Dr. Jun Li, PhD
Professor - Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies
Dr. Jun Li, PhD
Professor - Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies
Dr. Jun Li is a professor at Western University, Immediate Past President of Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), and Founding President of Chinese Society of Education (CSE, 中华教育学会). He is a recent Laureate of the Ming Yuan Education Prize (2022-23), and also serves as an advisory, honorary or guess professor at various institutions, such as Beijing Normal and Peking Universities.
Prof. Li started his academic career in Shanghai in the early 1990s and served as Deputy Director of the Education Policy Unit at the University of Hong Kong before he moved back to Canada in 2017. With two PhDs - one in Educational History (ECNU, 1992) and another in International Education Policy (UMCP, 2006), he has rich leadership and other professional experiences accumulated in a global context (Shanghai, Tokyo, Maryland, Toronto, Hong Kong, etc.). Having led as Chairperson for the Hong Kong Educational Research Association (2014-17), President for the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong (2012-14), an Advisory Programming Committee member of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Canada (2019-20), and President of the Comparative and International Education Society (2023-24), he currently works as a regional editor of Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies (Bloomsbury, UK) and an associate founding editor of Beijing International Review of Education (Brill, the Netherlands), in addition to his advisory role or editorship in various international journals/book series.
Prof. Li is a renowned expert in the studies of education and East Asia, advocating the establishment of Educational Improvement Studies (EIS) on policy and leadership in comparative and international education, higher education, teacher education, citizenship education and civil society, etc. He has extensively published, with many academic books and over a hundred journal/newspaper articles or book chapters in English, Chinese or Japanese, including his authored book Quest for World-Class Teacher Education? A Multiperspectival Study on the Chinese Model of Policy Implementation (Springer, 2016), co-authored book Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities: In the Move to Mass Higher Education (Springer/CERC, 2011) and co-edited books International Status Anxiety and Higher Education: Soviet Legacy in China and Russia (Springer/CERC, 2018) and Measuring up in Higher Education: How University Rankings and League Tables are Re-shaping Knowledge Production in the Global Era (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). He is often invited for keynote speeches around the globe, as well as interviewed on education and/or East Asia by The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Global Times, China Daily, South China Morning Post, China Central Television (CCTV), and China Global Television Network (CGTN), etc. Dr. Li's new authored book entitled Educational Improvement Science: The Art of the Improving Organization is forthcoming.
Prof. Li believes in a philosophy that humans are born close to one another but diverge through learning (The Analects of Confucius, 17.2). His “happy hour” is usually in the morning or evening with a pot of tea to discuss or write anything exploratory, creative, or even unthinkable. As a dedicated educator, researcher and father, he is always more than happy to share with you his learning about education.
Research
Research Grants (SINCE 2000)
Co-I, Research on Graduate Education Management in an Era of Internet+, the Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No.: 71834001), $471,423CAD (RMB2450,000), China, 2019-23.
Co-I, Research on the Evaluation System and Development Strategy of Constructing World-Class Universities and World-Class Disciplines, the Chinese Ministry of Education (Project No.: 16JZD044), $13,470CAD ($700,000RMB), China, 2017-20.
PI, China-Africa University Partnerships in Education and Training: Students, Trainees, Teachers and Researchers, the Research Grants Committee General Research Fund (RGC/GRF, Ref.: 842912), US$122,861 (HK$952,706), Hong Kong, 2012-16.
PI, World-class Universities, Publication and Research Assessment: Rethinking the Mission of Higher Education in the Global Age, the Research Development Fund of Worldwide Universities Networks (RDF/WUN, Ref.: 4930217), US$58,229 (£35,484), U.K., 2014-15.
Co-I, Research on the Evaluation System and Development Strategy of Constructing World-Class Universities and World-Class Disciplines, the Chinese Ministry of Education (Project No.: 16JZD044), US$105,000 (RMB700,000), China, 2017-20.
Co-I, Reforming the System and Mechanism for the Urban-Rural Educational Integration in China, the Chinese Ministry of Education (Project No.: 10JZD041), US$115,000 (RMB800,000), China, 2011-14.
