ACE2012


“Learning and Teaching Through Transformative Spaces”

October 24–28, 2012 | The Ramada Osaka, Osaka, Japan

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Welcome Letters

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the Fourth Annual Asian Conference on Education, which I am delighted to co-chair with Professor Michiko Nakano, with whom I had the pleasure of also co-chairing the Second and Third Annual Conferences. Indeed, I am honoured that I have been associated with the Asian Con­ferences on Education since their inception, attending the inaugural conference in 2009.

The Asian Conference on Education is an interdisciplinary international conference that invites aca­demics, practitioners, scholars and researchers from around the world to meet and exchange ideas. What I have particularly appreciated at the previous ACE conferences is the shared development of intellectual ideas and the challenges to dominant paradigms that occurred through the academic ex­changes of the conferences. I have every confidence that this year's conference will extend and de­velop the debates still further.

The conference theme, “Learning and Teaching Through Transformative Spaces”, is an important one to education and is no doubt in part the reason that this conference has attracted delegates from across the globe. Previous conferences have explored ways in which we can learn and teach in a glo­balised world, looking at contestations and challenges to such learning. They have shown how educa­tion and lifelong learning have been seen as a solution to a host of local and global problems whilst globalised education systems are becoming increasing socially, ethnically and culturally diverse. This year's conference extends these discussions to consider the transformative spaces of learning and teaching. As education systems becoming increasingly socially, ethnically and culturally diverse, and become increasingly challenged through cuts in funding and politically through policy changes, the challenges of engaging with this theme become ever more important.

The programme for this conference promises to be an exciting one, with thematic topics that address the central aim of the conference in different but complementary ways, including through papers that draw on empirical research, that develop theoretical and conceptual insights, and that engage with pedagogy, experiential and lifelong learning. The conference will be enhanced through its wide variety of presenters, who will draw on their diverse experiences and knowledges and on their academic, personal and geographical contexts, in a programme that promises exciting and challenging discussion.

I have no doubt that we will all be able to use the time spent at this conference for intellectual dis­covery and for the development of collaborative links and connections between the researchers, aca­demics, scholars and practitioners who are attending.

I strongly encourage your active engagement with this conference.

Whether you are returning to ACE, have been at previous conferences, or are new to ACE, I am sure you will get a great deal from this year's conference.

Yours sincerely,

Sue Jackson
Professor of Lifelong Learning and Gender
Pro-Vice-Master for Learning and Teaching
Birkbeck, University of London, UK


Welcome to the 4th Asian Conference on Education!

The Asian Conference on Education is organized in affiliation with Birkbeck College, University of London (UK), Waseda University (Japan), the National Institute of Education (Singapore), the Na­tional University of Tainan (Taiwan), Lincoln University (UK), the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HK), and Auburn University (USA), and on behalf of the conference affiliates and the Organizing Committee, headed by Dr Joseph Haldane, I am delighted to welcome all of you to the fourth ACE, here again in Osaka.

ACE is an interdisciplinary international conference that invites academics and independent scholars and researchers from around the world to meet and exchange the latest ideas and views in a forum encouraging respectful dialogue. ACE 20I 2 will afford the opportunity for renewing old acquain­tances, making new contacts, and networking across higher education. Academics working in Japan and Asia will be encouraged to forge working relationships with each other, as well as with colleagues from Europe and the US, and facilitating partnerships across borders. In these ways, ACE offers unique opportunities for our mutual collaborations and interactions among many participants.

This year's Conference Theme is "Learning and Teaching Through Transformative Spaces".

As the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Asian Conferences on Education showed, education and lifelong learn­ing have been seen as a solution to a host of local and global problems whilst globalized education systems are becoming increasing socially, ethnically and culturally diverse. The Fourth Asian Conference on Education extends these discussions to consider learning and teaching in globalized and transformative world-spaces.

I appreciate very much the work of the organizing committee in assembling such a good program, and I have to express my gratitude to all the attendants. Your contribution and participation have made, and continue to make ACE such a success.

Lastly, I would like to thank the following ACE2012 Programme Advisers for their sincere commit­ment: Professor Mary Stuart (Vice-Chancellor, University of Lincoln), Professor Judith Chapman, A.M. (Professor of Education, Australian Catholic University & Visiting Fellow, St Edmund's College, Cambridge University), Professor David Aspin, (Professor Emeritus of Education & Former Dean, Monash University, Australia), Professor Tien-Hui Chiang (Professor of Education, National Tainan University).

