Asian School Research Articles

The Roles of Southeast Asian School Managers as Instructional Leaders: An Assessment

Schools must consciously seek principals who are instructional leaders. Principals who are comfortable with providing instructional support to teachers are likely to have been good teachers themselves (Glanz 2006). This descriptive method of research assessed the roles of Southeast Asian school managers as instructional leaders in the four domains of teaching responsibilities and explored relationships among the variables of the study namely: planning and preparation, the classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities. The T-test determined the differences between the male and the female and between the Filipinos and the Non-Filipinos respondents which resulted to non-significant differences between neither of the two groups. The F-test was used to determine the significant relationships among the four domains of teaching responsibilities which established significant relationships between three pairs of domains. This research concluded that the SEA school managers are very comfortable with their level in working with teachers on content and pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of students and resources, ability to select instructional goals, and the degree to which they help teachers assess learning as well as the degree to which they encourage and create an environment of respect and caring and establish a culture for learning related to many aspects of classroom environment. Keywords - Southeast Asian School Managers, Instructional leadership, domains of teaching responsibilities, planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, professional responsibilities.

The Longitudinal Changes of National Identity in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan Before, During and After the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games

The present study examined longitudinal changes in Asian (i.e. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) school students’ national identity before, during and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Participants were 946 secondary students aged 12–17 years from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This study revealed that residence, especially the hosting city, acted as the most significant factor in longitudinal changes and contribution to the national identity among the three regions. The time factor (before, during and after the Games) was only significant when it interacted with residence. These findings suggest that residence (hosting city) provided the greatest contribution in national identity before, during and after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The Chinese number naming system and its impact on the arithmetic performance of pre-schoolers in Hong Kong

Asian children, including Chinese children, perform better than their English-speaking peers in cross-national mathematics studies. This superior Asian performance is attributed to several factors including cultural beliefs, educational systems and practices, and the Chinese number naming system. Given the limited empirical evidence on pre-school mathematics learning in Chinese societies, the outcomes of Western studies are often borrowed and adopted in curriculum planning in Asian schools. The study reported in this paper investigated the performance of Hong Kong Chinese pre-school children based on Western studies involving English-speaking children, and examined the relationship between the Chinese number naming system and children’s performance in number and operation concepts. Data were collected from 299 pre-school children aged between 3 and 5 years. The learning sequence of the children in mastering number and operation concepts was established using the Rasch Model. This study provides empirical evidence for the feasibility of borrowing lists of mathematics concepts from studies of English-speaking children to serve as a reference for school-based curriculum planning in a Chinese-speaking context. However, it is not enough to establish the relationship between children’s performance and the Chinese number naming system. Classroom instruction and cultural beliefs in mathematics learning are also important in explaining children’s performance.

New Frontiers: Science and Science Education in “Emerging” Countries

Singapore, a city‐state with limited natural resources, has invested heavily in the development of its human capital with the goal of building a sustainable knowledge‐based economy. This has required a highly educated workforce that acquires and applies knowledge to generate innovative technology and products for the 21st century. In addition to the outstanding undergraduate education available at local universities, Singapore is also blessed with a very high standard of healthcare, making it a magnet for medical tourism in South‐East Asia. In 2005, the collaboration between National University of Singapore (NUS) and Duke University led to the formation of Duke‐NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore, whose principal focus is to train physician‐scientists that can aid and attract the growing R&D efforts of major international pharmaceutical companies in Asia. In delivering on its research and education goals, Duke‐NUS has adopted a novel Team‐LEAD curriculum that places significant emphasis on students to learn and teach each other as well as provides a forum for discussion and debate not often seen in medical schools in Asia. One goal of this education system is to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship while exploring the full potential or educational capabilities of our students. The excitement of embarking on a new educational venture in Asia and the challenges of training clinician scientists for the new information age will be discussed.

An examination of the RCMAS-2 scores across gender, ethnic background, and age in a large Asian school sample.