Co-I, China’s Move to Mass Higher Education: Implications for Civil Society and Global Cultural Dialogue, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SRG/SSHRC No.: 410-2006-0992), US$137,000 (CN$170,000), Canada, 2006-10.
PI, Citizens and Civic Education for the 21st Century: A Sino-Japanese Comparative Study, the Japan Society for Promotion Science (JSPS), 2000-01.
Co-I, OECD Programme for International Student Assessment in Hong Kong 2015 (PISA 2015 Hong Kong), US$1,756,965 (HK$13,620,496), the Hong Kong Educational Bureau, 2013-17.
PI, Cultural Factors on Student Learning and Educational Outcomes (Sub-project of the Systems Approach for Better Education Results [SABER]), the World Bank & UNESCO Bangkok, US$5,000, 2012-12.
PI, Hong Kong Pilot for Lifelong Learning and Employment Prospects/Employability, Singapore and Thailand), the UNESCO Bangkok, US$8,000, 2012-12.
PI, Understanding Chinese Students’ Attitudes to Citizenship: Adapting the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study for Use in Mainland China (China Pilot of International Civic and Citizenship Studies 2009 (IEA),) the EdUHK Internal Research Grant, Hong Kong, 2011-12.
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
Li, J., & Liang, J. W. (2024). Improving education for a more equitable world: Futurist perspectives. Future in Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/fer3.27
Li, J., & Karimli, R. (2024). Improving education for a more equitable world: Comparative and international perspectives. Beijing International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1163/25902539-06010001
Li, J., & Jha, G. (2024). Improving education for a more equitable world: Social justice perspectives. ECNU Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311241231970
Li, J. (2023). Educational improvement science: The art of the improving organization. ECNU Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231201985
Wu, X., & Li, J. (2023). Becoming competent global educators: Pre-service teachers’ global engagement and critical examination of human capital discourse in glocalized contexts.
International Journal of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102181.
Li, J. (2021). China’s humanistic Zhong-Yong approach of educational partnerships for international development: Confucius Institutes and Classrooms reflected from Ubuntu and Confucian perspectives. Bandung : Journal of the Global South, https://doi.org/10.1163/21983534-08020006
Viczko, M., & Li, J. (2021). Global perspectives on educational improvement in post-covid-19. Special issue on Educational Improvement in Global Perspective of Beijing International Review of Education, https://doi.org/10.1163/25902539-03020001
Post, D., Chou, C. P., Ishikawa, M, Li, J., Soudien, C., & Welch, A. (2021). World class university publication pressure across different systems. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 10 (10), 71-86.
Li, J. (2021). Autonomy, governance and the Chinese University 3.0: A Zhong-Yong Model from comparative, cultural and contemporary perspectives. China Quarterly, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305741020001071
Chen, H. C., Han, X., & Li, J. (2020). Building educational improvement science in China (VI): Practices and prospects (in Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(4), 28-35.
Li, M. J., Xiu, Q., & Li, J. (2020). Building educational improvement science in China (V): Professional improvement communities (in Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(4), 18-27.
Xiu, Q., Li, M. J., & Li, J. (2020). Building educational improvement science in China (IV): Problematization of problems and approaches (in Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(4), 10-17.
Han, X., Chen, H. C., & Li, J. (2020). Building educational improvement science in China (III): Methodological foundations (in Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(3), 190-198.
Cai, X. X., Qin, Y. M., & Li, J. (2020). Building educational improvement science in China (II): Fundamentals and disciplinary frameworks (in Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(3), 137-144.
Qin, Y. M., Cai, X. X., & Li, J. (2020). Building educational improvement science in China (I): Scientific presumptions and theoretical origins (in Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(3), 127-136.
Li, J. (2020). The construction and improvement of China’s teaching force in the new era: A case from Canada (in Chinese). Jiaoshi Jiaoyu Xuekan [The Journal of Teacher Education], 7(1), 4-7.
Li, J., & Xu, Q. (2019). Reflections on the 70 years’ improvement of educational policies in China: Lessons and implications from a Multiperspectival Approach (in Chinese). Fudan Educational Forum, 17(5), 14-20.
