A Systematized Review of Research into/on Asia Literacy in Schools

Abstract

This chapter presents a systematized review of the research literature on Asia literacy in schools over the last 25 years. It finds that much had been written but only around 10% of publications meet basic inclusion criteria to be classified as empirical or theoretical research. Overwhelmingly the published research literature is written by scholars in Australia about Asia literacy in Australian schools and schooling. There are seven substantive areas in this research. The largest proportion of publications relates to Asia literacy policy; the areas of least research are curriculum, pedagogy, and student learning. In broad terms, research on Asia literacy in schools is local rather than national and descriptive rather than theoretical. There is an absence of systematic, multi-method, larger-scale studies with comparative or control groups, studies amenable to generalizable findings, or studies that examine Asia literacy in relation to key theories in education, curriculum, psychology, or other subdisciplines. Across all substantive areas, there remains a lack of clarity as well as ongoing debate about the meaning of Asia literacy as a project and field of study and research in school education.