The present study investigated the factor structure, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and U.S. norms of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, Second Edition (RCMAS-2; C. R. Reynolds & B. O. Richmond, 2008a) scores in a Singapore sample of 1,618 school-age children and adolescents. Although there were small statistically significant differences in the average RCMAS-2 T scores found across various demographic groupings, on the whole, the U.S. norms appear adequate for use in the Asian Singapore sample. Results from item bias analyses suggested that biased items detected had small effects and were counterbalanced across gender and ethnicity, and hence, their relative impact on test score variation appears to be minimal. Results of factor analyses on the RCMAS-2 scores supported the presence of a large general anxiety factor, the Total Anxiety factor, and the 5-factor structure found in U.S. samples was replicated. Both the large general anxiety factor and the 5-factor solution were invariant across gender and ethnic background. Internal consistency estimates ranged from adequate to good, and 2-week test-retest reliability estimates were comparable to previous studies. Evidence providing support for convergent and discriminant validity of the RCMAS-2 scores was also found. Taken together, findings provide additional cross-cultural evidence of the appropriateness and usefulness of the RCMAS-2 as a measure of anxiety in Asian Singaporean school-age children and adolescents.

Exploring the role of leadership in facilitating teacher learning in Hong Kong

In recent years international trends towards teacher empowerment and leadership have gained increased attraction in East Asia's education policy and practice. Yet, as scholars have noted, the values underlying these practices often conflict with traditional cultural norms of East Asian societies which stress hierarchical and status differences. This study explored the efficacy of an approach to developing distributed curriculum leadership among school teachers. The research employs discourse analysis of video-taped meetings of teachers in a mathematics curriculum development team in order to explore the leadership and teacher learning. The results provide initial support for strengthening school-level capacity for teacher leadership as a means of fostering teacher learning in East Asian schools. Implications include the need for incorporating programmes that build leadership and team development into more general staff development for teachers.

Urology in Asia – Sri Lanka

Neville D Perera M.S. (Col.), F.R.C.S., F.R.C.S.Ed., Dip. Urol. (Lond.), F.C.S. (S.L.). Editor Urology was established as a specialty in Sri Lanka in 1955 when Dr George Nelson Perera, a general surgeon, returned to the country after overseas training and was appointed as the genitourinary surgeon of the General Hospital of Colombo (now the National Teaching Hospital of Sri Lanka). His ward strength was a meager 10 beds, and had shared operating time with the general surgeons and obstetricians. His practice was confined mainly to open urological procedures, and endoscopy was reserved for diagnostic purposes. Similar to his contemporary western counterparts, he faced a fair degree of resistance from the general surgeons who competed for the practice and did not want to part with it. It is legendary that they even went to the extent of seeking legal assistance against Dr Perera for including hydrocelectomy in his list of procedures. They were bitterly defeated at a court of law by Dr Perera, who mentioned to the judge that “anything hanging between the thighs in a male falls within the scope of a genitourinary surgeon” and was unfortunately charged with contempt of court. Despite this resistance, three of his followers, who were also general surgeons who has converted into urologists, carried the baton forward and introduced transurethral resectional surgery (in 1968). This helped tremendously to get the specialty a better recognition which was further enhanced by introduction of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy in 1992. In 1980, the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) of the University of Colombo introduced a more formal and structured supervised training program comprising of 2.5 years of general surgery and 4 years of speciality training (2 years at a recognised center in the UK or Australia) with an exit examination – MS/MD (Surgery). This has produced over 25 fully fledged urologists which is still inadequate for a population of 20 million leading to a severe shortage of urological surgeons. This situation leads to the practice and maintenance of the skills of traditional open access surgery by the urologists, especially outside the main teaching centers, with the claim that open surgery is still the most cost-effective and speedy method (except in the case of transurethral resections and ureteroscopic surgery) for an unbelievably large catering population per urologist. Minimally invasive urology has been introduced, established and dispersed in Sri Lanka during the past two decades, predominantly by the National Teaching Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo (3547 bed strength), which is the center of excellence for advanced video endourological surgery, including percutaneous renal surgery, retrograde intrarenal surgery, laser therapy and advanced laparoscopy, and caters to the public sector where health is totally free and acts as a referral center to the rapidly developing private sector with health tourism. The Sri Lanka Association of Urological Surgeons (SLAUS), which was formed in 1999, obtained the membership of the Urological Association of Asia (UAA) in 2003 and ever since has been actively participating in UAA activities. SLAUS organizes several regular academic events, which include live demonstration workshops in collaboration with eminent international faculties. During the past two decades, a substantial amount of scientific research and publications have been presented by SLAUS members, and as a result the historical first ever super specialty professorial title awarded to a non-university clinician was offered to a urologist. The Sri Lanka Journal of Urology (SLJU), a peer reviewed journal, has been the official publication of the Association since 2000 and is available at the official website http://www.slaus.com. Annual scientific sessions inaugurated in 2005 by SLAUS have been graciously supported by the Asian School of Urology and took place at the November/December joint meeting with the Urology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) to celebrate its 10th Anniversary in 2009. The forthcoming joint meeting with the UAA, “Asian Urology Symposium – 2011” (17–19 November 2011) is also expected to meet with similar success and high standards. In keeping with the cessation of 30 years of civil unrest, the ever growing socioeconomic development of Sri Lanka, and the firm government policy and commitment to improve the numbers and quality of specialists supported by technological advances and regional collaboration, SLAUS plans to reach out to the population in all parts of the island (both in the public and private sector), and the future of Sri Lankan urology appears to be bright and promising.