Li, J., & Li, J. (2019). Educational policy development in China in the 21 st century: A Multi-Flows Approach. Beijing International Review of Education, 1(1), 196-220.
Li, J. (2017). Educational policy development in China for the 21 st century: Rationality and challenges in a globalizing age. Chinese Education & Society, 50(3), 133-141.
Li, J. (2017). Ideologies, strategies and higher education development: A comparison of China’s university partnerships with the Soviet Union and Africa over space and time. Comparative Education, 53(2), 245-264.
Li, J. (2016). The global ranking regime and the reconfiguration of higher education: Comparative case studies on research assessment exercises in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Higher Education Policy, 29(4), 473–493.
Li, J., & Tian, X. H. (2016). A global experiment in the internationalization of Chinese universities: Models, experiences, policies, and prospects of the Confucius Institutes' first decade. Chinese Education & Society, 49(6), 411-424.
Li, J. (2015). When Confucianism meets Ubuntu: Rediscovering justice, morality and practicality for education and development. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 17(1), 38-45.
Kai, R., & Li, J. (2013). Academic freedom and institutional autonomy: A higher education policy perspective. Higher Education Policy, 26(4), 507–522.
Li, J. (2013). China’s quest for world-class teachers: A rational model of national initiatives and institutional transformations. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41(3), 316–330.
Li, J. (2012). The student experience in China’s revolutionary move to mass higher education: Institutional challenges and policy implications. Higher Education Policy, 25(4), 453-475.
Li, J. (2012). World-class higher education and the emerging Chinese model of the university. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, 42(3), 319-339.
Li, J. (2012). The Chinese model of teacher education: Retrospect and prospects over a century. Frontiers of Education in China, 7(3), 417– 442.
Gong, F., & Li, J. (2010). Seeking excellence in the move to a mass system: Institutional responses of key Chinese comprehensive universities. Frontiers of Education in China, 5(4), 477-506.
Hayhoe, R., & Li, J. (2010). The idea of a normal university in the 21st century. Frontiers of Education in China, 5(1), 74-103.
Li, J. (2009). Fostering citizenship and civil society in China’s move to mass higher education: An analysis of students’ experiences. International Journal of Educational Development, 29(4), 382-398.
Hayhoe, R., & Li, J. (2009). Historical comparison of international teacher education development (in Chinese). Educational Research [Jiaoyu Yanjiu], 353(6), 54-62.
Li, J. (2005). Student achievement in social studies in urban public schools: China and Japan. Education and Society, 23(3), 35-54.
Li, J. (1997). Taoism and its educational concepts in Ge Hong's Baopuzi (in Chinese). Universitas: A Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture [Zhexue yu Wenhua], 24(2), 149-157.
Li. J. (1991). Private education and traditional Chinese culture (in Chinese). Educational Research [Jiaoyu Yanjiu], 143(12), 70-73.
Li, J. (1988). Reflections on the characteristics of the Jixia Academy and its modern implications (in Chinese). Higher Education Research [Gaodeng Jiaoyu Yanjiu], 34(4), 100-105.
Books Authored
Li, J. (2024, forthcoming). Quest for world-class teacher education? A multiperspectival study on the Chinese model of policy implementation (in Chinese). Beijing: Educational Science Publishing House.
Li, J. (2024, forthcoming). Educational improvement science: The art of the improving organization (in Chinese). Beijing: Education Science Publishing House.
Li, J. (2016). Quest for world-class teacher education? A multiperspectival study on the Chinese model of policy implementation. Singapore: Springer, pp. 243.
Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q. (2015). Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (Chinese version). Nanning: Guangxi Normal University Press, pp. 347.
Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q. (2011). Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education. Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC, pp. 483.
Li, J. (1998). A history of Chinese thought on education (in Chinese). Shanghai, China: Shanghai People's Press, pp. 461.
Li, J. (1997). Transformations and integrations (in Chinese). Hubei, China: Hubei Educational Press, pp. 299.
Li, J. (1994). A comparative study of educational theories of the schools of Metaphysics, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism (in Chinese). Taipei, Taiwan: Wenjin Press, pp. 512.
