Potential Positive and Negative Effects Globalization Can Have on the Education of Australian Students - Literature review Example

Running head: Potential positive and negative effects globalization can have on education of Australian students Student’s name Institution Course Professor Date Introduction Globalization has had numerous and complex impacts in educational practice and policy at a different economic, political and cultural levels. The global issues, policies and economy can influence Australian Education systems. This essay will try to explore potential positive and negative effects globalization have on education of Australian students. It will place great emphasis on consequence for a socially just society. Therefore any progress in education needs a culture of equity to be built. As stated by Connel, ethics of mutual care and challenging of all forms of injustice are central to any policy making. Globalization presented Australia with both opportunities and challenges. Its ability to take advantage of opportunities and overcome the challenges is linked accessibility of educations to its citizens. It has guarantee spread of communication, transportation and commercial networks all over the word which has later facilitated the globalization of economic, social and political forces. Globalization of education systems has indeed become more competitive within educational settings, thus leading to immense exposure to both positive and negative effects and forces of globalization. Educational institutions have been attributed to be a social organization and vehicle for social development around the globe. The processes of globalization are deemed to be associated with a boost in density and depth of economic and social interdependencies and international interactions. Held and McGrew (2003, p154) denote “Globalization has a shift of transformation in a scale of human social organization that create linkage between distant communities and expands reach of power relations across the world’s major regions and continents”. Dawes theory of Common World Educational Culture argues that more dominate societies shaped universal norms and culture in educational systems. Critical theory highlights a framework to understand and analyze power relationships within the society. In education perspective, it examines the structure of schooling, elements of education process that generate unequal power relationships between institutions’ administration, teachers and students. Indeed it scrutinize if educational practices address all social injustice and empowerment for disadvantaged persons (Capper, 1998). Trade liberalization, financial strength of transnational corporations and international capital mobility has caused many concerns in the representation of economic interest of Australian community. The quantity and quality of education and training dictates whether and how different states participate in the globalization processes such as fragmentation and global value chains. Measurements carried by foreign direct investment showed that globalization process do affect the demand and supply of education and training (Dale, 2000, p 32). Robinson,(2003) argued “Globalization ought to be considered at all levels since it is the underlying structural dynamics that drives political,social,economic and cultural processes around the entire world”. Globalization has had important consequences on educational policies, practices and structures in Australia and other countries around the world. Changes in education witnessed resulted due economic, political, cultural and technological driving forces. Neoliberal policies helped the globalization of nation states’ policies through creation of favourable conditions for state restructuring (Apple, 2000, p79). Thus it is a central force that shapes the contemporary world order. Various globalists agree that globalization constraints every government economic policy options. Advances in information and communication technology and in transportation have contributed to immense movement of people and quick diffusion of information. Consequently it resulted to convergence of cultural, linguistic, ideological paradigms and patterns all over the world. Technology divide has a consequence on how globalization affects the economic well being of different states. Therefore nations and regions that have insufficient sophisticated information communication technology (ICT) infrastructures and a wide spread of usage will not benefit economically due to lack of access to vast pool of information and knowledge (Bagnall, 2010) Positive effects Process of globalization has affected many perspective of human life around the globe. Economic, political and cultural forms of globalization have had significant consequences on education. Thus it called for a rethinking of purpose, structure, pedagogy, and content, methods of delivery and assessment of outcomes in education programs. The objective for diverse societies to compete in a world where the knowledge is a principal currency has made organization and objective of education systems into key factors for comparative competitiveness (Allen, 2004, p340). Under the effects of globalization Australian education system has undergone constant changes. The swift development in communication and technology contributed to major changes within the learning systems around the globe. Consequently, the present society changed from industrialized to information-based one due to free flow of ideas, values and knowledge. The government is under pressure to limit the growth of public spending on education and to solicit for other sources on finances for the presumed expansion of educational