Philosophy and Educational Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, where he is also Director of the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC). With research interests in philosophy, educational studies, comparative education and educational development, he is Regional Editor (Asia & The Pacific) of the International Journal of Educational Development, Editor of the CERC Studies in Comparative Education Series, and President of the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong. John N. Hawkins is a Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is Director of the Center for International and Development Education at UCLA, where he served for twelve years as Dean of International Studies. His research focuses on education and development, and specifically on higher education reform, in the Asian region. He is the author of 15 books and over 60 articles on educational development in Asia.