Silliness About Asian Higher Education

For the last decade or so, “the rise of Asia” has been a common refrain.  It alludes to the region’s economic rise (which is undeniable) but then goes on to equate the region’s higher education offerings with this economic rise, usually in a way that poses a threat to “western” higher education.  The most recent example came in this week’s edition of University World News and an op-ed entitled Will the 2020s See Asia Pull Ahead in Higher Education?
As these stories go, it’s pretty-run-of-the-mill and largely inaccurate. More...