Civic Education in the Asia-Pacific Region

Book excerpt: This book examines the approach to civic education in six societies located on the Pacific Rim: Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and the US. In these scrupulously designed studies, the contributors investigate the recent re-emergence of civic education in this region. Developments such as globalization, nationalism, and sovereignty have profound effects on how schools make "good citizens." These essays reveal how definitions of citizenship are contested and revised under such influences, and interrogate differences in civic education from nation to nation. As societies attempt to strike a balance between obedience and critical thinking, schools become the primary site of these transformations. Analyzing both educational policy and its implementation, these contributors offer a groundbreaking, comparative study that grounds civic education historically and politically.