Education Became an Essential Issue - Essay Example

Education became an essential issue in modern life because of globalization. This phenomenon put premium on education as it posed both opportunities and threats for most countries that are integrated by the global trade. The idea is that education enables students and countries to operate more effectively in the increasingly competitive global economy. Particularly, the resurgence of English education became the result as many international universities offer their students courses on the language because it is a global tool. Many students now study abroad to obtain new language skills, high quality of education experience in addition to cultural experience, job opportunities and emigration. An interesting dimension to this trend in education is how students choose their schools. One would find, for instance, that parents take a greater role in their children’s schooling, especially in regard to university and skills education, in their desire for a better life and chances for their children. For example, Doria, (2005) talked about the case of Australia: A “factor that influences students to study in Australia is that the country is comparatively safe, it has a clean environment, and living here is affordable.” (20) Students are swayed by attractive university marketing, say, one that promotes the high quality of education and the relative appearance of the school campuses. Scholarship offerings, which the U.S.A. is known for, is also important factor in the students’ choices of schools. (Doria 2005, 9- 20) Another issue in studying abroad concerns immigration opportunities. For parents, if their children study, say, in Australia, there is a possibility of obtaining Australian citizenship for all families and that, in itself, is a worthy return for the investment. In addition, many students look for career opportunities by studying abroad where they can develop their mental abilities, cultural perspective and in learning another language. Some of them want to get away from restrictive customs (Doria 2005, 19). The result of this new phenomenon in education is that overseas students are forcing changes in the curricula of universities by requiring emphasis on the methodology of teaching, special programmes and also result in confronting the slowing down of communication classes due to language-skill and cultural barriers. In preserving the quality of education including improving the standard of English courses, universities have to focus on developing teacher abilities and changing styles of educational delivery to be adaptable for overseas students as well. Many hours of teaching, failing resources and linked to shortage of time for lecturers to score correctly and give helpful criticism decreases the quality of teaching (Chan 2001, cited in Ferman 2003, 39). Global education then alters the method of student evaluation on account of cultural psychological reasons and language dissimilarity (Hudson and Morris 2003, 71). Furthermore, the rising number of foreign students causes native students to experience distress in courses where teaching has been "slowed down" to adapt students for people who are not English native speakers (Cohen 2004). Academics, thus, must be taught to consider cultural differences both when giving information and when selecting styles of educational delivery. For example, “The use of diagrams may be counter-indicated for some cultures, but preferential for others, an effect which may be magnified by gender roles since in many cultures girls express less enthusiasm for diagrams than boys” (Hudson and Morris, 71) The implication of the above mentioned factors is that universities had to accept accountability for cultural alteration of international students. Moreover, there is a new-found need to accommodate non-English speakers by introducing English programmes that should allow them to adjust to new surroundings. (Randell 1989, 3) Chen posited that shortage of English language ability may limit a students wish to interact with social relationship and therefore produce negative feelings about their skill to be successful in their new surroundings. Language ability may be such an essential reason that it can make international students to value themselves (1999, cited in Olivas and Li 2006, 218). Unfortunately, the huge increase in the number of foreign students reduces places of domestic students in the university. In spite of the full-fee charge for international students, there is a decrease in sponsored students. Another negative point: many students plan to stay after graduating in the country where they are studying and to find work. Vickers and Bekhradnia (2007) for instance, Every year, several thousand international students remain in the UK to work following graduation from a UK HEI. This clearly has an impact on the UK economy. It can be assumed that the majority of these individuals would not have moved to the UK had they not studied here. (p. 11) This example shows a dilemma faced by immigration departments with overseas students. However, foreign students remain a source of several benefits for the schools and their destinations. International education is a source of income for both government and university (Yih and Nasser-Eddine 2005). Overseas students usually pay higher fees which create more jobs, and is considered as alternative revenue for universities. Universities need more money for research and teaching because of government reductions in subsidies. (Humfrey 1999, 15; Randell 1989, 3) They can also improve and raise the diversity of courses and the quality of campus services. (Randell 1989, 3) International students have helped universities change their values, inciting cross-cultural arrangement and toleration, encouraging multiculturalism and diversity. (Yih and Nasser-Eddine). Moreover, the enhanced number of students - their rivalries - and the diversity that comes with them contributes to a better reputation, allowing universities to attract better students. (Economist 2005) In short, international students in many countries have added a great value to the universities that they have attended: new language skills, high quality of teaching, experiencing another tradition, career chances and migration result in increasing numbers of foreign students. They affect university programmes of study and models of education. Although, international students have some drawbacks such as declining numbers of domestic students, altering systems of student appraisal and unlawful migration, they also add some ideals to university and government. Amid all these, universities clearly need to be more adjustable for overseas students to protect their reputation. Read More