Books Edited
Bartlett, L., Li, J., Shafiq, N., & Vavrus, F. (under preparation), CIES Book Series on Education in Global Perspective. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Liu, B. C., & Li, J. (2024, forthcoming), Bloomsbury education and childhood studies (Vol. China). Bloomsbury Academic.
Hayhoe, R., Li, J, & Pan, J. (2022). Authentic Chinese educational thought: Selected works of Li Bingde, Lu Jie, Wang Fengxian and Huang Ji. Brill.
Welch, A., & Li, J. (2021). Measuring up in higher education: How university rankings and league tables are re-shaping knowledge production in the global era. Palgrave Macmillan.
Oleksiyenko, A., Chirikov, I., Zha, Q., & Li, J. (2018). International status anxiety and higher education: Soviet legacy in China and Russia. Singapore/Hong Kong: Springer/CERC.
Li, J. (2015). The Weijin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. In G. J. Li (Ed.), Dynastic systems of education of chronicles of China’s education (Vol. 1, 3rd ed., pp. 365-514). Hubei: Hubei Education Publishing.
Feng, X. L., Li, J., Bi, C., Cheng, F. P., & Zhang, J. (2015). The Weijin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. In B. Z. Wang (Ed.), Selections and reviews of education works of chronicles of China’s education (Vol. 1, Rev ed., pp. 427-608). Hubei: Hubei Education Publishing.
Li, J. (2004). The Weijin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. In G. J. Li (Ed.), Dynastic systems of education of chronicles of China’s education (Vol. 1, Rev ed., pp. 365-514). Hubei: Hubei Education Publishing.
Feng, X. L., Li, J., Bi, C., Cheng, F. P., & Zhang, J. (2004). The Weijin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. In B. Z. Wang (Ed.), Selections and reviews of education works of chronicles of China’s education (Vol. 1, 3rd ed., pp. 427-608). Hubei: Hubei Education Publishing.
Sun, P. Q, Du, C. X., Li, J., Liu, G. L., Hu, G. Y., & Li, J. P. (2003). The Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties. In X. W. Yang & P. Liu (Eds.), A compilation of China’s historical documents of examination (Vol. 2, pp. 265-852). Beijing: Higher Education Press.
Book Chapters
Li, J., & Khan, M. I. (2024, forthcoming). Educational improvement science as an emerging field: Global perspectives. In A. W. Wiseman, E. Anderson, L. Damaschke-Deitrick, E. Galegher, N. Dzotsenidze & M. Park (Eds.), The Handbook on Comparative Education (Edward Elgar Publishers).
Hayhoe, R., Li, J, & Pan, J. (2022). Introduction: Insights from pioneering Chinese educators. In R. Hayhoe, J. Li & J. Pan (Eds.), Authentic Chinese educational thought: Selected works of Li Bingde, Lu Jie, Wang Fengxian and Huang Ji (pp. 1-4). Brill.
Wang, C., Tian, X. H., & Li, J. (2022). Education policy of the One Belt and One Road Initiative. In F. S. Kong, A. C. Cheung & J. Liu (Eds.), Education and One Belt and One Road Initiative: Developmental analysis and policy implications (pp. 38-54) (in Chinese). Tianjin University Press.
Li, J. (2021). Educational improvement for world-class teachers? A critical analysis of policy implementation in China. In X. D. Zhu & H. Song (Eds.), Envisioning Teaching and Learning of Teachers for Excellence and Equity in Education (pp. 69-85). Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2802-3_5
Li, J. (2018). Ideological shift and strategic changes: China’s university partnerships in the process of de-Sovietization. In A. Oleksiyenko, Q. Zha, I. Chirikov, & J. Li (Eds.), International status anxiety and higher education: Soviet legacy in China and Russia (pp. 103-131). Singapore/Hong Kong: Springer/CERC.
Oleksiyenko, A., & Li, J. (2018). Rethinking higher education in the age of global status anxiety for competition. In A. Oleksiyenko, Q. Zha, I. Chirikov, & J. Li (Eds.), International status anxiety and higher education: Soviet legacy in China and Russia (pp. 1-52). Singapore/Hong Kong: Springer/CERC.
