Decentralization and Education: Asian Experiences and Conceptual Contributions examines the specific ways in which decentralization policies have affected the structure and delivery of education in eleven Asian nations. Written by top scholars in the field, the case studies provide detailed and rich empirical evidence documenting the tensions as well as synchronisms between the ideas that form the basis of decentralization policy and the contexts into which they are introduced. The high quality of this collection of essays and the careful attention to local contexts for implementation will make this book a must read for academics, policy planners, practitioners, and students of Asia.

Global interest in Japanese education and industrial training has grown steadily over the last twenty years. The English-language articles included here, written by Japanese and foreign scholars, contain historical studies, and a range of other topics and disciplinary perspectives. An introduction provides a general context for the essays which follow, and represents some recent thinking on the successes and costs of Japanese education and training from school to office and shop floor.
This set covers:
* the contribution of Japanese education and training to the economy and culture of Japan today
* the lessons Japan has to offer the rest of the world
* the Japanese influence on the 'East Asian Approach' to education, in comparison with the educational systems of Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong
* Japan's promotion of 'learning organizations' and 'knowledge workers' for the information age

Christopher Bjork highlights the complexities of teachers' behaviour & locates their actions within the broader cultures of education & government in Indonesia. He also focuses on recent attempts by the Indonesian government to delegate increased power to classroom teachers.

Taking Teaching Seriously expands and enriches discussions about teacher preparation in the United States. Its authors describe the unique contexts for teacher preparation offered by liberal arts institutions and analyze the effects of these programs on their graduates and on K 12 schools. They emphasize that the goals and conditions for teacher preparation differ from larger public institutions in several key respects including supervisor-student teacher relationships, philosophical foundations, and approaches to clinical fieldwork. Taken together, the essays provide compelling evidence that educational studies programs in liberal arts colleges and universities constitute a vital component of the teacher education system in the United States.

"This highly readable book contains important lessons for us all." - Katherine Schultz, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania Taking Teaching Seriously expands and enriches discussions about teacher preparation in the United States. Its authors describe the unique contexts for teacher preparation offered by liberal arts institutions and analyze the effects of these programs on their graduates and on K-12 schools. They emphasize that the goals and conditions for teacher preparation differ from larger public institutions in several key respects including supervisor-student teacher relationships, philosophical foundations, and approaches to clinical fieldwork. Taken together, the essays provide compelling evidence that educational studies programs in liberal arts colleges and universities constitute a vital component of the teacher education system in the United States. Contributors: Irving Epstein, Alice Lesnick, Alison Cook-Sather, Lisa Smulyan, Vicki Kubler LaBoskey, Linda R. Kroll, Christopher Roellke, Jennifer Rice, Susan Riemer Sacks, Charlotte Mendoza.

In this first ever published study of life inside Indonesian schools, this book uniquely explores the role that classroom teachers play in school reform efforts. Weaving together narrative description and critical analysis, Christopher Bjork highlights the complexities of teachers' behaviour and locates their actions within the broader cultures of education and government in Indonesia. He also focuses on the Indonesian government's recent attempts to delegate increased power to classroom teachers. The decision to decentralize represented a significant departure from previous education policies. For the first time teachers were asked to perform as leaders rather than followers in their schools. Most educators resisted these opportunities to increase their influence, opting instead to conform to the status quo. Analyzing this lack of action, the book connects the stasis to deeply engrained views about the role of the Indonesian teacher within the schools, the society, and the state.

If there is one thing that describes the trajectory of American education, it is this: more high-stakes testing. In the United States, the debates surrounding this trajectory can be so fierce that it feels like we are in uncharted waters. As Christopher Bjork reminds us in this study, however, we are not the first to make testing so central to education: Japan has been doing it for decades. Drawing on Japan's experiences with testing, overtesting, and recent reforms to relax educational pressures, he sheds light on the best path forward for US schools. Bjork asks a variety of important questions related to testing and reform: Does testing overburden students? Does it impede innovation and encourage conformity? Can a system anchored by examination be reshaped to nurture creativity and curiosity? How should any reforms be implemented by teachers? Each chapter explores questions like these with careful attention to the actual effects policies have had on schools in Japan and other Asian settings, and each draws direct parallels to issues that US schools currently face. Offering a wake-up call for American education, Bjork ultimately cautions that the accountability-driven practice of standardized testing might very well exacerbate the precise problems it is trying to solve.

If there is one thing that describes the trajectory of American education, it is this: more high-stakes testing. In the United States, the debates surrounding this trajectory can be so fierce that it feels like we are in uncharted waters. As Christopher Bjork reminds us in this study, however, we are not the first to make testing so central to education: Japan has been doing it for decades. Drawing on Japan's experiences with testing, overtesting, and recent reforms to relax educational pressures, he sheds light on the best path forward for US schools. Bjork asks a variety of important questions related to testing and reform: Does testing overburden students? Does it impede innovation and encourage conformity? Can a system anchored by examination be reshaped to nurture creativity and curiosity? How should any reforms be implemented by teachers? Each chapter explores questions like these with careful attention to the actual effects policies have had on schools in Japan and other Asian settings, and each draws direct parallels to issues that US schools currently face. Offering a wake-up call for American education, Bjork ultimately cautions that the accountability-driven practice of standardized testing might very well exacerbate the precise problems it is trying to solve.