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steady and relevant contribution to the development of and knowledge production in
higher-education research from the early 1990s; however, production reached a
peak in 2006–2010, and Japan’s contribution to the field has since been decreasing.
This trend may be linked with national or institutional incentives in the form of
research funding and career progression to focus knowledge production on national
journals to guarantee a more straightforward knowledge exchange within Japanese
society. However, the trend may also be associated with limitations on research
approaches and resources (such as the time required to publish in both national and
international journals) and unsolved language barriers that may eventually be tack-
led by a younger generation of higher-education researchers (Yonezawa 2015 ;
Futao 2014 ).
It is important to rejuvenate the body of researchers in the higher-education field.
New generations of researchers keep the field alive, as they combine knowledge
accumulated by past generations of researchers with new knowledge of their own
obtained through their particular abilities and approaches, and respond to novel
challenges facing researchers in the field. Table 2.1 shows the researchers who pro-
duced the greatest volume of higher-education literature in Asia in two periods
(1980–2015 and 2000–2015). In both periods, Hong Kong-based researchers were
overwhelmingly prominent. Throughout the whole period under analysis (1980–
2015) and the most recent period (2000–2015), seven of the ten most productive
researchers were based in Hong Kong, and all of the ten most productive researchers
were based in East Asia, reflecting the leading role of East Asian researchers in
producing and internationally disseminating new knowledge on higher education.
Even more importantly, the most productive researchers basically represent a new
generation of researchers. Only David Kember and Ka-Ho Mok published articles
before 2000; the remaining researchers have published research only in the last
15 years. This suggests that the field of higher education in Asia is being advanced
by young scholars and scholars with strong publication records in recent years
(which may indicate that researchers are adapting to the need to be more outward
looking by publishing in international peer-reviewed journals).
Table 2.1 Most productive researchers in Asian region in two periods
Author (1980–2015)No. of
articles Author (2000–2015) No. of articles
Kember, D. (Hong Kong) 35 Kember, D. (Hong Kong) 22
Shin, J. C (South Korea) 13 Shin, J. C. (South Korea) 13
Tsai, C. C. (Taiwan) 12 Tsai, C. C. (Taiwan) 12
Watkins, D. (Hong Kong) 12 Mok, K. H. (Hong Kong) 9
Mok, K. H. (Hong Kong) 10 Jung, J. (Hong Kong) 9
Jung, J. (Hong Kong) 9 Macfarlane, B. (Hong Kong) 9
Macfarlane, B. (Hong Kong) 9 Huang, F. (Japan) 8
Huang, F. (Japan) 8 Leung, D. Y. P. (Hong Kong) 8
Leung, D. Y. P. (Hong Kong) 8 Horta, H. (Hong Kong) 7
Horta, H. (Hong Kong) 7 Carless, D. (Hong Kong) 6H. Horta