Urology in Asia – Bangladesh

AKM Anwarul Islam M.B.B.S., F.C.P.S., F.R.C.S. Editor Bangladesh is the eighth most populous (164 million) and the ninth most densely populated (1099/km2) country in the world, having characteristic features of a developing nation. Urological diseases were managed by general surgeons for a long time. In 1965, Dr Idris Lasker founded the first urology unit at Dhaka Medical College. The next units started in 1973 at the Combined Military Hospital, and in 1982 at the Institute of Post Graduate Medicine and Research (IPGMR). Development of skilled manpower was the initial challenge and was overcome by overseas training of several general surgeons. The MS (Master of Surgery) Urology course started at Dhaka Medical College in 1995, followed by IPGMR in 1996. The course is now being run in three more institutions. The urology courses in Bangladesh are of 3-year duration after obtaining a degree or training in surgery. The urology degree is either a MS from a university or a fellowship (FCPS) from the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS), the later being started in 2001. Starting in the mid 1970s, endourology was confined to the lower tract until 1993, when extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was launched at IPGMR. A boost to endourological development occurred after several live operative workshops organized at Dhaka, as well as short overseas training of midlevel and young urologists in regional advanced centers. As a result, ureterorenoscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotripsy and laparoscopy are now carried out regularly and 14 ESWL set-ups are functioning in centers throughout Bangladesh. Beginning in 1982, transplantation gained momentum in 1988 through a WHO-aided program, and more than 800 live related renal transplantations have been carried out in several hospitals so far. Advancement in technology and skill led the super-specialties of urology to grow in Bangladesh. Several such units (Uro-oncology, Pediatric Urology, Female Urology, Transplant) were opened in 2005 at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (the former IPGMR) in Dhaka. However, the developments are mostly confined to big cities and the vast population has limited access to specialty services. The majority of urological problems are still managed by general surgeons working in 64 district hospitals. Roaming urologists provide some endourological services in these areas. The government has recently started 17 new urology units in medical colleges, mostly in the peripheral part of Bangladesh, boosting up the service and training. The Bangladesh Association of Urological Surgeons was founded in December 1988. Today it has 138 members. The association holds a monthly continuing professional development program. An international scientific conference is held once every 2 years and a national seminar in the year in between. At the conference, the “Idris Memorial Gold Medal” is awarded to a distinguished urologist and the “Siraj Jinnat Memorial Gold Medal” is awarded for the best scientific paper. Reputed faculties, mostly from neighboring countries, are invited for live operative workshops, symposiums and plenary. The Asian School of Urology has been actively and regularly contributing to the conferences. At the seventh International Conference on 4–6 February 2011, the third Asian and European School of Urology Joint Course was carried out successfully. The association has active collaborations with Urological Association of Asia, Société Internationale d'Urologie, European Association of Urology and their member associations. The association discharged several social and ethical responsibilities. It took a strong stance against threatening organ trading in the mid 1990s in Bangladesh and played an active role in formulating the “Organ Transplant Act 1999”, which allows live related (first- and second-degree) and deceased (opting-in system) transplantation, prohibiting organ trading. The association took part in programs for raising awareness of urological diseases and in creating new urology units throughout the country. The Bangladesh Journal of Urology is the official journal of the association, published twice-yearly since 1998. It is recognized by the national medical council, but is yet to be indexed in a host of abstracting indices. In Bangladesh, as in any developing country, public research is limited and priority-based. However, with the aforementioned background, organized research in the urological field is expected to evolve in the near future.

