Globalization and Education: Integration and Contestation across Cultures

332 Pages·2014·1.89 MB·English

by  Nelly P. Stromquist

Globalization and Education
Integration and Contestation
across Cultures
2nd Edition
Edited by
Nelly P. Stromquist and Karen Monkman
ROWMAN&LITTLEFIELDEDUCATION
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Copyright©2014byNellyP.StromquistandKarenMonkman
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Globalizationandeducation:integrationandcontestationacrosscultures/NellyP.StromquistandKarenMonkman.
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4758-0527-7(cloth:alk.paper)--ISBN978-1-4758-0528-4(pbk.:alk.paper)--ISBN978-1-4758-0529-1
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1.Educationandglobalization.2.Educationandglobalization--Cross-culturalstudies.I.Monkman,Karen.II.Title.
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Contents
Preface v
AbbreviationsandAcronyms xiii
PartI:ConceptualandMethodologicalIssues xv
1 DefiningGlobalizationandAssessingitsImplicationsforKnowledgeand
Education,Revisited 1
NellyP.StromquistandKarenMonkman
2 Globalization,EducationalChange,andtheNationalState 21
MartinCarnoy
3 GlobalizationandGlobalGovernanceinEducation 39
KarenMundyandCarolineManion
4 TheProductivePlasticityofRights:Globalization,Education,andHumanRights 55
MonishaBajaj
5 “TheGirlEffect”:U.S.TransnationalCorporateInvestmentinGirls’Education 71
KathrynMoeller
6 GlobalizationandCurriculumInquiry:PerformingTransnationalImaginaries 87
NoelGough
7 GlobalizationandtheSocialConstructionofReality:AffirmingorUnmasking
the“Inevitable”? 101
CatherineA.OdoraHoppers
8 StudyingGlobalization:TheVerticalCaseStudyApproach 119
LesleyBartlettandFrancesVavrus
PartII:GlobalizationImpactsinVariousEducationalSectors 133
9 GlobalizationResponsesfromEuropeanandAustralianUniversitySectors 135
JanCurrieandLesleyVidovich
10 GlobalizationoftheCommunityCollegeModel:ParadoxoftheLocalandthe
GlobalRevisited 151
RosalindLatinerRaby
iii
iv Contents
11 GrowingUpintheGreatRecession:RevisitingtheRestructuringofGender,
Schooling,andWork 167
PeterKellyandJaneKenway
12 Globalization,AdultEducation,andDevelopment 185
ShirleyWalters
PartIII:NationalCaseStudiesofGlobalizationImpacts 199
13 GlobalizationinJapan:EducationPolicyandCurriculum 201
LynneParmenter
14 GlobalEncountersoftheUniversalandtheParticularinEducationalPoliciesin
Mexico1988–2006 217
RosaNidiaBuenfil
15 TheImpactsofGlobalizationonEducationinMalaysia 233
MollyN.N.Lee
16 TheConsequencesofGlobalMassEducation:Schooling,Work,andWell-being
inEFA-eraMalawi 247
NancyKendallandRachelSilver
17 GlobalizationandEducationinPost-ApartheidSouthAfrica:TheNarrowingof
Education’sPurpose 267
SalimVallyandCarolAnneSpreen
18 “StillHangingofftheEdge”:AnAustralianCaseStudyofGender,Universities,
andGlobalization 285
JillBlackmore
Index 305
AbouttheEditorsandContributors 311
Preface
We are pleased to present the second edition of our book on globalization and education, an
intellectualeffortwecantraceto1997whenthetwoeditorsofthisbookselected “globaliza-
tion” as the theme for the western regional conference of the Comparative and International
Education Society. At that time, we felt that although the concept had attracted considerable
interest in the academy and throughout most of the world, it had been examined primarily as
aneconomicandtechnologicalphenomenon,seldomfromaneducationalorculturalperspec-
tive.
