Introduction

This book aims to fill this gap in the scholarship on social education by drawing on the research findings and/or experiences from scholars in eight East and Southeast Asian societies. In this regard the editors of this book hope that it will be a significant addition to the literature, and will shed light on how the social education curricula are constructed and implemented across these societies in response to both internal and external forces.

At the same time this book is not a comprehensive survey of social education in the region. Rather it is a selective set of case studies examining contested and compelling issues in the debates about social education in eight diverse societies in East and Southeast Asia.

The book will be intellectually stimulating and inspiring, not only to the social educators and comparativists who can see more about social science education from non-western perspectives, but also to curriculum developers, policy makers, social educators and front-line teachers who can enrich their professional experiences through learning from other countries/regions.