systems. Globalization attracted huge foreign capital into the country this caused pressure to increase the average level of education into the labour force (Dale, 2000, p 33). In education sector, neoliberalism has driving force for efficiency and effectiveness on different education expenditures and endeavors. The upcoming cultural imperialism shaped children, the future citizens of the world into global citizens with vast range of skills to utilize in a competitive and information based society. The nature of education delivery changed drastically due to introduction of technology into the classroom (Held & McGrew, 2003, p 450). This gave way for a new form of electronic literacy as more education materials and programs are made accessible in electronic form. Neoliberal policies that decentralized and privatized school systems did spurred inequality and marginalization of certain groups who cannot compete hence increase in poverty (Apple, 2000, p79). Generally globalization effects on education systems are based in terms of educational reforms. Competition-driven reforms advocates for improvement in economic productivity through development of quality labour in educational institutions. Globalization imposes on education provision by state through establishment agenda that includes purposes and instruments of education. Dale (2000) cross-examined approaches that explained the relationship that existed between education and globalization and also the Common World Education approach and Globally Structured Agenda for Education approach. “Increased globally structured agendas for education diminishes convergence of national policy,” (Dale, 2000, p 43). Growth and advancement of technology has resulted to varied changes in delivery and development of education in Australia. Generally globalization involves acceleration and intensification of processes that advocates for global independence. Each education policy and practices become dependent upon world markets. The advert of globalization led to increase in education opportunity that raises issues about social justice and inequality among the social groups. The escalating rate of multiculturalism and advancement in technology are the significance of globalization in Australia. Transfer of technology from many countries has helped Australian education system to run their educational processes effectively and efficiently. Indeed it has changed the way and how education is delivered (Held & McGrew, 2003, p 432). The national policies strive to reconcile human resource development and globalization process to achieve sufficient impact on development. The openness of trade expanded the returns and new opportunities. There is an existence of a close relationship between human capital accumulation and trade, (Davies & Bansel, 2007, p248).Trade and foreign direct investment have a positive consequence on education and training in terms of additional training and availability of resources. The government opts to build appropriate education and training framework that is able to link with trade structure of the state. The rise of globalization through internet, mass media, supranational organizations and ease of travel have allowed the even spread of liberal democratic values and human rights and the growth of global civil society is nurtured effectively. Indeed these cultural flows transformed the politics of national identity and the politics of identity more generally. One – on- one and physical interactions has been boasted thus leading to increase opportunity for learning from diverse sources and having diverse content outside the usual traditional education programs (Stromquist & Monkman, 2000, p334).Many workers compete for the limited good jobs that globalization has created; this increased the demand for education expansion. In addition, many parents in Australia realized that education is a significant asset in the modern society. The enrolments of the students rose steadily due to a sizeable reduction in the gap between a boy and a girl child and also the emergence of highly differentiated education circuits. Privatization and liberalization of schooling succeeded in producing a greater efficiency in the education sectors. The World Bank as an International financial institution has insisted on the privatization in educational facilities which eventually reduced the national budget deficits (Apple, 2000, p80. The decentralization measures employed in the education systems ensured more efficient learning institutions are generated in the country. A flexible and efficient bureaucracy with the parents was established that allowed active participation in the governance and hence strengthening the civil society (Carnoy, 1999, p 35). Quality access of education is much intrinsic in the globalization discourse. Cross-national comparisons of student performance being based on standardized testing became a regular practice due to globalization. It has been associated to increased demand for higher education in the entire globe, since huge levels of remuneration is accrued at such higher levels of education. Creation and implementation of academic programmes enabled both market and social needs to be addressed in flexible ways. This diversification enabled the society through immense distribution of knowledge to a larger population. Education systems for example its curricula addressed the fundamental core social issues such as awareness creation for the need for social justice and the formation of citizenship values (Stromquist & Monkman, 2000, p335). Global knowledge got harmonized with the local knowledge leading to entire improvement of national education. Australian education settings became fundamental