Interrogating the nature of Asian social studies

The issue now is to understand how social studies education in Asian contexts might be better understood. Links between democracy and social studies are not always evident in Asian contexts. This chapter aims to interrogate social studies education in South and South East Asian contexts. Classroom social studies education across the region is influenced more by local contexts, national requirements and curriculum demands in what are essentially post-colonial societies. On balance, what is reported here has certainly been a change in orientation of social studies education supporting the new nation states rather than the former colonial powers. The post-colonial environment, therefore, has meant a nationalist and nation-building perspective on social studies education in South and South East Asian countries, a focus on traditional academic subjects although at times with a focus on inquiry-oriented pedagogy. Copyright © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J Kennedy; individual chapters, the contributors.