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EIL education for the Expanding Circle: A Japanese model

and reform – from the closed system to the phase of frenzy “learn[ing] from theWest” (p. 186), and to the current hybrid system – with perpetual “tensions” between autochthonous and allochthonous elements. It is also commendable that the author includes detailed discussions on gender in each chapter. Her balanced analyses of women’s role and place in education and society are a welcome addition to current scholarship on contemporary Chinese studies. The book, however, would have benefitted from more comprehensive theoretical engagements. For example, discussion of key concepts by Bourdieu (symbolic power) and Foucault (discipline and punish) could be incorporated into the author’s analysis of the symbiotic relationship between education and the state apparatus throughout much of Chinese history, as well as the mechanisms by which schools as social institutions mould students according to specific norms and perpetuate structural inequalities. Readers who are unfamiliar with Chinese social relations would also have benefitted from explanations of the mechanisms by which the Guanxi network of personal connections operate in various educational contexts. The author merely contends that Guanxi “can inhibit experimentation and innovation and potentially lead to further stratification in Chinese society” (p. 13). In addition, the author seems to depend on limited sources such as newspapers to support her argument, and does not acknowledge this as a limitation of her research. On the whole, this accessible and descriptive work has an encyclopaedic coverage of every aspect of education in China, condensed into just over 200 pages. The necessary drawback is the lack of analytical depth on specific issues. However, with this work’s allencompassing nature, it would be unreasonable to expect the author to delve deeply into every theme. For students of contemporary China and scholars and practitioners in (comparative) education, this book would serve as solid background reading and offer an incisive picture of education in China.