43to imitate the West. Fundamental assumptions of Asian indigenous knowledges
have rarely been presented as established sets of beliefs and as processes or coher-
ent methods of learning and teaching. Even with recent developments, Western
knowledge remains the one that counts throughout the region. For East Asian societ-
ies, the coexistence of the two value systems proves extremely challenging. After
absorbing Western system for one and a half centuries, East Asia has been institu-
tionally westernized. The implementation of Western system has resulted in “aca-
demic colonization” in social inquiry in East Asia. Most social science researches
have designated to accumulate empirical data under the guidance of Western theo-
retical models (Hwang 2016 ).
Lu Jie, an eminent education researcher based at Nanjing Normal University on
the Chinese mainland, points out the previous that the previous experiences of west-
ernization and sovietization had left little space for an appreciation and understand-
ing of China’s indigenous pedagogy or its possibilities for supporting modern
educational development. Using Chinese pedagogy as an example, she remarks:
There still exists in Chinese academic circles a strong Westernization thrust, which tends to
incorporate into Chinese pedagogy a somewhat simplistic transplant of pedagogical trends
and theories based on Western scientific knowledge. (Lu 2001 , p.249)
Citing Yang Kuo-shu,^3 she notes that although China and Chinese people are the
objects of study, the theories and concepts used are Western or reflect Western
orientation:
While in daily life we are Chinese, in our studies we are Westerners, accepting and adopting
Western concepts, theories and approaches. Under such circumstances we are only able to
ape Westerners at every step. In both the quantity and quality of our studies we cannot
compare with Westerners. As a result, up to now we have failed to establish a position of
importance in the field of social and behavioral sciences. This historical lesson serves to
remind us that consistency with our origins is the only way for Chinese pedagogy to prog-
ress toward world status. (Lu 2001 , pp.251–252)
However, the authenticity of Western science and its methodology as the arbiters of
“truth” have been increasingly questioned in Asia. Calls for alternative discourses in
the social sciences have long lingered in Asia, such as China, the Philippines, Japan,
Korea, and India, dating back to the early part of the twentieth century. The search for
more relevant social science has recently picked up intensity and sincerity in East Asia
(Lee 2000 ). The quest for an East Asian scholarly identity has been placed high on the
agendas of social science research throughout the region. East Asian societies need to
figure out how to wed their traditional values with the dominant Western ones. To do
so, they need to understand the irrelevance/relevance of Western knowledge in East
Asian context. In fact, East Asian scholars have never stopped questioning the rele-
vance of the social sciences for non-Western societies. Their questioning of the valid-
ity of Western social sciences in explaining East Asian realities dates back to many
decades ago (Alatas 1972 ; Alatas 1993 , 1998 ). In China, for example, Fei Xiaotong
(^3) Yang Kuo-shu is a professor of psychology at the National Taiwan University. He received his
PhD from the University of Illinois and has since published on psychology and behaviors of
Chinese people, personality psychology, and social psychology.
3 Foil to the West? Interrogating Perspectives for Observing East Asian Higher...