The role of model building in problem solving and conceptual change

This study examines the effects of the activity of building systems models for school-based problems on problem solving and on conceptual change in elementary science classes. During a unit on the water cycle in an Asian elementary school, students constructed systems models of the water cycle. We found that representing ill-structured problems as system models improves problem solving as well as creating beneficial conceptual change related to the topic.

“Asian Really Don’t Do This”: On-Scene Offense Characteristics of Asian American School Shooters, 91–07

Between 1966 and 2007, there were 44 mass murder incidents across schools and universities in the United States. Three of those incidents involved Asian school shooters. By using newspapers and government reports about the incidents, this paper examines the patterns of weapon acquisition, weapon deployment, and tactical deployment strategies of the three Asian school shooters. The role of the mass media as sources of identification fantasies, legitimacy, and ideational structures for the planned attacks are considered. The meaning of being an Asian school shooter in the United States is discussed.

Survey on the teaching and use in dental schools of resin-based materials for restoring posterior teeth

A survey was conducted of 100 dental schools worldwide to investigate the current teaching of posterior resin composite restorations. A 20 multi-part question questionnaire was emailed to the selected schools. Schools were selected by ability to understand and respond in English. The questionnaire consisted of four open-ended questions and 16 closed questions on topics such as material selection for restoring posterior teeth, preclinical teaching of resin composite for posterior teeth, restoration size, contraindications, matrix placement methods, lining use, adhesive selection and finishing. Forty-six schools responded. The outcomes showed all schools included the teaching of resin composite for posterior restorations but varied. The majority of schools (63%) no longer taught amalgam as the preferred posterior restorative material. Half of the schools surveyed set numerical clinical requirements for restoration placement. Australian schools had no requirements whilst 92% of Asian schools did. There was a consensus that larger restorations were less suitable for resin composite. Selection of adhesives depended on region. Generally, the schools surveyed showed minor variations philosophically in teaching of the use and placement of resin composite restorations.

In Search of Contextualised Training Models for Chinese Christian Diaspora in Britain

The paper is a critique of traditional and formal models of theological education that historically have developed in the West and are generally adopted by Asian theological schools in Asia. Globalisation and the emergence of Asian Diasporas presented new problems and opportunities for rethinking appropriate models of contextual training. Building on works by Robert Banks, Ian Stackhouse and David Kelsey, the paper will explore contextual models for the Chinese Christian Diasporas in Britain, and suggest some contributions for the renewal of theological education in Asia.

