The Learning from Asia in Education project is an initiative of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium Learning Institute, launched in 2022 with the aim of exploring what Europe—and Hungary in particular—can learn from the educational systems of Asia.
The project focuses on understanding how East and Southeast Asian countries, which have achieved outstanding educational outcomes in recent decades, design and implement their education policies, pedagogical practices, and institutional frameworks, and how these insights can inform European education.
The project operates as an international knowledge-building collaboration involving more than forty researchers, experts, and PhD students from Asia and Europe. Its key objective is to foster intercontinental academic dialogue and to develop a shared conceptual and analytical framework that supports comparative research and policy thinking in education.
A central element of the project is the “Asia as method” approach, which encourages researchers—especially Asian PhD students—to interpret educational phenomena from within their own cultural and social contexts. This perspective contributes to a deeper understanding of diverse educational traditions and promotes mutual learning across regions.
The project’s findings have been presented through international conferences, workshops, and academic publications, including a major conference held in Budapest in 2023, where leading scholars and early-career researchers shared their work.
Project Volume
The most important outcome of the project is the edited volume Learning from Asia in Education: How the West Can Learn from the East in Education in the 21st Century, published in 2024. The book represents a comprehensive synthesis of the project’s multi-year research.
The volume is structured around three main parts: a theoretical and conceptual framework outlining the foundations of the project; contributions from international experts on Asia–Europe educational cooperation; and research papers by Asian PhD students offering new and original perspectives on education.
The studies are based on presentations delivered at the 2023 international conference and provide a wide range of comparative analyses and innovative educational practices. Rather than advocating the direct transfer of Asian models, the volume aims to deepen understanding and identify lessons that are relevant and adaptable to European educational contexts.
Beyond its academic contributions, the publication also reflects the emergence of a dynamic international research community, fostering long-term collaboration and the internationalization of educational research.
https://www.libri.hu/konyv/Reclaiming-Classical-Education.html
