Education in South-East Asia

Lorraine Pe Symaco is Director of the Centre for Research in International and Comparative Education (CRICE) at the University of Malaya, Malaysia.

• Series Editor Preface, Colin Brock (University of Durham, UK)Contributors1. Education and Issues in South East Asia: A Regional Overview, Lorraine Pe Symaco (University of Malaya, Malaysia)2. Brunei Darussalam: Planning for Educational Transformation and ICT in Education, Murray Brown (Educational Consultant, Brunei Darussalam) and Haji Abdul Rahim Derus (Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam)3. Cambodia: Educational Leadership From Dependency to Sovereignty - Challenges and Response, Vincent McNamara (Educational Consultant, Cambodia)4. Cambodia: Higher Education, Luise Ahrens (University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia) and Vincent McNamara (Educational Consultant, Cambodia)5. Indonesia: The Challenges of Quality and Equity in Education, Mark Heyward (Educational Consultant, Indonesia) and Sopantini (University of Tasmania, Australia)6. Indonesia: Islamic Higher Education - Periphery within Periphery?, Anthony Welch (University of Sydney, Australia) and Saefudin Syafi'i (University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia)7. Lao PDR: The Great Transformation, Richard Noonan (Independent Researcher, Laos), Phouvanh Phommalangsy (University of Queensland, Austrlia) and Inthasone Phetsiris (Ministry of Education and Sports, Loas)8. Malaysia: Ethnocracy and Education, Moses Samuel (University of Malaya, Malaysia) and Meng Yew Tee (University of Malaya, Malaysia)9. Malaysia: The Education of Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children, Hema Letchamanan (Taylor's University, Malaysia)10. Myanmar: Governance, Civil Society and the Developments in Education, Richard Martin (Educational Consultant, Australia)11. The Philippines: Education Issues and Challenges, Lorraine Pe Symaco (University of Malaya, Malaysia)12. The Philippines: Higher Education and Development, Lorraine Pe Symaco (University of Malaya, Malaysia)13. Singapore: Education in Transition, Letchmi Devi Ponnusamy (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) and Saravanan Gopinathan (UniSim, Singapore)14. Singapore: The Malay Ethnic Minority - Playing Perennial Catch-up in Education? Jason Tan (National Institute of Education, Singapore)15. Thailand: Issues in Education, Chaiyuth Punyasavatsvt (Thammasat University, Thailand)16. Timor-Leste: Education, Decolonisation and Development, Bob Boughton (University of New England, Australia)17. Vietnam: The Education System - A Need to Improve Quality, Martin Hayden (Southern Cross University, Australia) and Le Thi Ngoc Lan (Foreign Trade University, Vietnam)Index

This excellent book on education in South-East Asia is a welcome addition to the literature on that region, not only because South-East Asia is growing and changing so fast but because it has often been neglected by educators in Europe and the north. Unlike many comparative and international education books this one does not follow any particular theme. Instead all the authors, who are authorities on the particular countries that they are writing about, identify what they perceive to be the main contemporary issues and problems facing their respective education systems. An admirable feature worth mentioning is that each chapter lists web sites where additional information and insights may be found. I highly recommend this book to students and scholars alike who have an interest in South-East Asia.