Leading quality education in the Asia-Pacific

According to the World Bank, a quarter of the world’s school-age children live in East Asia and the Pacific. The region also houses the highest number of societies ranked in the top 10 performing education systems globally. Most top-performing systems adopt common strategies. These include substantial investment in school infrastructure and teacher learning, deep parental involvement in their children’s learning, high standards and expectations, and a culture that treasures education and respects teachers. This region is also known for high parental expectations, a shadow education tradition, and the almost endless pursuit of high-quality education by well-resourced families. These latter conditions challenge education equity. This chapter outlines education development in the Asia-Pacific over the past two decades and identifies some educational leadership practices common across the region’s high-performing systems. Given continuing challenges to education equity across Asia-Pacific societies, the chapter uses Mainland China to illustrate and explore policy priorities to address the dual educational goals of improving quality and enhancing equity. Leadership challenges accompanying the quest for greater equity are elaborated. Copyright © 2023 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.