Tensions Between Cosmopolitan Curricula and Local Social Expectations in Southeast Asian Private Education

Abstract

The script addresses the historical dispute between global curricula and local sociocultural requirements in private schooling in Southeast Asia. With private and international schools adapting more and more to globally inclined curriculums, such as the International Baccalaureate program and the Cambridge International program, the linguistic character, pedagogical practices, and civic engagement criteria introduced by these curricula often differ from the foundations of the local culture, religion, and language. To understand how these conflicts are manifested in language policies, civic consciousness, and educational equity, this research conducts a thematic analysis using the following frameworks: globalism (Hansen, 2008), postcolonial criticism (Joseph & Matthews, 2014), and Confucian globalism (Choo, 2020). By considering four Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand case studies, it has been argued that private schools cannot be considered a classroom group in joining these global curricula; instead, they are the loci of curriculum negotiation. Private schools thus cannot be assumed to follow global proven norms but take alternative routes. To this end, possible reactions include curriculum integration, stakeholder engagement, and cultural reciprocity. This work belongs to global education research since it is region-based and considers the subject of curriculum globalization via a monistic theoretical background.