It has been my honor and privilege to serve as a co-chair for the ACE community. I will of course continue to serve the ACE community and would like to ask all of you to continue your support to ACE in the years to come.

I look forward to meeting you all!

Michiko Nakano
ACE2012 Conference Co-chair
Professor, Faculty of Education & Integrated Arts and Sciences
Director of the Distance Learning Center
Waseda University, Japan

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Speakers & Conference Chairs

Professor Katsuhiko Shirai

The Open University of Japan & Waseda University, Japan

Keynote Speaker

Dr Katsuhiko Shirai is Chairperson of the Foundation for the Open University of Japan, and Executive Advisor for Academic Affairs at Waseda University, Japan. He was the 15th Presi­dent of Waseda University, serving two terms from 2002-2010.

An electrical engineer by training, specializing in artificial intelligence, Professor Shirai has lead university reforms in information technology, international and academic affairs. From 1982-1990, he was the director of the University's Information System Center, and Dean of Academic Affairs as well as Executive Director of the International Center from 1994-1998. From 1998-2002, he served as Vice-President for Academic Affairs before being elected to the presidency of Waseda University in 2002.

Professor Shirai is a past president of both the Japan Universities Association for Computer Education, and the Japan Association of Private Colleges and Universities. In 2005, he was awarded the 56th NHK Broadcast Cultural Award by the Japan Broadcasting Association, and in 2007, the Grande Ufficiale OSSI-Ordine della Stella della Solidarieta' Italiana.

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Professor Michiko Nakano

Waseda University, Japan

ACE2013 Conference Chair & Featured Panel Chair

Michiko Nakano is a Full Professor in the School of Education at Waseda University in Tokyo. She is currently Director of the Digital Campus Promotion Office, Director of the Distance Learning Center, and Director of Cross-Cultural Distance Learning. A former Deputy Dean of Student Affairs, School of Education at Waseda University and a former Chairman of the Department of English Language and Literature, Dr Nakano's research concentrates on the practical applications of Computer Technology as it relates to Language Teaching and Assessment.

She is the co-founder of the Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics (PAAL), and co-editor-in-chief of its journal, and a former secretary general of the Japan Association of Col­lege English Teachers (JACET). Dr Nakano has edited and published more than 220 papers and books.

Featured Panel Presentation (2012) | "English Education in Asia"

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Professor Sue Jackson

Birkbeck, University of London, UK

ACE2013 Conference Chair

Professor Sue JacksonSue Jackson is Pro-Vice-Master for Learning and Teaching, Professor of Lifelong Learning and Gender and Director of Birkbeck Institute for Lifelong Learning at Birkbeck University of London. She publishes widely in the field of gender and lifelong learning, with a particular focus on identities. Sue's recent publications include Innovations in Lifelong Learning: Critical Perspectives on Diversity, Participation and Vocational Learning (Routledge, 2011): Gendered Choices: Learning, Work, Identities in Lifelong Learning (Springer, 2011, with Irene Malcolm and Kate Thomas); and Lifelong Learning and Social Justice (NIACE, 2011 forthcoming). Sue is delighted and honoured that she has been involved with the Asian Conferences on Educa­tion since their inception: first as a featured speaker in 2009; then as co-Chair and keynote speaker in 2010; and co-Chair for the 2011 and 2012 conferences.

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Professor Ka Ho Joshua Mok

The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

Featured Speaker

Professor Joshua Mok is Chair Professor of Comparative Policy, concurrently he is Associate Vice President (External Relations), and Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). Before joining the HKIEd, he was Associate Dean and Professor of Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Being appointed as founding Chair Professor in East Asian Studies, Professor Mok established the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Bristol, UK before taking the position at HKU. Professor Mok is no narrow disciplinary specialist but has worked creatively across the academic worlds of sociol­ogy, political science and public and social policy while building up his wide knowledge of China and the region. He has been appointed as Chaired Professor under the Chang Jiang Scholars Program 2009 for his outstanding achievements in comparative education and East Asian studies.

