Review of research publications on educational leadership and management in Asia: a comparative analysis of three regions

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which calls over the past 15 years for increased empirical research on educational leadership and management in Asia have yielded increased knowledge production. The study analyses trends in research about and/or from Asia published in eight core educational leadership journals between 2000 and 2011. We provide an overall picture of the volume and impact of knowledge production in the region, as well as insights into change in the rate of knowledge production from the region over time. The study employs a comparative lens, specifically analysing differences in knowledge production capacity and impact across West, South and East Asia. These comparative analyses extend further to understanding variations in the contributions of different societies and universities across Asia. Although the research identified a disappointing level of overall publication in the region, interesting patterns were revealed with respect to the distribution of publications both across and within the three regions of Asia. Taken together the results suggest that progress in developing an ‘Asian knowledge base’ in this field remains stunted, and that regional capacity to produce empirical knowledge continues to be limited to selected societies and universities.