Mark Bray

Chair Professor
Director, Comparative Education Research Centre

Professor Mark Bray has taught at the University of Hong Kong since 1986. Prior to that he was a secondary school teacher in Kenya and Nigeria, and taught at the Universities of Edinburgh, Papua New Guinea and London. In 1995 he became visiting research fellow at the World Bank in Washington DC, and from 2006 to 2010 was Director of UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris.

At the University of Hong Kong, Professor Bray has played a leadership role in the development of the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC), which was established in 1994. Professor Bray has also been the Dean of the Faculty of Education (2002-06) and Head of the Department of Education (1991-95). Externally he has been:

• President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES);
• President of the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong (CESHK); and
• member of the Board of Directors of the Comparative & International Education Society (CIES) of the USA and of the Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA).

Professor Bray has undertaken consultancy assignments in over 70 countries of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, North America and the South Pacific. He has written or edited over 40 books and over 200 articles and chapters, and his work has been translated into 20 languages.

Teaching Areas

Comparative education; education policy-making and planning.

Research Projects

Shadow Education (Private Tutoring)
Shadow education is defined as supplementary private tutoring which mimics the curriculum of mainstream schooling. It can be provided one-to-one, in small groups, large classes or over the internet. Professor Bray has produced four books on this theme, some of which have been translated into multiple languages. These