Higher Education and Belief Systems in the Asia Pacific Region - Knowledge, Spirituality, Religion, and Structures of Faith

This book underscores the role of belief and knowledge that are outside the canons of science, as they are not often considered within the core functions of a university.  It explores various ways in which belief systems are part of the fabric of higher education - either implicitly or explicitly - and pursues a deeper understanding of the role of belief practices as it plays out in both private and public higher education. The broad variety of geographic locations and belief systems represented here demonstrate the ways in which implicit and explicit belief systems affect higher education. The book is unique in its breadth of coverage, but also in its depth of exploration regarding how belief systems function in society through the avenue of higher education, which is often a central site for the production and dissemination of knowledge.

Alexander Jun, PhD, is a TED speaker and the author of From Here to University: Access, Mobility, and Resilience Among Urban Latino Youth (Routledge Press, 2001). He has published extensively on issues of postsecondary access for historically underrepresented students in underserved areas, and recently completed a three-year narrative inquiry research project on the educational mobility and academic resilience of Khmer orphans, which he is currently completing a book on. Jun is pursuing research on issues concerning higher education globalization in the Pacific Rim, and while studying at the University of Southern California, he earned a Ford Foundation fellowship to conduct research on college preparation programs for urban youth. Jun teaches courses on diversity and social justice in higher education, comparative higher education, and qualitative research methods, and joined Azusa Pacific University after serving for 15 years as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Southern California.

 

Christopher S. Collins, PhD is an associate professor of higher education at Azusa Pacific University.  He holds a PhD in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is currently exploring the function of higher education in diverse contexts.  He has recently edited several volumes on higher education in the Asia-Pacific region, including 'Higher education access in the Asia Pacific: Privilege or human right?' and 'University-community engagement in the Asia Pacific: Public benefits beyond individual degrees' (both published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).