In search of “Asian perspectives” in the field of adult education: From Asian perspectives to deimperialization

Abstract

AbstractWhat constitutes an “Asian perspective” in the field of adult education? Through a literature review of journal articles from 1990 to 2023 on adult education in the geographical category of Asia, I analyzed how these discussions connect to an Asian perspective. I identified five approaches through which Asian voices have been articulated in the literature: (1) distinct and shared cultural traditions, (2) ambiguities in Asian diaspora transitions, (3) local and/or historical practices applying the lens of Western or external theories, (4) local and/or historical experiences with a focus on practice, and (5) Indigenous/independent theorizing. In addition to a need to de‐reify theory by contextualizing processes of theorizing, I argue for deimperialization in the field of adult education—a need to interrogate imperial imaginaries that persist in education theorizing and practices across Asian regions and making the category of “Asians” fluid by historicizing relations of power such as colonialism, imperialism, and neoliberal capitalism.