globalization and education

1. Dr. JAKE C. VIANA
Discussant

2. INTRODUCTION
The world is changing rapidly and greatly, not the typical
intergenerational change we have witnessed in the past
but a change so profound and encompassing that we have
never seen its like before. We face a momentous time in
which we are present at the creation of new values, new
organizational procedures and new ways of relating with
other human beings. And it is thus a necessity to examine
critically the nature of these influential forces being
introduced to us that are brought upon by the perpetually
changing times and how they can affect the lives of the
Filipino people. One of these influential forces is
GLOBALIZATION.

3. Globalization is often synonymous with
internationalization, referring to the
growing interconnectedness and
interdependence of people and institutions
throughout the world. Although these
terms have elements in common, they have
taken on technical meanings that
distinguish them from each other and from
common usage. Internationalization is the
less theorized term.

4. Globalization, by contrast, has come
to denote the complexities of
interconnectedness, and scholars have
produced a large body of literature to
explain what appear to be ineluctable
worldwide influences on local settings
and responses to those influences.

5. Globalization has become a widespread idea in
national and international dialogue in recent years.
Globalization’s shifting and controversial parameters
make it difficult to define. It is clearly a dominant
force, both positively and negatively, shaping the
multiple environments in which we live. Motivated by
economic forces and driven by digital technologies
and communications, globalization links individuals
and institutions across the world with unprecedented
interconnection and immediacy.

6. In doing so, it in some ways democratizes and
intensifies interdependence, and in other ways creates
new forms of local reaction and self-definition. While it
may spread certain freedoms, higher living standards,
and a sense of international relatedness, it also
threatens the globe with a conformist “universal”
economy and culture rooted in North American and
Western ideas and interests. Despite the ambiguities in
definition and significance, and the anxieties and
backlashes it generates, globalization will remain a
dominant paradigm for the foreseeable future. We have
seen this fact reified in our national challenges over the
past several years.

7. Global education, as a distinct construct from
globalization, does what higher education has
traditionally aimed to do: extend students’ awareness
of the world in which they live by opening them to the
diverse heritage of human thought, action, and
creativity. Global education places particular emphasis
on the changes in communication and relationships
among people throughout the world, highlighting
such issues as human conflict, economic systems,
human rights and social justice, human commonality
and diversity, literatures and cultures, and the impact
of the technological revolution.

8. While it continues to depend on the traditional
branches of specialist knowledge, global education
seeks to weaken the boundaries between disciplines
and encourages emphasis on what interdisciplinary
and multidisciplinary studies can bring to the
understanding and solution of human problems.
Global education also implies, and should teach our
students, that not everyone around the world in fact
views global education with indifference – some may
see it as a vehicle for promotion of globalization,
which might itself be seen as the West’s effort to
destabilize fragile balances in world economic and
political systems.

9. At a time, such as this, when we feel increasingly and
often indiscriminately awash with information, and
when we sense a decentralization of the traditional
forms of political and intellectual authority, global
education places a premium on the ability to think
critically and ethically. The ability to effectively
access, interpret, evaluate and apply information is
essential for facing a constantly changing work
environment, for continuing self-education, and for
participation as an ethical and responsible member of
a global society. A global education can also be an
antidote to the sadly universal human tendency to
lose track of the experiences of others as seen through
their eyes.

10. In trying to elucidate the concepts of
globalization and global education, what
needs to be recognized is that juxtaposing
them is, to some extent, misguided.
Globalization is an inter-national and intra-
national force, while global education is a
teaching/learning paradigm. Thus, their
areas of focus are in different domains. Yet
global education to many around the world
merely invokes the notion of globalization
with all its potentially American-centric
and negative attributions.

11. Thus, one of the biggest
challenges in realizing the
distinction is that, unlike with
global education, globalization is
an inherently anxiety-provoking
term. While it frames the world in
communal terms, it also, and more
explosively, threatens many with a
loss of individuality.

12. As the leader in global education, Fairleigh Dickinson dedicates itself
to forging the real distinctions between globalization and global
education. We are certainly not the first higher education institution
to invoke the term global education, yet we are a leader in its
implementation. It’s similar to what the beaver said to the rabbit as
they stared up at the immense earthworks of the Hoover Dam: “No, I
didn’t actually build it – but it’s based loosely on an idea of mine.”
Fairleigh Dickinson is building the Hoover dam of global education
through efforts such as our new Global Virtual Faculty Program.
When you bring together, as we have done, adjunct scholars and
practitioners from around the world in partnership with our faculty
teaching online courses, an experience of creative synergy is almost
irrepressible. This experience emphasizes the very simple fact that we
need to talk to each other, to see the world through the eyes of others.
In the absence of this, we remain myopically self-referential. As
globalization takes hold, the world needs global education now more
than ever, and, in higher education, FDU is committed to a leadership
position.

13. Definition
1. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the term “globalization” was first used
in 1985 by Theodore Levitt. At that time, Levitt referred to the
vast changes in economy and finance affecting production,
consumption and global investment as a result of economic
and financial liberalization, structural adjustment programs
and the diminished role of the state in the economy.
2. Globalization is described as a complex process of creating
worldwide networks of capital, technology and information
made possible through enhanced competition , stronger
interconnection and greater interdependence.
3. Globalization means the emergence of supranational
institutions whose decisions shape and constrain the policy
options for any particular nation-state.

