Monthly Archives: February 2021

M13U1A1

Posted on by

Blog post guiding questions: 

  • According to Rizvi and Lingard, what is the link between economy, politics, and education?

Rizvi and Lingard feel that the driving force behind globalization is a neoliberal ideology. This ideology produces and reproduces social inequalities which hinder the development of education. They feel that this neoliberal ideology shapes educational policy for the worse.

  • What are the effects of globalization on educational policy?

Educational policy has changed to meet the demands of a neoliberally led globalization, that is to say, it focuses mainly on processes found in the free market, things like efficiency of systems, price controls, and deregulation. They also stress the shift from state-centred, domestic policy creation to a preference for international non-governmental educational organizations. As neoliberalism continues to take root and grows stronger, the desire for a universally accepted education or at least an education that is more universally accepted is increasingly demanded. 

  • What do Cambridge and Thompson believe is the role of international education in the process of globalization in education?

To answer the question we first need a starting point, and some information on what international education is. A good starting point would be to define globalization, and although it an almost impossible task many think of it as a coalescence of individual sovereign markets into one super multinational market. International education is also tricky to define, but Cambridge & Thompson give us two approaches to read up on, the globalist and internationalist approach to education. 

“The globalist approach contributes to the global diffusion of values of free-market economics, expressed in terms of an ideology of meritocratic competition combined with positional competition with national systems of education This is accompanied by quality assurance through international accreditation and the spread of global quality standards that facilitate educational continuity for the market that requires the global certification of educational qualifications. This facilitates educational continuity for the children of the host country clientele with aspirations towards social and global mobility. An outcome of globalist international education is global cultural convergence towards the values of the transnational capitalist class. (Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

The internationalist approach, “Is founded upon international relations with aspirations for the promotion of peace and understanding between nations. It embraces a progressive existential and experiential educational philosophy that values the moral development of the individual and recognizes the importance of service to the community and the development of cultural diversity and promotes an international-minded outlook. (Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

So now that our terms are defined let’s review the question

What do Cambridge and Thompson believe is the role of international education in the process of globalization in education?

The process of globalization is a worldwide economic process which sees a coming together of markets into one super market where free-market ideologies reign supreme. Whereas Globalization is more concerned with the free flow of goods and capital, these processes can’t happen unless there is a free flow of peoples and ideas to support them. For the free flow of peoples and ideas to occur there needs to be international support for these people. The term people is used to include the individuals engaging in globalized trade and also their families. These families in turn require a number of supports including education. The concept of education from one nationality to the next may be drastically different and as such their educational needs will likewise differ. International education, whether globalist or internationalist approaches, will fill the educational requirements gap as they are both seemingly in line with the goals of globalization. To clarify, the role of international education in the process of globalization in education is that it supports and utilizes benefits from globalization. 

  • Do global assessments such as PISA measure 21st-century skills, why or why not?

The simple answer to this question is yes and no. The more complicated answer is yes and no. Pulling from “Comparing Policies in a Globalizing World: Methodological reflection”, the writers assert three methodological reflections, along with the advantages and drawbacks of each: Temporal Comparisons, Spatial calibrations, and Governing logics. Each methodological reflection is a relative frame of measurement. The problem with using any of these frames is that measurement in each is different, once more there are varying levels within each frame. From each of these three frames, one can make a ( subjective) decision on whether or not something like PISA measures 21st-century skills or not. Each reflection assumes a number of criteria which frames the question differently. In addition to framing information differently, a comparative researcher would also need to do more than just consider a myriad of other criteria as well, things like local economic levels, teacher or proctor positionality, and even domestic governmental policy. To answer the question with any certainty would be almost impossible and certainly outside the scope of a general blogpost. 

  • What are the challenges and benefits of internationalism and globalization in education?

This is a very broad question with a lot of broad and general answers. I’ll list a number of benefits and challenges and speak briefly about them. 

“International schools are a free trade market response to a global need”(Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

“International education is influenced by globalization but it also facilitates the spread of free-market values. “ (Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

“Promotes competition with the national educational system ”(Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

“Constitutes the reconciliation between of a dilemma between the contrary trends of cooperation through international relations and competition thorough economic globalization

Globalization widens, deepens, and speeds up worldwide interconnectedness”(Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

“International education has been interpreted as the equivalent of ‘a Big Mac and a coke’ a globally branded product”(Cambridge 2002)

“Schools offering international education must provide a reliable service throughout the world” (Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

Globalization creates a social division of the world economy then International education creates a social division of the citizens of the world. 

“International education contribute to a deterritorialized cosmopolitanism and diversity” (Cambridge & Thompson 2004)

In a number of assertions by Cambridge and Thompson we can see that there are a number of impacts to be seen, whether these are advantages or drawbacks are up to subjective interpretation. 

  • What does Huang see as the impact of internationalism on higher education?

There are a number of impacts of internationalism on higher education, but the main impacts fall In line with a neoliberal mindset, that is domestic institutions will pursue foreign educational dollars by increasing their offerings to domestic and foreign students by partnering with foreign institutions to further expand domestic and foreign offerings. I’ll support my thesis by incorporating portions of the assigned reading (Huang 2007) 

Domestic higher education forms partnerships with foreign countries to offer joint-education and multi-subject degrees.  

“First, more and more private institutions have attempted to export their educational activities by providing transnational programmes that confer graduate-level (and sometimes) multiple degrees in other countries.” (Huang 2007)

Non-English speaking campuses increase their number of English-language programmes. 

“A great deal has been done to develop and implement programmes designed or international students on Japanese campuses. Among these, increasing numbers of English-language programmes specifically provided for international students, …” (Huang 2007)

References