|
Globalization and Education
Significance. At the beginning of the 21st century, globalization is accelerating the rate of economic, demographic and
cultural changes worldwide. A principal challenge to education today is to shift from a localized factory-model focus to one that
prepares citizens to function in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing globalized world. Economies increasingly
must rely on the coordination of production and distribution from multiple parts of the world. Environmental issues and concerns
(from population growth to climate change), health (from HIV/AIDS to SARS) and global security (from the war on terrorism to
ethnic conflicts) all demand the cultivation of interdisciplinary and global perspectives to contend with shared human problems.
Globalization's greatest challenge for post-industrial nations is to integrate into their societies and economies large and
growing numbers of youth from highly diverse linguistic, ethnic, religious, racial and cultural backgrounds. The schooling and
integration of youth of immigrant origin, as well as the capacity of native citizens to move beyond intolerance, are of critical
importance. This era increasingly selects for the interpersonal competencies needed to work, think, and play with individuals
from substantively different backgrounds. The cultivation of multilingual competencies and a capacity to traverse distinct,
sometimes discontinuous cultural spaces will be essential to prepare youth to thrive in our globalized world. Research in this
domain takes an interdisciplinary, comparative, and international perspective and is designed to address the role of schooling
and education in mediating these processes of change.
|
|
| |
|
Research Questions |
|
|
What are the new demographic, sociocultural and technological dynamics shaping educational realities in global cities such as New York and Stockholm, as well as major urban centers in Asia, Latin America and Africa?
What are the convergent and divergent realities facing preexisting racial minorities (such as African Americans) and newcomers?
How can education address and rectify continued inequalities between groups residing in global cities?
How can educational setting promote intercultural communication and exchanges be maximized so as to produce virtuous cycles of co-operation, understanding and beneficial coexistence?
|
|