During the years since, globalization has attracted the attention of educators across the
globe who have in turn produced a large body of literature. The expanding interest in the
intersection of education and globalization has brought up several new topics, including the
salience of global policies with an education content (notably Education for All and the UN
Millennium Development Goals), the expansion and differentiation of higher education, a
greater emphasis on work-related training, and the use of information and communication
technologies(ICTs).
PURPOSE,SCOPE,ANDUNIQUEQUALITIES
We approach this book with the knowledge and experience gained over the fourteen years
sinceitsfirstedition.Thecontributorstothisbookcomprisemanyoftheoriginalauthorsbut
alsoseveralnewones.Theyrepresentwell-knownscholarsinthefieldofcomparativeeduca-
tion, but also represented are newer scholars. We have maintained the initial geographical
coverage in terms of authors and, with the exception of the Caribbean, the countries and
regionsexamined.
We offer here a collection of chapters that reflect that broad range of issues in accessible
yettheoretically grounded detail.Authorswhocontributedto thefirstedition nowexpandon
theirdataandreflection,demonstratingthedynamicnatureofglobalizationanditswiderange
of consequences. This edition comprises important changes in content, deepening the treat-
ment of key concepts and dimensions of what we have come to accept as globalization. It
includes six chapters by authors new to the book. Most of the other chapters have been
completelyrewrittenandtheresthavebeensignificantlyrevisedandupdated.
In terms of research methodologies, the reader will find essays that bring together the
academicliteratureandasharpanalyticallensfocusedonseveralconceptualissuesandlevels
ofeducation.Alsopresentisachapteronqualitativemethodologiesespeciallysuitabletothe
v
vi Preface
understanding of the intersection of globalization and education, as well as several chapters
employing ethnographic techniques to comprehend taken-for-granted truths aboutcurrentna-
tionaleducationalpoliciesandglobalinitiatives.
Theauthorsanalyzephenomenaontheglobalplane,inlocalspaces,andintheconnections
betweentheglobalandthelocal,distinguishingthisbookfromothersinthefield,whichtend
tocenterononeissue(e.g.,policyprocesses,labor,orinternationalassessments),lacktheoret-
ical depth about the notion of globalization, or limit their focus to one geographical region.
We consider that the integration of levels of education, scales of analysis (the global and the
local),andtherecognitionofnationaldiversityandcontextmakethisbookunique.
While education is gaining widespread attention as a means to individual social mobility
and national economic competitiveness, educators and policy-makers must continue to give
globalizationclosescrutinyifwearetoassessitsimpactoneducationindevelopingcountries
and on the interplay that is occurring between central and less developed countries. Conse-
quences of globalization on the enormous expansion of higher education and global policies
suchasthoseseekingtheprovisionofuniversalbasiceducationneedtobeunderstoodintheir
fullest implications. Innovations affecting the community college, the provision of distance
education,restructuredcurricula,andtheroleoftheuniversityintheeconomyareemergingas
powerfulnewagendascloselylinkedtoglobalizationinitiatives.
In fundamental ways, the forces of globalization challenge the previous approaches and
theoriesofnationaldevelopment.Inthemindsofsomeobservers,globalizationisanexagger-
atedformofglobalcapitalism;intheviewofothers,itisawake-upcalltolookforalternative
forms to the new social and cultural arrangements that are being both spontaneously and
deliberatelygeneratedbyglobalization.
ORGANIZATIONOFTHEBOOK
This book is organized in three sections. The first addresses conceptual and methodological
issuesunderlyingsuch notionsas globalization,internationalization, andmultilateralism. The
second presents empirical data from various countries and provides examples of shifts and
transformationswithinaspecificlevelormodalityoftheeducationalsystem.Thethirdlooks
atthetotalityof educationalchanges taking thenation as theunit of analysis.Thesecountry-
levelcasestudiesbringtogetherinconcreteanddetailedwaystheimpactsofglobalizationat
themultiplelevelsofthemodalitiesoftheeducationsystem.