Professor Mok has published extensively in the fields of comparative education policy, comparative development and policy studies, and social development in contemporary China and East Asia. In particular, he has contributed to the field of social change and education a variety of additional ways not the least, of which has been his leader­ship and entrepreneurial approach to the organisation of the field. His membership on numerous editorial boards, commissions, in key scholarly societies all contribute to the recognition that he is among the best in his field. He is a founding editor of Journal of Asian Public Policy and Comparative Development and Policy in Asia Book Series (published by London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group). In the past few years, Professor Mok has also worked closely with the World Bank and UNICEF as International Consultant for comparative development and policy studies projects. He is also a part-time member of the Central Policy Unit, The HKSAR Government.

Featured Presentation (2012) | “The Quest for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Changing Role of Universities in East Asia”

This paper critically reviews major policies and strategies adopted by the selected East Asian economies (including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea) in fostering and advancing innovational mindset, research and entre­preneurship. With particular reference to examine the role of higher education in promoting innovation, this report attempts to explore the relationship between the state, the industry and the university in facilitating research and development and advancing innovation. The first part of this presentation will briefly outline the past and present of the National 'Innovation System (NIS) of all the selected cases, followed by discussions on recent reforms or de­velopments of higher education of these Asian economies. The core of the presentation will examine the role of higher education in promoting innovation, assessing how far their collaborations and interactions with the industry would promote research and development.

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Professor Marcel Lebrun

Plymouth State University, USA

Featured Speaker

Dr Marcel Lebrun has been an educator for thirty four years. During that time he has been a classroom teacher, administrator, school counselor, and special education teacher. He was the director of a stress and anxiety clinic from 1994-2002 and a university counselor from 2002--2005. He is presently a professor and Chair of the Educa­tional Leadership, Learning and Cuniculum Department at Plymouth State University.

De Lebrun teaches classes in special education, behavior management, leadership and educational methodology at the undergraduate and graduate level. He has taught abroad and traveled extensively throughout the world. He has published several books on depression, sexual orientation, alternate families, school shootings, violence and ag­gression in teenagers and children. He has published several articles on behavior issues and mental health concerns in children, and in the Fall of 2013 his tenth book will be released.

He is presently on the leadership team for the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports Initiative in New Hampshire. He also provides consulting services to several school districts in need of improvement with handling behavior issues and school wide intervention and support. Dr Lebrun works mostly with school personnel around student issues in violence, aggression. functional assessment, and mental health concerns. He has presented throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Dr Lebrun was honored with Distinguished Professor of the Year for 2008. He has presented his books at Har­vard Medical School and Oxford University. He recently returned from doing some work in Namibia and Nunavik in Northern Canada.

He is an active member of many professional organizations (International Association of Special Education. Council for Children with Behavior Disorders. Council of Exceptional Children). Dr Lebrun is a colorful and energetic pro­fessor, writer and activist for change when it comes to better schools, better children and a peaceful and kinder so­ciety.

Featured Presentation (2012) | "Developing the Inner Leader in You. The Journey Starts Now"

This workshop will include discussion on the essentials of effective leadership strategies, understand how to deal with difficult people as a leader one's readiness for the leadership nole, and creating and modeling visionary prac­tices. Participants will experience a variety of assessments, that will enable them to look at their past practices and use more effective strategies and models for change. This experiential workshop will require participants to be active participants in the process. Self-reflection and problem solving activities will be an integral part of the dem­onstrations.

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Professor Helen Wildy

The University of Western Australia, Australia

Featured Speaker

Dr Helen Wildy is Winthrop Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education at The University of Western Austra­lia. Her background as a student of a very small rural primary school in Western Australia underpins her commit­ment to education, particularly the leadership of small schools. As a student in the Faculty of Education of UWA. she completed a Masters degree in Education in 1990 and PhD in 1998.

She currently conducts research and supervises doctoral and masters students in a range of leadership and school improvement topics, particularly related to the use of assessment data by school leaders. She has been chief investi­gator or co-chief investigator in research projects worth more than $7m since 2000.

