Changing Schools In An Era Of Globalization

Much has been written about globalization and the challenge of preparing young people for the new world of work and life in times of complexity and continuous change. However, few works have examined how globalization has and will continue to shape education in the East. This volume discusses education within the context of globalization and examines what is occurring in schools and systems of education in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, and Australia. Closer examination of recent developments and current trends reveal the same turbulence and a range of common issues in areas such as assessment, curriculum, leadership, management of change, pedagogy, policy, professional capacity and technology. This volume demonstrates the commonalities and differences and offers tremendous insight into the way things are done in places where student achievement is high but there is also a sense of urgency in continuing an agenda of change.

This volume documents the significant changes that have occurred in Japanese schools since the collapse of that nations economic bubble. Before the recession, Japan was the country that most others sought to emulate due to its students performance on standardized tests. Now, however, a different and more complicated picture of the Japanese education system emerges. This book places Japanese education in a global context, with particular attention given to how their education system is responding to changing expectations and pressures that emerge from rapid social change. Chapters written by respected scholars examine issues related to equality, academic achievement, privatization, population diversity, societal expectations, and the influence of the media, parents, and political movements. The research in this book will provide valuable lessons for policymakers and practitioners facing similar challenges.

Prior to the era of globalization, education in Southeast Asia was viewed in the context of the national state and it was deployed in the service of state and nation-building and national economic development. States monopolized education, and public-funded centralized education systems were established to teach literacy, transmit national cultures and promote social cohesion, and to produce literate workers. Globalization forces, however, dramatically impacted in varying ways and degrees the national education systems across the region. As states begun to see their citizens as resources to enhance the countries' competitiveness in the global market, it, among other things, led to the increasing demand for highly skilled and qualified human capital. The accompanying neoliberal ideology led to varying degrees of decentralization, privatization and internationalization of education, especially of higher education, in Southeast Asia. The chapters in this volume focus on a number of issues and challenges confronting the education sector in Southeast Asia, including: (i) the contrasting language in education policy in Singapore and Malaysia; (ii) the introduction of an English-medium private education sector in Malaysia; (iii) the internationalization of Thai higher education; (iv) access and quality issues in the massification of Malaysian higher education; (v) secondary school quality and higher education participation in Indonesia; (vi) equity, access and retention in primary school education in Malaysia; and (vii) reforms in the primary and secondary education in Myanmar.

At a time when globalization and technology are dramatically altering the world we live in, is education reform in the United States headed down the right path? Are schools emphasizing the knowledge and skills that students need in a global society—or are they actually undermining their strengths by overemphasizing high-stakes testing and standardization? Are education systems in China and other countries really as superior as some people claim? These and other questions are at the heart of author Yong Zhao's thoughtful and informative book. Born and raised in China and now a distinguished professor at Michigan State University, Zhao bases many of his observations on firsthand experience as a student in China and as a parent of children attending school in the United States. His unique perspective leads him to conclude that "American education is at a crossroads" and "we need to change course" to maintain leadership in a rapidly changing world. To make his case, Zhao explains * What's right with American education; * Why much of the criticism of schools in the United States has been misleading and misinformed; * Why China and other nations in Asia are actually reforming their systems to be more like their American counterparts; * How globalization and the "death of distance" are affecting jobs and everyday life; and * How the virtual world is transforming the economic and social landscape in ways far more profound than many people realize. Educators, policymakers, parents, and others interested in preparing students to be productive global citizens will gain a clear understanding of what kinds of knowledge and skills constitute "digital competence" and "global competence," and what schools can—and must—do to meet the challenges and opportunities brought about by globalization and technology.