14. 4. Globalization means the rise of neoliberalism as a
hegemonic policy discourse.
5. Globalization means a perceived set of changes, a
construction used by state policy makers to inspire
support for and suppress opposition to changes
because “greater forces” leave the nation-state “no
choice” but to play by a set of global rules not of its
own making. (global competition, obligations to
regional alliances, and so on.)

15. 
6. Globalization is the rapid increase in cross-border
economic, social and technological exchange
7. Guillén (2000) defines globalization as a process
leading to greater interdependence and mutual
awareness (reflexivity) among economic, political and
social units in the world. According to Rosenau
(1999), globalization can be described as the
emergence of altered global structures and driven by a
skill revolution, an organizational explosion, and a
continuous flow of ideas, money, goods, and people
that is rendering long-standing territorial boundaries
increasingly obsolete and fostering an extensive
decentralization of authority.

16. One could think that globalization is only a matter of
industry and business, and that education as a moral
process is no part of this development. However, if we
understand education as part of the information
business, education systems can be seen as the core of
the globalization process. Governments are trying to
compete on the global markets by placing the onus of
policy on education to produce the “human capital”
most appealing to global competition (Webster 2001,
268). Also Rinne (2000) emphasizes that educational
policy has become an ever more important part of
economic, trade, labor and social policy in western
countries

17. This experience emphasizes the very
simple fact that we need to talk to each
other, to see the world through the
eyes of others. In the absence of this,
we remain myopically self-referential.
As globalization takes hold, the world
needs global education now more than
ever, and, in higher education, FDU is
committed to a leadership position.

18. ORIGINOF GLOBALIZATION
For some, globalization started around 1971-73, with
the petroleum crisis that prompted several important
technological and economic changes directed toward
finding replacement sources for strategic raw
materials and searching for new forms of production
that would consume less energy and labor.
Some authors pinpoint the origins of globalization
more than century ago with changes in
communication technologies, migration patterns and
capital flows.

19. Globalization has raised standards 0f
excellence in education and has increased
the quality gap between universities in
rich countries and those in poor
countries.
Globalization is
demanding
from us that we
build networks
beyond national
boundaries.
Globalization
has also
increased the
gap between the
universities in
the poorer
countries, that
are able to
mobilize
resources to
compare with
international
standards and
the poorer
universities.
Globalization has also internationalized professions
communities stakeholders and universities find that
they have to relate to a more international community.

20. Cultural globalizationTechnology has been seen as an overwhelming driving force with the
emergence of a few global providers dominating the educational
market. This domination is not only economic domination but also
cultural. Just to mention some phenomena and examples of the
development of globalization in the education sector, we can look at
the development in the electronic publishing and new trends in
higher education. The majority (80%) of all the websites in the world
are in English and the majority (80-85%) of scientific publications on
the Internet are in English (Peraton & Creed 2000). This means that
internationally distributed information is changing the language we
use for acquiring information in education – first in higher education
and then in other levels of education. Small cultures and languages
are in danger of disappearing due to the competition in the
international information (and education) markets. Because of
competition in publishing markets, only the biggest international
publishing and entertainment companies are able to produce high
quality electronic learning materials.

21. Globalization and the new information society – or
information age - we are living in, is changing our
thinking about our culture and education.
According to Nash (Nash 2001) information can
be seen as a “material foundation” of the
information age. From that point of view, culture
can be seen as a constitutive element in the
information age insofar as everything is framed
and structured by information and
communication media. Institutions and people
make decisions and represent life through cultural
codes and reality is always mediated through
language.

22. Culture is important in the information age in two
different ways: information capitalism shapes culture
with this explosion of the mass communication
system (cultural globalization) but on the other hand,
local cultures have shaped the development and use
of information and communication technology
(localization). Beck (1999, 93-99) for example
describes this dialectical process as “global
localization”, emphasizing that these two dimensions
of cultural development are dependent on each other.

23. It is a fact that there is more information available
around us than ever, local or global. The overflow of
information is not only changing our thinking but
also our relationship with information. According to
Rosenau (1999), in the global information society the
relevance of information seems to become less
obvious. To note that people have become more
skilful in relating themselves to world affairs is not to
say they are necessarily more informed about them. It
is getting more and more difficult for people to check
the relevance of information. What is true and what is
false? How should the research on ICT in education
respond to these challenges?

24. SKILLS REVOLUTION
According to Cleveland (1999), education for the “Global Century”, as
he describes globalization must help individual people to think
critically and holistically. The widening spread of knowledge is also
creating a “skill revolution” where commanding and controlling is
becoming obsolete. The skills needed in the working life are critical
thinking, consultation, negotiation and collaboration skills (Cleveland
1999). According to Reich & Goleman (1999), when the work gets
more complex and collaborative, the emotional and social skills
become more important success factors for individuals. Goleman
thinks that there is also a danger in trying to use technology to teach
people these skills. With a CD-ROM or an Internet-based training
program, we do not have the face-to-face contact that is so invaluable
in learning and practicing skills. This is to emphasize that it is
important to keep the balance between local and global activities in
global education markets.

