Abstract

There has never been a more important time to discuss Asian education. Volumes have been written on its origins, purpose and different manifestations. In light of the expansion of higher education networks in recent years, the authors find it not only timely to revisit this subject, but also highly relevant in our attempt at understanding the motives and rationales that fuel this regional dynamo of development.

Regional-level developments and challenges are discussed as well. They are framed and interpreted within the context of a macroeconomic development model: the Flying Geese model of industry development. This model seeks to capture and explain the evolution and proliferation of transnational education (TNE) networks now and in the future.

For the purposes of this report, the authors have not limited the term ‘TNE’ to mean only the provision of educational services by an institution of one country in another; rather, we adopt a broader interpretation of the term ‘TNE’. In its simplest form, this interpretation covers all four modes of service delivery in the education subsector as defined by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). TNE refers to education services that include: (i) cross border supply (e.g. e-learning); (ii) consumption abroad (e.g. student mobility); (iii) commercial presence (e.g. commercial facilities in a foreign country); and (iv) presence of natural persons (e.g. teachers working abroad). Given the broad definition put forward, we recognise that the term can be used interchangeably with the term ‘borderless higher education’. The purpose of this report is not to redefine the term itself, but to place the various educational exchanges it represents in a broad framework leading to a clearer analysis of evolving trends in this field.