We remind the reader that in this book we are not considering the popular media even
though it isanimportantaspect of globalization.The absenceof mediachaptersisnot dueto
our lack of recognition of their importance but rather to the scope of the book, namely,
concentratingoneducation,albeitdefinedinbroadterms.
Inthefirstsectionofthisbook—conceptualandmethodologicalissues—theeditors,Nelly
P.StromquistandKarenMonkman, beginwith anessaydefiningglobalization andassessing
itsimplicationsforalllevelsofeducation.Wefindthattwoactorsareimposingthemselveson
educational policy agendas: the market and the transnational corporation. The changes they
are promoting affect not only the formal educational system but also the construction and
restructuring of local cultures. The university, the educational level most affected by global-
ization, has seen enormous expansion accompanied by differentiation of institutions. At the
same time, knowledge is being created at multiple sites, among which the university is only
one. Globalization is promoting increased knowledge, a by-product of the constant and rapid
exchangeofinformationmadepossiblebycomputer-mediatedtechnologies.Thisnewtypeof
knowledge is likely to generate winners and losers at individual and national levels—even
Preface vii
though the current discourse of globalization glosses over this possibility, preferring to talk
insteadofopportunitiesforpersonsandcountriestodeveloptheir“comparativeadvantage.”
Martin Carnoy’s chapter brings together two key issues surrounding globalization: the
impact of ICTs on the education system and the consequences of globalization upon the
nation-state. On the question of ICTs, Carnoy finds that, despite improvements in hardware
andsoftware,ICTs’impactonstudentlearninghasbeenmixed,inpartbecauseofproblemsin
computer access and teacher training. At the university level, impacts have been positive as
research and teaching networks have expanded. The emergence of new forms of virtual
education—forinstancethemassiveopenonlinecourses—holdthepromiseofmakingknowl-
edge accessible to large groups, including previously marginalized persons, but it remains to
beseentowhatextentmassiveopenonlinecoursesenablecertifiedknowledgeatlowercosts.
While globalization has moved education policies toward privatization, there are signs of
explicit decision-making to protect the quality of certain universities even though this occurs
attheexpenseofpoorstudentsattendingnon-eliteuniversities.Carnoyfindsevidencethatfor
the state some functions have been weakened and others strengthened, though in balance, he
argues, countries still retain considerable decision-making space and pressures to move into
unsuitableglobalpoliciescanbesuccessfullyresisted.
KarenMundyandCarolineManionfocusonglobalgovernance—specifically,theworkof
globalinstitutionsandtransnationalactorswitheducationalmandatesagendas—fromahistor-
ical perspective, drawing on theories of global governance and international relations. They
ask “how changes in world order and the international society of states over the last half-
century have shaped existing institutions, and how global institutions have in turn developed
new patterns and possibilities for global governance.” Their chapter examines the “evolution
of the international education for development regime alongside the United Nations mandate
in education,” calling to our attention the rise of the World Bank as the “preeminent global
governor of this regime,” and the “putative success of the ‘education for all’ movement over
thelastdecade.”Thechapterexaminesalsotheinvolvementofnonstateactorsandnetworks,
includingbothpowerfulcorporationsandconsultingfirmsaswellasgrassrootsorganizations.
It concludes with a consideration of current shifting global patterns of geopolitical and eco-
nomic power, and their implications for a future legitimate global governance in the area of
education.
MonishaBajaj’schaptershiftsourfocustohumanrights,which,sheposits,istheprimary
organizingforceinglobaleducationpolicydiscoursetoday.Threeorientations—educationas
a human right, education with human rights, and education for human rights—frame her
analysis of changes in international discussions and policy-making. She then presents a case
study of the Right to Education Act in India, using the concepts of decoupling and loose
coupling to understand the “intermediation of human rights education by ideology, context,
constituency,andlocale”inIndia,where“rights”talkinformsunderstandingsofquality.She
concludes: “the use of rights talk to frame a particular vision of education, while contested,
utilizesglobaldiscussionsasafoundationbutgoesfarbeyondinternationalagreementsonthe
righttoaccessprimaryschoolingtoentrenchafarmorecomprehensivevision.”