Li, J. (2018). Chinese model of higher education. In M. Peters (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory (pp. 1-7). Singapore: Springer.
Li, J. (2018). Confucius Institutes and Classrooms as educational partnerships in Africa: The 2030 Agenda of sustainable development from a Confucian perspective. In R. Hayhoe and M. Sivasubramaniam (Eds.), Religion and education: Comparative and international perspectives (pp. 51-66). Oxford: Symposium Books.
Li, J. (2017). The transformation of higher education in East Asia and world university ranking: A comparative study of research assessments in China, Hong Kong and Japan. In M. Ishikawa (Ed.), World university rankings and the hegemonic restructuring of knowledge: Questioning university assessments and global competition (2 nd Ed., pp. 269-294). Kyoto: Kyoto University Press.
Hayhoe, R., & Li, J. (2017). Philosophy and comparative education: What can we learn from East Asia? In K. Mundy, K. Bickmore, R. Hayhoe, C. Manion & R. Read (Eds.), Comparative and international education: Issues for teachers (2 nd Ed., pp. 29-58). Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.
Li, J. (2016). The transformation of higher education in East Asia and world university ranking: A comparative study of research assessments in China, Hong Kong and Japan. In M. Ishikawa (Ed.), World university rankings and the hegemonic restructuring of knowledge: Questioning university assessments and global competition (pp. 269-294). Kyoto: Kyoto University Press.
Li, J. (2016). Chinese University 3.0 in a global age: History, modernity and future. In P. C. I. Chou & J. Spangler (Eds.), Chinese education models in a global age: Transforming practice into theory (pp. 15-35). Singapore: Springer.
Li, J. (2016). The Chinese model of teacher education: The humanist way for Chinese learners, teachers and schools. In P. C. I. Chou & J. Spangler (Eds.), Chinese education models in a global age: Transforming practice into theory (pp. 249-264). Singapore: Springer.
Li, J. (2014). China’s quest for world-class teachers: A rational model of national teacher education reform. In Q. Gu (Ed.), The work and lives of teachers in China (pp. 105-122). New York & Oxon: Routledge.
Li, J. (2014). Christianity and Education in Asia. In F. Wilfred (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Christianity in Asia (pp. 315-326). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Li, J., & Hayhoe, R. (2012). Confucianism and higher education. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), SAGE encyclopedia of diversity in education (Vol. 1, pp. 443-446). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hayhoe, R., & Li, J. (2011). Huazhong University of Science and Technology: A microcosm of new China’s higher education. In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 307-343). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Li, J. (2011). Equity, institutional change and civil society: The student experience in China's move to mass higher education. In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 58-93). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Li, J., & Lin, J. (2011). Nanjing University: Redeeming the past by academic merit. In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 131-161). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Li, J., & Lin, J. (2011). Southwest University: An unusual merger and new challenges. In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 221-243). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Li, J., & Lin, J. (2011). Xi’An International University: Transforming fish into dragons. In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 400-421). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Lin, J., & Li, J. (2011). Yanbian University: Building a niche through a multicultural identity. In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 244-269). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Zha, Q., & Li, J. (2011). The University of Science and Technology of China – Can the Caltech Model take root in Chinese soil? In Hayhoe, R., Li, J., Lin, J., & Zha, Q., Portraits of 21st century Chinese universities: In the move to mass higher education (pp. 273-308). Dordrecht & HK: Springer/CERC.
Li, J. (2009). Confucianism. In D. Pong (Ed.), Encyclopedia of modern China (pp. 347-351). Detroit, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Li, J. (2009). Education: Policy and administration since 1976. In D. Pong (Ed.), Encyclopedia of modern China (pp. 495-497). Detroit, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Li, J. (2009). Vocational education. In D. Pong (Ed.), Encyclopedia of modern China (pp. 39-42). Detroit, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Sun, D., Lu, J., & Li, J. (2009). New policy actions and government roles: China's reconstruction of TVET systems since the 1980s. In R. Maclean, & D. N. Wilson, International handbook of education for the changing world of work: Bridging academic and vocational learning (pp. 977-987). Dordrecht: Springer.