Asian School of Urology, Young Leaders' Workshop, Kyoto 2010

As part of the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Urological Association of Asia (UAA), the Asian School of Urology, Young Leaders' Workshop was held in Kyoto, 23-25 April 2010. The workshop focused on future national Asian leaders in the field of Urology and was arranged by the Asian School of Urology (ASU), an educational branch of the UAA, and Dr Osamu Ogawa, the workshop Organizer. Urologists from several Japanese universities contributed to the workshop as advisors, taskforce members, and group members. The workshop was also actively supported by Dr Allen Chiu (Taiwan) and Dr Stephen Lim (Singapore). A younger generation of urologists was invited to attend the workshop and, in all, 29 delegates from 17 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam), chosen on the basis of recommendations from local councils, attended. The purpose of the workshop was to open channels of communication between future Asian leaders in Urology. The workshop topic was "Asian Clinical Guidelines". Workshop participants were divided into five groups addressing distinct issues associated with the notion of clinical guidelines: Group A, General Problems; Group B, Prostate Cancer; Group C, Stone Disease; Group D, Infectious Diseases; and Group E, Bladder Cancer. The workshop consisted of an introductory session, followed by three main sessions, each of which consisted of a group discussion of specific problems associated with the establishment of Asian Guidelines for Urological Diseases and how best to deal with them, followed by a plenary presentation of the outcomes.

Beyond Family and Ethnic Culture

This article extends our conceptual understanding of social capital and school achievement through a comparative race and ethnic approach. Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) 1988-1990 panel, this article develops a more comprehensive understanding of school achievement by exploring circumstances, which the authors call “preconditions,” leading to the potential for the realization of social capital. These “preconditions” are used to explain academic engagement disparities between Southeast Asian, Black, Mexican, and White high school youth. Whereas previous research on social capital leaves the mechanism through which social capital influences school outcomes unspecified, this study focuses on a behavior associated with positive educational outcomes—time per week spent on homework outside of school. Although preconditions for parental capital appear to have some influence on students’ study behavior, so too do preconditions between and within schools, such as peers and teachers. This research shows that relationships outside the family—that is, within and between school opportunities for social capital—play a significant role in explaining variation between the four ethnic groups.

Chinese business schools and the future of management in the post‐crisis era

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the responsibilities and opportunities that arise for management education out of the 2008/2009 economic and financial crisis, with a focus on the emerging leadership role of Asian business schools, notably in China.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins by identifying three fundamental challenges for management education. It then discusses two conceptual issues relating to, first, the contents and systems to be included in curriculum reform and learning, and second, the drivers of change in management education. The paper draws upon conceptual papers advanced by leading business school deans, and identifies conditions which provide Asian business schools with a unique, transformational role.FindingsThe depth, breadth and seriousness of current economic and social problems in emerging economics suggest that the necessary reform and transformation of management education is most likely going to be led by business school deans and management education faculty located in and working with business leaders in emerging markets. China business schools are likely to emerge as thought leaders in the reform process in part due to the quality of scholars, especially “returnees”, now locating there.Practical implicationsThought leadership from Asian/Chinese business schools will change the current academic model, based on one‐way knowledge transfer, to a two‐way learning model. This transformation from industrialized to emerging economies will have far‐reaching consequences for curriculum design, faculty exchanges and international cooperation between business schools.Social implicationsThe shift toward Asia‐ or China‐originated thought leadership is evidence of a wider international social trend.Originality/valueThe paper challenges existing views of management education which are still led by Europe and North America, thus offering a new perspective on the drivers of change in management education.

Construction and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Taiwanese Elementary Students’ Attitudes toward Their Science Class

The main purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the attitudes toward science class of fourth‐ and fifth‐grade students in an Asian school culture. Specifically, the development focused on three science attitude constructs—science enjoyment, science confidence, and importance of science as related to science class experiences. A total of 265 elementary school students in Taiwan responded to the instrument developed. Data analysis indicated that the instrument exhibited satisfactory validity and reliability with the Taiwan population used. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.93 for the entire instrument indicating a satisfactory level of internal consistency. However, both principal component analysis and parallel analysis showed that the three attitude scales were not unique and should be combined and used as a general “attitudes toward science class” scale. The analysis also showed that there were no gender or grade‐level differences in students’ overall attitudes toward science class.

