Scholars and mainstream commentators are of the opinion that the term ‘globalization’ is a contested phenomenon by virtue of the fact that it does not lend itself easily to any single definition or characterization.
Indeed, the term wears many faces, and is typically discussed in economic, educational, political, socio-cultural and technological terms in the framework of interconnectedness and supraterritoriality overwhelmingly characterized by enhanced competition, greater interdependence, integration of global markets, flows and exchanges of knowledge, and the role of new technologies (Cantwell & Maldonado-Maldonado, 2009). This paper purposes to evaluate how globalization has been used to improve the quality of education.
From the definition of the concept, it has been mentioned that globalization can be described within the context of free flow and exchange of knowledge. In this particular context, globalization has positively impacted the quality of education by facilitating the hegemonic rise of English as the language of scientific communication utilized by millions of students worldwide (Ginsburg & Megahed, 2011).
Through globalization, it is now easier for students to be taught using a standard language and for global examinations to be standardized using the same English language. Consequently, the quality of education has improved globally due to the standardization.
Second, it is well known that globalization has occasioned the convergence of information communication and technology (ICT) even to some of remotest parts of the world. The rapid developments in ICT have tremendously improved the quality of education through availing alternative educational systems, including virtual universities, distance learning, and asynchronous content delivery systems (Sanderson, 2011).
Today, through the convergence of technology, it is now possible for a medical professor in the United States to give lectures to medical students from remote villages in Africa. Such an opportunity implies that educational standards can only get better.
Third, it can be argued that globalization has succeeded in integrating the global village and breaking down some traditional institutions and barriers that previously affected how education was disseminated to the population.
This assertion holds much water in Africa and some least developed Latin American and Asian countries due to the digital divide that was previously in existence until the forces of globalization rescued these areas from a total lack of knowledge and information (Ginsburg & Megahed, 2011).
Presently, courtesy of globalization, an African child can use the computer to perform complex algebra, while an African adult who was previously unemployed can use the internet to learn basic skills for employment. Such an orientation implies that the advantages brought forth by globalization are fundamental in improving the quality of education, particularly in areas that lagged behind in the first phase of globalization (Sanderson, 2011).
Lastly, available literature demonstrates that globalization has brought about a shift in our economic modes of production, from a traditional mechanistic approach to knowledge-based economy, which serves as the major engine of growth in many countries (Cantwell & Maldonado-Maldonado, 2009).
This assertion implies that education is critical to globalization just as globalization is critical to education by virtue of the fact that it is through education that the knowledge-based workforce can be found to drive world economies forward.
It therefore follows that globalization efforts must attempt to streamline and improve educational standards with the express purpose of producing the workforce of the future – employees who will be forced by the dynamics of the shifting workplace environment to perform job roles for which they were not originally trained (Sanderson, 2011). Such workers must be globalized, hence the connection between globalization and the quality of education.
Reference List
Cantwell, B., & Maldonado-Maldonado, A. (2009). Four stories: Confronting contemporary ideas about globalization and internationalization in higher education. Globalization, Societies & Education, 7(3), 289-306.
Ginsburg, M., & Megahed, N. (2011). Globalization and the reform of faculties in education in Egypt. The roles of individual and organizational, national and international actors. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 19(15), 23-38.
Sanderson, G. (2011). Internalization and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 30(5), 661-676.