Li, J., & Lin, J. (2008). China’s move to mass higher education: A policy analysis of policy making from a rational framework. In D. P. Baker, & A. W. Wiseman (Eds.), International perspectives on education and society: The worldwide transformation of higher education (pp. 269-295). Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
Book Reviews
Li, J. (2017). Teacher management in China: The transformation of educational systems By Eva Huang, John Benson & Ying Zhu. Frontiers of Education in China. 12(1), 122-125.
Li, J. (2015). China’s aid and soft power in Africa: The case of education and training by Kenneth King. Comparative Education Review. 59 (3), 561-564.
Li, J. (2013). The Jixia Academy and the birth of higher learning in China: A comparison of fourth-century B.C. Chinese education with ancient Greece by Richard Harnett, Comparative Education Review, 57 (1), 175-177.
Li, J. (2013). Citizenship and citizenship education in a global age by Wing-Wah Law. Asia Pacific Journal of Education. 33(1), 127-129.
Li, J. (2011). Asian perspectives on teacher education edited by Shin'ichi Suzuki and Edward R. Howe. Comparative Education Review, 55 (1), 149-151.
Li, J. (2005). Full circle: A life with Hong Kong and China by Ruth Hayhoe, Comparative Education Review, 49 (3), pp. 418-420.
Other
Leadership/Professional Services/Memberships
Immediate Past President, Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), 2024-Present.
Executive Committee Member, World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), 2024-Present.
Congress Standing Committee Member, WCCES, 2023-Present.
Founding President, Chinese Society of Education (CSE, 中华教育学会), 2023-Present.
President, CIES, 2023-24.
President Elect, CIES, 2022-23.
Vice President, CIES, 2021-22.
Senator, Western University, 2020-22, 2023-24.
Past Chairperson, the Hong Kong Educational Research Association, Hong Kong, 2017-21.
Chairperson, the Hong Kong Educational Research Association, Hong Kong, 2014-17.
Past President, the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2014-16.
President, the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2012-14.
Co-director, the Junior Scholars Sub-Society of the China Education Society, Beijing, China, 1997-99.
Member, the Advisory Programming Committee, the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Canada, 2019-20.
Member, the Standing Review Board of Humanities and Social Sciences Panel, the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, China, since 2019.
Reviewer, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC), since 2018.
Member, the Comparative and International Education Society Publications Committee, the US, 2018-20.
Member, the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies Research Standing Committee, 2017-22.
Member, the Comparative and International Education Society Publications Committee, the US, 2016-17.
Honorary Secretary and Executive Committee Member, the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2011-12.
Member, the China Comparative Education Society (CCES), China, 2010-12.
Member, the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, 2010-19; 2024-Present.
Member, the American Education Research Association (AERA), the US, 2004-05.
Member, the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), the US, since 2002.
Member, the Japan Society of Educational Sociology, Tokyo, Japan, 1997-99.
Member, the Japan Society of International Education, Tokyo, Japan, 1997-99.
Editorial Board
Associate Founding Editor, Beijing International Review of Education (Brill), 2019-Present.
Senior Editor, Cogent Education: International & Comparative Education (Taylor & Francis), 2019-22.
Co-Founding Editor, CIES Book Series Education in Global Perspective (SUNY Press), 2018-20.
Advisory Board, Comparative Education Review, 2018-23.
Editorial Committee, Global Comparative Education: Journal of the WCCES, 2017-Present.
Regional Editor (China), Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies, 2017-20.
Associate Editor, Education and Teaching Research, 2017-Present.
Editorial Board Member, Chinese Education & Society, Routledge, 2016-Present.
Editorial Board Member, The Education Journal, Hong Kong, 2016-Present.
Associate Editor, The Education Journal, Hong Kong, 2012-15.
Founding Editor-in-Chief, The International Journal of Comparative Education and Development (formerly as Comparative Education Bulletin), Hong Kong, 2013-14.
Editor-in-Chief, Comparative Education Bulletin, 2012-13.
International Editorial Board, Paedagogica Historica ( International Journal of the History of Education), Gent, Belgium, 1998-2008.
