Contemporary education policies in Southeast Asia: common philosophical underpinnings and practices

This article examines the various education policies in Southeast Asian countries, highlighting the underlining philosophies and current practices in the region. The conceptual framework of the presentation includes key concepts such as access and equity, unity and identity, quality and relevance, efficiency and effectiveness. Each of these key concepts will be analysed using a framework consisting of key questions, guiding philosophies, policy options as well as issues and challenges. The article reviews policies relating to questions such as “who get access to what kinds of education?”, “how to widen access?”, “how to ensure success?”, “what kinds of education for a multicultural society?”, “how to promote national integration and social cohesion through education?”, “how to improve quality of education?”, “how to manage and administer the school delivery system?”. It draws examples from different countries in the SEA region to illustrate the issues and challenges in formulating and implementing contemporary education policies.