No abstract

The Asia-Pacific is one of the regions in the world that has experienced rapid economic growth as well as occasional economic instability in the last 20 years. Countries in this region were enticed to compete in the world market and to compete with each other for foreign investment. One of the key assets for their success is perhaps the low cost but fairly skilled human capital. This is confirmed by the fact that international comparisons such as PISA and TIMSS have demonstrated time and again that average student attainments in selected subjects in some of these countries have far exceeded those of major Western countries (Willms, 2004). However, in order to maintain a competitive advantage in the increasingly complex and differentiated global economy in the future, education will become a key determinant of development. The importance of education is not merely a means to achieve an individual's career development and selfactualization but can also be a way of alleviating the negative effects of global competition on individuals and communities, bringing about stability and the development of the society (Cheng, 2003). Hence, governments expect their education systems to meet social demands and help their countries to increase future competitiveness. However, many are troubled with the large education budget and the inefficiency of the system. Under these circumstances, large-scale education reforms are unavoidable. In order to facilitate a large-scale education reform, the reform of the teacher education system is also inevitable. In the following sections, selected national cases are used to demonstrate the diverse strategies for education reform in the region and how reform in teacher education is being employed as a means of achieving national reform goals. 751