The chapter by Kathryn Moeller provides a stark example of transnational corporation
engagement in education. Ostensibly seeking to improve gender conditions in developing
countries, one such corporation, Nike, has endorsed the concept of “The Girl Effect,” which
targetsadolescentgirlsandyoungwomen.Thisapproach,basedonthelogicthatgirlsarenot
only a vulnerable group but also a population that must be attended to before they become
adult women and face more complex problems, at first sight has some merit. However,
Moeller’s ethnographic account shows that, while investing in young women in Brazil, Nike
viii Preface
funds short-term education programs that essentially train girls for job preparation without
helping them to problematize gender issues. Entering the terrain of national development,
Nike reinforces narrow definitions of gender and, by focusing on poor girls, also fosters the
racialization of gender. Through Moeller’s case study, the de facto political role of transna-
tionalcorporationsineducationisbroughtclearlyintotheopen.
Noel Gough’s chapter on curriculum, informed by narrative theory and poststructuralism,
is guided by the question, How does globalization work? rather than, What does it mean?
Based on his long experience as a curriculum specialist, Gough depicts how difficult and
complex is the process of curricular renewal and the frequent reluctance to embrace the
concept of individual and cultural differences. His interest in “what curriculum workers
(teachers,administrators,academics,researchers)do,andproduce,withtheconceptofglobal-
ization” takes shape in his exploration of the transnational curriculum conversations and
deliberations related to global perspectives on school curricula—through which culturally
inclusivecurriculumisprobedandexamined—andoftheinternationalizingnatureofthefield
of curriculum studies (i.e., ways in which local knowledge is globalized). His chapter raises
manyquestionsforreaderstoponder.
Raising a voice from Africa, Catherine Odora Hoppers’ chapter offers a sharp critique of
the mirage of globalization as the new path to democracy and well-being. She finds that
WesterneconomicinterestsareomnipresentandthattheWesternnotionofmodernizationnot
onlyprevailsbutitsdeploymentfurthermarginalizesdifferentpeoplesandcultures,especially
thoseinAfrica.Fromherperspective,educationconditionsinAfricaaredefinedbyoutsiders
andeducationresearchoftenhelpstolegitimatizetheparticularframingsupportedbyinterna-
tional financial and development agencies. The conclusions of these agencies converge on
identifying African governments as incapable of carrying out reforms and subsequent pro-
gramstoimproveeducationintheircountries.OdoraHopperspresentsaccountsfromseveral
Africancountriesshowingtheimpositionofexternaleducationagendas.Shecallsforstronger
affirmation of African values andperspectives in theshapingof educationpoliciesas well as
intheproductionofknowledgethatprecedesthem.
Weclosethefirstsectionofthebookwithachapterfocusingonqualitativemethodologies
deemedespeciallyappropriatefortheunderstandingofthecomplexitiesandnuancesthatcan
befoundinglobalizationprocesses.ThechapterbyLesleyBartlettandFrancesVavrusbegins
with a question: What new methodological approaches are required to examine globalization
and education? They lay out a variety of frameworks related to globalization (influenced by
anthropologist Tsing), sociocultural policy research, actor network theory, and the notion of
policyscapes, as a grounding for their argument that a multi-sited, ethnographic approach is
neededfornuanced,multi-facetedunderstandingsofglobalization.Theydescribethevertical
case study approach as a methodology that captures the richness of these phenomena as they
occur in multiple levels (vertical), multi-sites (horizontal), and across time (transversal). The
interconnecting nature of global phenomena occurs in local contexts, within relationships or
networks that stretch across space and time, and connects scales, places, and actors. The
authors then present a case study of a learner-centered pedagogy in Tanzania to demonstrate
theuseandstrengthsofverticalcasestudyresearch.
