The Department of Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) is pleased to share highlights from our colleagues’ participation in the AARE conference in November 2025.
Together with Professor Pasi Sahlberg, Professor Yuzhuo Cai presented the paper ‘Adaptive Policy Integration in Education Reform: Reconciling Global References with National Traditions in Finland and China’ (co-authored with Professor Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish educator and Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Melbourne, and Professor John Chi-Kin Lee, President of EdUHK). The paper explains how Finland’s successful education reforms reconcile international policy references with national traditions through effective approaches, turning global ideas into implementable practice rather than symbolic adoption. It argues that the key lesson is not to ‘copy Finland’ but to learn how Finland learns—systematically filtering, piloting and scaling international experience only when it aligns with local values and institutions, and when implementation capacity is in place.
EPL also recognises Dr Jason Lin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, for his active engagement throughout the conference, including participation in a book launch event and wider scholarly exchanges with international colleagues. We thank the AARE community for the stimulating conversations and look forward to continued dialogue and collaboration in education policy and comparative education research.
.png)