Theorizing Shadow Education and Academic Success in East Asia

This volume tackles perceived myths surrounding the academic excellence of East Asian students, and moves beyond Western understanding to offer in-depth analysis of the crucial role that shadow education plays in students' academic success.
Featuring a broad range of contributions from countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Singapore, chapters draw on rich qualitative research to place in the foreground the lived experiences of students, teachers, and parents in East Asian countries. In doing so, the text provides indigenous insights into the uses, values, and meanings of shadow education and highlights unknown cultural and regional aspects, as well as related phenomena including trans-boundary learning culture, nomadic learning, individualized learning, and the post-schooling era. Ultimately challenging the previously dominating Western perspective on shadow education, the volume offers innovative theorization to highlight shadow education as a phenomenon which cannot be overlooked in broader discussion of East Asian educational performance, systems, and policy.
Offering pioneering insights into the growing phenomenon of shadow education, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in international and comparative education, curriculum studies, and East Asian educational practices and policy. Those interested in the sociology of education and educational policy will also benefit from this book.

Young Chun Kim is Professor of Education at Chinju National University of Education, South Korea. Jung-Hoon Jung is an Instructor at Chonnam National University, South Korea.

Introduction: Shadow Education in East Asia: The Historical and Cultural Heritage of Learning Fever and Academic Success Part 1: Shadow Education, Trans-boundary Learning Culture, and Academic Success Chapter 1: Shadow Education Studies as Post-Truth Discourse: Ruins of the Tradition and Theorizing Academic Success with "Learning Capital" Young Chun Kim and Jung-Hoon Jung Chapter 2: Four Secret Variables of Shadow Education Practices for Academic Success Young Chun Kim, Michael McVey, and Jung-Hoon Jung Chapter 3: With/Without Public Schooling: The Trans-Boundary Learning Culture as an Emerging Feature of Academic Success Young Chun Kim, Jae-seong Jo, and Jung-Hoon Jung Chapter 4: Learners as Nomad: East Asian Students' Changing Identities for Academic Success under Shadow Education SungEun Min and Jae-seong Jo Part 2: Top Tiers of Pisa: World Class Learners and Use of Shadow Education Chapter 5: South Korea: Currere of Learning under Shadow Education Myung Hee Park Chapter 6: South Korea: Preview Learning in Shadow Education for School Success Sangwon Jung, Seongho Choi, and Jung-Hoon Jung Chapter 7: Japan: Forms and Functions of Shadow Education Robert J. Lowe and Ryo Mizukura Chapter 8: Taiwan: Changing Learning Culture led by Shadow Education Jeng Liu Chapter 9: Hong Kong: Students' Learning in Shadow Education Kevin Wai Ho Yung Chapter 10: Singapore: Shadow Curriculum between 'Private Tuition' and 'Enrichment' Søren Christensen Part 3: Shadow Curriculum, Race for Academic Success, and Winner-takes-it-all Chapter 11: Making Smart Students Smarter: The Cultural Production of Olympiad Winners through Secret Shadow Curriculum Young Chun Kim, Jae-seong Jo, and Jung-Hoon Jung Chapter 12: The Other Side of Learning for Scores and School Grades: The Hidden Curriculum in Shadow Education Young Chun Kim, SungEun Min, and Jae-seong Jo Chapter 13: Fearful Future: The Worldwide Shadow Education Epidemic and the Reproduction of Inequality outside Public Schooling Steven R. Entrich and Wolfgang Lauterbach