Non-Stranger Identification: How Accurately Do Eyewitnesses Determine If a Person is Familiar

The extensive research literature on eyewitness memory has been restricted to memory for strangers. This study assessed how accurately people can recognize individuals they have casually seen before, and whether this determination is affected by the cross-race effect and exposure time to the test picture. One hundred and fifty seven Asian and non-Hispanic White high school students in a small private high school viewed yearbook pictures of (a) graduated students who were seniors when participants were freshman (“familiar”) or (b) unfamiliar individuals, and responded whether each target individual was familiar. Recognition accuracy was surprisingly low. The mean hit rate was .45. The mean false alarm rate was .28; 28% of unfamiliar individuals were misidentified as familiar. Further, the cross-race effect was not evidenced in these results. An eyewitness’s report that he can recognize a perpetrator because he has seen him casually in the past is of dubious reliability.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt dislodgement after a haircut with hair clippers in two shunted boys

Hair clippers are widely used to cut hair short at the occipital region for Asian school boys. A haircut as the cause of shunt dislodgement has not previously been reported. Two previously shunted boys presented with shunt dysfunction 1 to 2 days after a haircut during which hair clippers were used at the occipital region. Both of them have undergone shunt utilizing a three-piece system. During the operation, the distal catheter was found to be disconnected from the reservoir at the connector site in both patients. One patient recalled that he had felt pain and then heard a crack when the connector site of the reservoir was dislodged from the distal catheter at the postauricular region. Their ages at the time were 10 and 11 years, respectively. During the time period between this revision and the previous surgery, the patients exhibited increases in body height of 32 and 52 cm, respectively. We propose that when children are growing rapidly, the distal catheter is subjected to traction at the site of its connection with the reservoir. A haircut that includes the use of clippers at the occipital region causes a rapid increase in the shearing strain at the shunt connector site that may further stretch the shunt and induce shunt disconnection. Nurses and physicians must address the need to prevent shunt dislodgement caused by haircuts with clippers in young, rapidly growing, male patients who require shunts. A two- or one-piece shunt may prevent this complication.

The Music in the Heart, the Way of Water, and the Light of a Thousand Suns: A Response to Richard Shusterman, Crispin Sartwell, and Scott Stroud

In organizing this discussion, Scott Stroud has opened up an important topic that, I hope, will be further seriously explored. We are at beginning of a potentially significant dialogue between East(s) and West(s), in which even our misunderstandings may be illuminating. Aside from whatever views of pragmatism there may be outside of West, it is not very well understood even on its home ground. And aesthetic dimension of pragmatism its living heart, I maintain is not well understood by those who comprehend it as utilitarianism or even as enlightened technology.1 That its aesthetic side might be where it is actually most open to Asian schools of the art of life is further indication of need to rethink

Enhancing the quality of LIS education in Asia

PurposeThis paper aims to describe continuing effort to develop a repository of teaching materials for sharing and reuse in library and information science (LIS) schools in Asia. It also aims to propose a framework for carrying out a user study to validate the taxonomy and metadata, and evaluate how they support the reuse of teaching materials in four Asian countries.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a combination of approaches. The first phase focuses on building a repository of learning materials powered by taxonomy and metadata with enhanced searching and browsing capabilities. The second phase uses different evaluation techniques to propose a framework for assessing the usability of learning materials.FindingsThe potential for reuse of teaching materials in the area of information organization is examined by analyzing how various aspects of this topic are covered in three Master's programs in Information Studies, Knowledge Management, and Information Systems at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. A faceted taxonomy has been helpful in tagging different types of learning objects. A metadata scheme based on DC‐Education and LOM has been used for enhanced description of learning materials.Originality/valueThis paper makes contributions in several ways. It suggests guidelines for developing taxonomies in different domains; describes steps in building repositories of learning materials; and suggests a methodology for studying reusability of learning material.