Comparative Education at the Crossroads: A View from Hong Kong

Overview & Synopsis

This brief reflective piece considers the experience of academics in the field of comparative and international education in Hong Kong. It begins by examining the state of international higher education and the continued dominance of Western contexts and perspectives in publishing in comparative education even in the so-called global era. It contrasts Western-oriented historical and contemporary views of the field with the situation in East Asia and particularly Hong Kong, where lively international dialogue has always been a key theme of academic and intellectual life. Against pronouncements in recent decades of "the death" of Hong Kong, the paper asserts that comparative and international education remains a thriving domain in Hong Kong since the handover and provides further reflections on the history and state of the field today as well as its future promise. [For the complete volume, "Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2023. International Perspectives on Education and Society. Volume 48," see ED675066.]