Globalization and Education - Essay Example

? Globalization and Education Globalization and Education Globalization and education relate in multiple ways that offer and deny various advantages to different classes of people, countries, and civilization. The two discourses also combine with historical, cultural factors, and geopolitical influences in ways that continue to aggravate divisions and inequalities in many parts of the planet (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002). Theorists and scholars have attempted to determine and explore the role of education and globalization in the current challenges that affect the developing world as compared to the numerous advantages enjoyed by major economic powers of the world (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002). The scholars equally explore the role played by the global institutions and systems in contributing to the dominant challenges that affect poor countries. The relationship between education and globalization takes two broad dimensions. The first dimension involves the role of education in empowering weaker countries, groups, and individuals to compete favorably with other stronger powers (Burbules & Torres, 2000). The concern of scholars and economic analysts revolve around the fact that the policies of the global financiers and powerful countries do not actively support education programs. Instead, the powerful nations actively support cuts on government spending meant to fund education-related projects in preference to those that support commerce and industry. Such policies of education have the long-term effects of disempowering the weak nations (Stromquist, 2002). The second dimension of education is the one that promotes the empowering of the weaker nations and the impoverished groups. Such kinds of education are homegrown and tailored on the specific needs as understood within the local context. Normally, an education system is supposed to provide solutions to the challenges that afflict the beneficiaries of the education and their societies. The developing world requires an authentic education system that suits its local needs. Such an education system must seek to establish structures that shall shield weaker nations from the adverse influences of globalization and promote structures of self-sustenance. In essence, there appears to be a consensus among many scholars regarding the association between the interests of the richer countries’ programs and the prevailing states of poverty and adversity in the developing world. The scholars also cite the impact of colonialism within the general aspect of inequality (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002). Some of the themes that appear common in many of these discourses include the association between formal education and inequality and the association between globalization and world poverty. These themes tie together with the challenges facing Africa, The Caribbean, and other struggling parts of the world (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002). Regarding the theme of education and global inequality, the scholars contend that the formal education system lacks tune with the needs of the developing world. The scholars explore the manner in which the western powers imposed their systems of education on the natives in the different places they conquered. Such imposition ignored the previously existing structures of education and resulted in a serious mismatch between the needs of the natives and the objectives of the system of education. The study cites the case of the Maya who lost their reading materials to the Spanish at the time of the conquest (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002). The destruction of the traditional Mayan educational system resulted in the destruction of the people’s reservoir of culture. The Spanish case of destroying the Mayan culture represents a trend of the colonial culture where dominant powers systematically destroyed indigenous cultures using brute force and replaced them with foreign systems of education. Alienation of the weaker civilizations resulted from the education system that was based purely on the foreign systems. Loss of culture eventually led to the loss of economic power of the vanquished groups. In a significant sense, the conquered groups could no longer engage in activities that represented their interests. This reality led to dependency as the weaker countries could only engage in economic activities from the perspective of the dominant powers. The education of the stronger powers perpetuated the state of inequalities in ways that have increased the economic hardships of the weaker nations and civilizations. The scholars thus argue that the result of the systematic and structural destruction of weaker countries led the erosion of the powers of survival by the dominant powers. Some of the dominant theories that have explored on the subject of alienation have also expounded on the effect of globalization. Globalization is explored from the perspective of the global financiers such as IMF and the World Bank. The contribution of the global financiers to the growth of the weaker nations is explored as some form cosmetic interventions that offer piecemeal solutions to the troubled countries. For instance, the structural adjustment programs have ruined many countries in Africa and other parts of the developing world by providing systems that promoting methods and systems that fail to address the core concerns of the poor countries. Such policies have for instance led to massive layoffs in the employment sector. The financial support of the global financiers and donors are regulated in ways that perpetuate the inequalities between the developing world and the western powers. The policies are structured in ways that support the status quo that sustains the hierarchy that places the richer powers at the helm of world’s global economic power and keep the weaker nations at the lowest rung of the economic structure. Many theorists and economic analysts argue that globalization essentially denies weaker countries the opportunity to trade favorably with the stronger powers. Cases are given of Jamaica, which continues to experience the devastating effect of global economic competition as a result of yielding to the pressure of structural reforms. This pressure resulted in the systematic weakening of the indigenous economic systems that underpinned the growth of the economy. Farming and the production of powder milk were ruined due to the influences that followed the economic interventions of the developed countries and the structures created by the global financiers. These interventions appeared well meaning at first but gradually descended into ruin in the aftermath. Some of the long-term consequences included job losses and the destruction of local investing capacities (Dinello & Squire, 2005). Generally, globalization denies the developing powers the opportunity to protect their own markets. Globalization entails liberalization of the market economies, which essentially means that the developing world opens up its markets to global competition with the world powers (Stromquist, 2002). Weaker powers have stronger marketing powers and often use the synergies of their development to dominate the markets and push the weaker countries out of the markets. In the long term, the weaker countries become increasingly dependent on the developed countries for their sustenance (Lechner, 2009). This dependency eventually yields a situation where the poor countries increasing descent into a cycle of debt. References Bigelow, B., & Peterson, B. (2002). Rethinking Globalizaton: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World. New York: Rethinking Schools. Burbules, N., C. & Torres, C., A. (2000). Globalization and Education: Critical Perspectives Dinello, N., E & Squire, L. (2005). Globalization And Equity: Perspectives From The Developing World. New York: Edward Elgar Publishing. Lechner, F. J. (2009). Globalization: The Making of World Society. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Social Theory, Education and Cultural Change Series. London: Routledge. Stromquist, N., P. (2002). Education in a Globalized World: The Connectivity of Economic Power, Technology, and Knowledge. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Read More