"In Learning in the Global Era, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco has integrated a rich harvest of practical wisdom with cutting-edge research in cognitive theory to produce an indispensable handbook for all who are grappling with the challenges of education in our rapidly changing world. With their interdisciplinary approach and their attention to cultural diversity, the essays are a treasure trove of insights and constructive approaches to which educators and policy-makers will return again and again."—Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard University; President, Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences "Neither developed nor developing nations have begun to prepare young people for the demands of the global economy; nor does schooling anywhere adequately respond to the massive migration of families whose home languages, cultures, and social structures differ from those in the new host nation. Besides providing vivid and rigorous accounts of the shifting population patterns, employment markets, and cultural and political change, this fascinating book presents promising educational innovations that put student engagement and the global context for learning at the center. No other book so effectively joins emerging research on cognition and learning with the political and economic challenges of globalization."—Martha Minow, Harvard Law School, and co-editor of Engaging Cultural Differences "Learning in the Global Era is a masterful book. Each of the essays, exquisitely arranged and coordinated by the editor, is a memorable example of rigorous interdisciplinary analysis and insight into emerging global issues. The range of concerns—from nurturing a global consciousness and appreciating the simultaneous cultural patterns that children develop in global cities, often through their own migration, to the effects of gender-specific dilemmas in global classrooms-makes this book a compendium for more than understanding a world which challenges many traditional assumptions. But reading it does more; it makes us mindful of the difficulty and also of the necessary creativity involved in learning and teaching today. I am grateful for its lessons and the readers will be, too."—Doris Sommer, Harvard University "Globalization is transforming entire economies and cultures, but schools and schooling have not kept pace. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco has assembled a set of thoughtful and incisive essays by international experts that show how globalization makes it imperative to rethink and reform the education of children in every part of the planet. Educating citizens in the advanced countries to understand global society and cultural differences, increasing access to education in the developing world while teaching new skills, finding ways to help immigrants adapt and succeed in their new surroundings—all these essential tasks are addressed in this important book."—John H. Coatsworth, Columbia University "How should this generation of youth, the largest ever in human history, be educated? How do we make sure all youth have access to quality education? What cognitive skills, interpersonal sensibilities, and ethical norms should be nourished in youth to live and thrive in our global world? Learning in the Global Era addresses these and other questions with both scholarly rigor and humane concern. It brings together leading international scholars— including anthropologists, cognitive scientists, economists, education scholars, linguists, neuroscientists, and psychologists with extensive research experience in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, to examine the education of youth for the 21st Century. It is a work that breaks new ground by locating learning and youth engagement in the ever more complex economic, social, and cultural realities that define the world's global cities."—Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Self-Transforming School combines an insightful meta-analysis of factors contributing to the success of schools, and an examination of powerful mega-trends that are shaping developments in education, to offer the first mega-analysis in education policy and practice. The book spans fifty years, beginning with Caldwell and Spinks’ ground-breaking work The Self-Managing School which advocated innovative approaches that are now accepted as preferred practice, before offering a prognosis and plan for the future. The book argues that all schools in all settings can secure success for all students in an era where society and the economy are changing constantly and dramatically. Although schools find some support in local and global networks, externally designed re-structuring, re-staffing, or command-and-control direction isn’t sufficient to achieve transformation. Instead of replicating particular approaches to achieve modest improvement, leadership of the highest quality needs to be deeply embedded in schools and their systems. Caldwell and Spinks propose three important points that need to be taken into consideration: -schools are often at different stages of self-transformation -self-transformation requires a high level of professionalism, and must include teacher education and on-going professional development -funding is critically important, and efforts to build a capacity for self-transformation are constrained by what is available. The book gives particular attention to developments in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Finland, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Shanghai, Singapore and the United States. It will be of key interest to school leaders, policy makers, and academics and postgraduate students engaged in research on equity, student performance in highly disadvantaged settings and education policy.

Mobile Learning Communities explores the diverse ways in which traveling groups experience learning "on the run", bringing together for the first time mobilities and learning communities into a single and comprehensive focus.

This book, a statement of genuine concern on the state of the school curriculum in Hong Kong by a veteran educator, forms a comprehensive account of current curriculum development, implementation and interpretation. Kennedy invites the reader to critically examine how local and global issues influence the way the Hong Kong curriculum has been constructed. Against this theoretical background, he maintains a clear, practical focus on present policies of the educational authority and suggests a new curriculum in various fields. This book sheds light on recent pressure for curriculum change and reform in Hong Kong, offering fresh insights to those concerned with the state of education in both Hong Kong and cities around the world.