Part two of the book brings to the fore a discussion of the impact of globalization on
variouseducationallevelsranging fromadult educationto higher education. Italsoconsiders
currentdevelopmentsinthecommunitycollegemodelacrossnationalsettings,andchangesin
vocationaleducationinthechanginggloballaborcontext.
JanCurrieandLesleyVidovichfocustheiranalysisofglobalization’simpactonuniversity
sectors in France, the Netherlands, and Australia. They look at how policy-makers are posi-
Preface ix
tioning Europe in the global marketplace of higher education, and how the three countries
mentioned respond. The authorslayout adetailedanalysis of university ranking systemsand
research assessment exercises, as they demonstrate elements of the neoliberal model of “best
practice.”Thismodelinfluencesresponseswithinhighereducation,althoughtherearediffer-
ences in howandhowmucheachcountry responds.Historical traditions andpolitical econo-
my shape what they adopt and how they adapt it. France, for example, has resisted some
elements of neoliberalism, whereas the other two countries have more often emulated the
world’sleadinguniversities.ThedominanceofEnglishlanguagehighereducationinstitutions
inthisglobalcompetitionmakeforanunevenplayingfield.
RosalindRabyconsidersthecommunitycollegemodelofpost-secondaryeducationandits
diffusion in many countries. She outlines the various forms it takes, and discusses why this
model is of interest and how it is implicated in international development education. The
latter—international development education—is motivated by privatization or humanitarian
intereststhatarefacilitatedbyglobalizationagendas.Shefindssimilarityacrossstructuresand
locations, yet unique local interpretations. Many forms of the community college focus on
vocational and technical education for segments of the population without access to univer-
sities.Sheidentifiesfiverepercussionsofglobalization:financial,academic,cultural,applied,
andphilosophical.
Peter Kelly and Jane Kenway engage readers in examining the restructuring of gender,
education (primarily vocational education and training), and work through young people’s
narratives in the era following the global financial crisis of 2008, and an analysis of a chef
trainingprogram.Withinthischangingcontext,theirresearchshowshowyoungpeople,who
are marginalized from and by education and labor markets, are discursively portrayed in
negative terms as having low self esteem, self-defeating behaviors, and the like, and situates
vocational education and training programs such as Jamie’s Kitchen as key to their transfor-
mation.Tobeemployableintheglobalizedlabormarkets,theyargue, “theself…mustthink
about,acton,andperformitselfasanenterprise.”Theauthorsjuxtaposethiswithtextfrom“I
am the 99 percent” which portrays youth as active, driven, hard-working, and able, but not
havingaccess.
Shirley Walters’ chapter takes South Africa as its object of attention to discuss various
aspects of adult education as they are being influenced by globalization trends, particularly
economic globalization. Special attention is given to the national qualifications framework, a
policy designed to recognize the knowledge and skills acquired through prior work experi-
ence—a strategy particularly relevant to South Africa, where the struggle against apartheid
impededtheregularschoolingof large populations. As thefirstcountry to tryto integrate all
levelsof knowledgethroughitsnational qualifications framework, South Africa constitutes a
richsiteforexaminationofthispolicy,nowinplaceinalmost150countries.Inthechanging
world of work created by globalization, many skills are used for a large variety of jobs, and
workers themselves come increasingly from diverse cultural origins. The selection of criteria
fortherecognitionofpriorknowledgeandskillsprovestobeacomplexexercise,complicated
by the fact that it is those in power who retain the final word on what is accepted. Global
developments affecting the definition and status of adult education create new obstacles and
possibilitiesfortheadoptionoflifelonglearningstrategies.
Section three of this book presents six case studies of particular countries. They comprise
Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Malawi, South Africa, and Australia. Through these case studies,
we can see, in specific contexts, how globalization has engaged with particular educational
policies,discourses,andpractices.