Acknowledgements

As a Chinese saying goes, ‘di shui zhi en, dang yong quan xiang bao’, ‘the favour of (even) a drop of water shall elicit a fountain of appreciation’. Time and space prevent me from listing all those who have contributed to this book, but to all of them, I offer my sincere thanks. A few deserve special mention.

I would like to begin with my superlative editor, Julian Wheatley. I fully knew the book was in the best of hands, that his talent, his judgement, his knowledge, his instincts and his sense of humour would enrich the book immeasurably. At each stage of the editorial process, he has been insightful, meticulous and unflagging in his enthusiasm. He masterfully nurtured this book and offered many wise suggestions for improving the manuscript, displaying a gentle and patient hand from beginning to end. For stretching me to the limits of my capabilities, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I am also particularly indebted to my dear friend, Chee-Wan Ng, who served as a spectacular research assistant for me at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University, from 2010 to 2013. His candour and passion influenced the book from the initial proposal to Cambridge University Press through preliminary drafts to the final product. He assisted me in selecting which chapters to include and in creating spreadsheets and organisational systems to manage the development of the book. He constantly asked me intriguing questions that ultimately helped shape the book. I cannot thank him enough for all his terrific work.

I also express special thanks to the co-authors of some of the chapters, Seok-Lai Lim (Chapters 1, 6, 8), Chee-Wan Ng (Chapters 3, 6, 10), Yanning Yang (Chapters 7, 11), Hongliang Shao (Chapters 7, 12) and Liang-Peng Ang (Chapter 10). It has been a pleasure to work with them over the years on numerous, challenging research projects.

I owe a great deal to my former student and colleague at the NIE, Seok-Lai Lim, whose professional input, fascinating insights, textual questions and timely support proved invaluable.

I am tremendously grateful to Cheng-Pheng Tan who did a wonderful job of production editing. She tracked down countless facts, offered me judicious suggestions and saved me from countless errors.

I would like to thank Rongchan Lin and Kailin Huang who professionally prepared English translations of a number of articles which had originally been written and published in Chinese.

The research for this book was partially supported by the Academic Administrator (RS-SAA) Grant (RS 5/10 GYS) of NIE.

I am indebted to the Cambridge University Press team for their faith in this project. I was fortunate to have Helen Barton as my editor, whose interest in this book was evident from day one. I am also grateful to Bethany Gaunt, Mary Catherine Bongiovi and Caroline Howlett for their insights and clarity.

I have also benefited tremendously from the wisdom of readers who reviewed proposals for the book and the entire manuscript.

And finally, my lasting thanks to the two wonderful ladies in my family: my wife, Ching-Fang Chiang, and my daughter, Yu-Hong Goh. They enrich my life beyond words.