高等教育のグローバル化とSTEM教育改革

Spurred by the World University Rankings, universities worldwide are striving to become World Class Universities (WCUs). Accordingly, the perception prevails that the strong governmental intervention into higher education is preferable to the chaos of the market mechanism in establishing WCUs. This monograph confirms this perception regarding the success of Singaporean and Chinese research universities.
This monograph also documents the diversity of the globalization of higher education in Asia in spite of the growing pressure to conform to the standards set by the U.S and the U.K. Thailand is focused on the training of domestic workforce, Australia is taking advantage of privately funded students from Asia, and Taiwan is connecting to Southeast Asia, the U.S. and the Greater China in its own way.
There persists a great gap between American and Asian education. American students are motivated and good at communication skills but often lack basic academic skills. Asian students obtain high scores on international tests but often lack engagement in learning. To produce innovation, both expertise and engagement are necessary.
Today, pedagogical theory is revealing the reason for the lack of innovation in Asia. Innovation requires inner motivation, encouragement, and collaboration. The excessive attention to examinations and authoritarian attitude of teachers in Asia inhibit creativity and collaboration. The knowledge society requires the transformation of the existing education in Asia, in which active learning can provide the solution.