25. None of these new skills are dependent on the level of
information one may possess. A way of putting the
relevance of information in perspective is to conceive
of analytic skills as working knowledge—premises
and understandings of how the world works and
which people apply to any situation that arises,
regardless of the fullness of the information they may
have (Rosenau 1999). This changing landscape of
information and skills revolution has a huge impact
on education processes, content and on educational
management and institutions. Are there any ways of
using ICT in a more human and more critical way?

26. ACCESSIBILITY –AFFORDABILITY
The recent developments can mean an
uncontrollable process of globalization in our
education but it also can offer new perspectives to
solve educational problems. Unfortunately there
are not very many research programs exploring
ICT and global development in education. Some
findings and follow up studies have been done by
international educational agencies like Unesco’s
World Education Forum (WEF) (Peraton & Creed
2000) and OECD/CERI (OECD 2001).

27. One of the major problems in education globally is still
access to basic education, not to mention the digital divide
in the developing countries. 113 million children are still
out of the school system globally. 110 million of them are
living in less developed countries (Sauvageot 2000).
According to WEF’s global evaluation (Peraton & Creed
2000) new technologies have not been able to increase
significantly the access to basic education. Instead, to
some extent it has increased the gap between the haves
the have not’s with regard to access to quality education.
The potential of ICT in widening the access to education
has not been fully utilized. Of course one can ask why this
has not been in focus when researching ICT and
education, and in developing applications and policies for
ICT in education. If ICT is the solution, what is the

28. According to Peraton and Greed (2000, 12) access to
computers is still seen as the major problem in most
countries by teachers. It is quite ironic that it is
considered as a problem also in rich countries like
Finland, France, Norway, New Zeeland and Belgium,
where the actual student computer ratio is less than
10. This “self made” digital divide may be one
indicator of research and development based on
narrowly focused research on ICT in education. Are
we developing structures and pedagogical models,
which are not functioning properly even in rich
countries and, certainly, not sustainable and
affordable for developing countries?

29. Another problem with integrating ICT into learning
worldwide is that the teachers consider their skills
insufficient – regardless of the actual level of training they
have received in ICT and education. This may also be an
implication of the individualistic approach in teacher
development, which has concentrated on the skills of
teachers’ – not on the dynamics of change in schools and
education as a system. This all can indicate that the
research on ICT in education is not necessary focusing on
the real problems of education but is rather concentrating
on ICT as a technical entity in schools or learner and
teacher as a user of that technology. Many of the models
to integrate ICT into education are based on an old, once
in a lifetime training model and traditional classroom
model of organizing education. This model may become
obsolete in a networked, constantly changing society.

30. Demands of Global Information Society in the
Education System
Demand for widening the access to education for all.
Continuous life long learning, (e.g. fading the boundaries between
preset and inset, formal education and working life).
Global versus local cultural developments.
Creation of new educational network organizations (e.g. global virtual
universities, virtual schools, multinational educational consortiums,
etc.).
Changing of educational management from hierarchical institutions
to equal distributions of network organizations, from commanding to
negotiating.
Demand for more flexible and general skills (e.g. meta-skills such as
problem solving, searching information, learning skills, etc.).

31. The Role of Education
As the major formal agency for conveying knowledge,
the school features prominently in the process and
theory of globalization. Early examples of educational
globalization include the spread of global religions,
especially Islam and Christianity, and colonialism,
which often disrupted and displaced indigenous
forms of schooling throughout much of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Postcolonial
globalizing influences of education have taken on
more subtle shapes.

32. In globalization, it is not simply the ties of economic
exchange and political agreement that bind nations
and societies, but also the shared consciousness of
being part of a global system. That consciousness is
conveyed through ever larger transnational
movements of people and an array of different media,
but most systematically through formal education.
The inexorable transformation of consciousness
brought on by globalization alters the content and
contours of education, as schools take on an
increasingly important role in the process

33. Structural adjustment policies. Much of the focus
on the role of education in globalization has been in
terms of the structural adjustment policies of the
World Bank and other international lending
organizations in low-income countries. These
organizations push cuts in government expenditures,
liberalization of trade practices, currency
devaluations, reductions of price controls, shifts
toward production for export, and user charges for
and privatization of public services such as education.
Consequently, change is increasingly driven largely by
financial forces, government reliance on foreign
capital to finance economic growth, and market
ideology.

34. Democratization.
As part of the globalization process, the spread of education is widely
viewed as contributing to democratization throughout the world.
Schools prepare people for participation in the economy and politics,
giving them the knowledge to make responsible judgments, the
motivation to make appropriate contributions to the well being of
society, and a consciousness about the consequences of their
behavior. National and international assistance organizations, such as
the U. S. Agency for International Development and the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
embrace these objectives. Along with mass provision of schools,
technological advances have permitted distance education to convey
Western concepts to the extreme margins of society, exposing new
regions and populations to knowledge generated by culturally
dominant groups and helping to absorb them into the consumer
society.

35. THANK YOU