Her referred 65 academic papers are published widely in refereed national and international journals and she has given over 170 conference presentations nationally and internationally since 1990. For the past decade she has worked with school sectors in Western Australia on projects to present national assessment data in formats that are accessible to school leaders and teachers, She is Director of Performance Indicators for Primary Schools (PIPS) Australia, a literacy and numeracy assessment program for students entering school, used by over 600 schools in all Australian states and territories. Her most recent ARC funded research projects involved the development of in­struments to measure performance: one related to the selection of school principals, another to measure the out­comes of treatment for young adolescents in residential rehabilitation programs. She is a founding member of the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) project.

Featured Presentation (2012) | "The Rise of Professional Doctorates: A Comparative Study - China, Iceland and Australia"

Doctoral education is going through a period of transition. This transition is evident in the many varieties of doc­toral degrees currently offered in higher education institutions worldwide, from the traditional research-based Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) to the Professional Doctorate and the New Route PhD. Whilst traditional PhDs are more familiar given their history in higher education institutions, other genres of doctoral degrees may not be as well-known and disagreement persists in terms of their legitimacy.

A comparative study on the Professional Doctorate in Education (commonly referred to as the Doctor of Educa­tion) is currently being conducted at the Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia. This study considers factors relating to the rise of the Doctor of Education in three different countries: Australia, China and Iceland. This is a qualitative study, where data gathered from participating universities is generated by open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. This paper will present the rationale and design of the study along with initial findings. The remarkable growth and key trends in the development of Professional Doctorates worldwide provides the backdrop for this study.

The emergence of Professional Doctorates worldwide is having a significant impact on the status and structure of traditional research-based PhDs. This scenario has implications for the changing roles of academics and students in the so-called knowledge economy and suggests an agenda for research in the field of Professional Doctorates. The present study aims to contribute to the growing interests of these new genres of studies at the doctoral level.

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Professor Monty Satiadarma

Tarumanagara University, Indonesia

Featured Speaker

Monty Satiadarma is an academic and psychologist who has lectured around the world, and who continues to practice in his native Indonesia. He was the Dean of the Department of Psychology at Tarumanagara University from 1997-2005, and Rector of the University from 2008-2010.

Dr Satiadarma has a particular interest in educational psychology, and in music and art therapy, methods with which he treated survivors of the Indonesian tsunami on behalf of the International Red Cross and the United Na­tions. He is a board member and area chair of the International Council of Psychology, and a founder and board member of the Asian Psychology Association.

Featured Presentation (2012) | "Art as a Transformative Learning Process in Transformative Spaces"

People must learn to live in their nature and society. People may have opportunities to be educated in academic settings, yet, basically, learning takes place in life experience, which includes: a) centrality of experience, b) critical reflection, and c) rational discourse (Mezirow, 1991). While the word of transformative associates with changing, and transformative space refers to the place where changes takes place, the learning space is the space where a person transforms the previous perception with the new and perhaps more integrated one as the result of his or-her critical reflection and rational discourse. Taylor (1998) explained that the transformative learning process nor­mally began with a) disorienting dilemma triggered by life crisis, b) self examination of feelings of guilt or shame, and c) critical assessment of assumptions. According to Mezirow (1997) the goal of transformative learning is to change the frame of reference, so that adults can become more critical, autonomous and responsible thinkers. Ac­cording to Taylor (1998), although no single mode of transformative learning exists, it is important that in order to foster the learning process, teachers need to facilitate learners and build sensitive relationships with learners. In order to facilitate the process, teachers must a) prepare learners for critical reflection, b) modify the teaching styles that fit the learner's critical reflection, c) become co-learner in the reflection process, d) become genuine facilitator of the reflection process. e) avoid the teaching styles and methods that may inhibit learners' critical reflection, and 1) grow and develop together with learners through the reflection process. Thus, the essence of transformative learning is reflection process through critical thinking. No doubt that art allows people to portray nature's reflec­tion, and to reflect their perception of nature from their angle of perception (Cavanagh, Chao, & Wang, 2008). Confucius mentioned that everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it: he further stated "by nature men are nearly alike, but through experience they grow wide apart" (Chai & Chai. 1965, 44-45). It is therefore important to consider that art may be useful as a transformative learning process in a transformative space. Because learning to draw or to paint for example allows people to learn how to look at something from different angles of perception or from a different vantage point. In this way Mezirow's transformational learning theory is actually a reflection of Confucian perspective (Wang & King, 2006).

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