sites for restructuring of societal values, norms and gender ideologies. The system allowed curriculum content to promote gender equality in the society through fostering assertiveness and empowerment of a girl child (Meadmore & McWilliam,2001,p31). Among the impacts of globalization on education include; decentralization, privatization, standardization, assessment, curriculum and pedagogy. An example of the effects of institutional globalization is decentralization. It promotes the growth of uniformity in institutional and regulatory framework (Astiz, 2002, p22). This initiative called for space creation for private sector responses unconstrained by state bureaucracy. Indeed the government became more accountable and responsive to local communities while promoting equity and access, general empowerment and participation in schooling. The local communities, head teachers and teachers took control over curriculum and teaching techniques making education more relevant to the local content thus improving service delivery (Mills, 2008, p212). Decentralization process for it to achieve its objective is culminated by improved teacher training, good governance, sufficient provision of curricula materials and increased parent involvement. Curriculum and pedagogy felt the impacts of globalization as the country seeks to adjust an approach to incorporate and promote information, knowledge and skills acquisition to guarantee fair competition in the global economy (Astiz &Wiseman, 2002, p23). Globalization has enhanced the focus on assessment, accreditation and standards in education systems. Its main objective is to heighten cost effectiveness and overall efficiency. The outcomes are witnessed through improved academic performance and quality, increased accountability and response to demands for market competition. Global information and communication technologies, mass media have significantly contributed to reforms in education both directly and indirectly. Encouraging more skilled and educated workforce is among the actively formulated and implemented policies to respond to effects of globalization (Bagnall, 2010).Through technologies like laptop computers, cellular telephones, video conferencing and storage media; globalization establishes magnificent opportunities for expanding the dissemination of information and dialogue in the education sector. Thus, the increased communication contributed in making the world more interactive. For example, communication and transactions could emerge among people who may never meet. There is a shift towards the compression of time and space with the current information and transportation technologies. Globalization has brought education to the front lines since education is deemed to be a tool for incorporation into a knowledgeable society and technological economy. In this case, it has provided an equal chance to both genders especially if they improve on their levels of education. Education has been democratized since many persons are achieving higher levels of education. Decentralization of education systems permitted superior parental participation and the adjustment of curriculum to local contexts (Astiz &Wiseman, 2002, p23).Regular evaluations of Australian education systems allowed it to be compared internationally and a general trend towards convergence in context and performance. The need for highly educated low cost labour enabled expansion of women’s education opportunities. There is an equal access for young women to education in the entire society. Testing and standards used in education sector improved accountability via measuring knowledge production (Mills, 2008, p100). The quantity of education expanded through distance education with the introduction of information technology. Negative effects Challenges of globalization affect Australia in a definite way due to small population; it’s ever reliance on trade and foreign capital for national development, its federal and parliamentary system of government and colonial history. Amid the Australian political landscape, an anti-globalization sentiment has featured most due to existence of groups such as Citizens Electoral Council of Australia and Australians Against Further Immigration. Thus, the advent of globalization emphasized fully in international impacts of domestic policies and also domestic ramifications of international events (Carrington, 2008, p186). Education for all and universal education movements sought to ensure that everybody had a chance to acquire a basic education. However, the advert of globalization has driven government away from equity-driven reforms. It increases the pay-off to high level skills relative to lower-level skills. The dominance of finance-driven reforms in educational change in a new globalized economic environment resulted in inequity increase in the educational services delivery (Carnoy, 1999). Decentralization policies and reforms to education sector have proved to be difficult to implement. The government is supposed to retain educational policy control and standards of quality while as the same time relinquish the control of the implementation of those policies to lower levels of the government (Astiz & Wiseman, 2002, p22). Moreover it has had detrimental impact on quality of education thus exacerbated inequalities in education performance between rich and poor citizens. In addition decentralization, privatization and standardization interferes the traditional curriculum and issues of control over content and pedagogical techniques are heighten. National communities have been disenfranchised by globalization thus compromising the government’s ability to oversee domestic political, economic and social conditions (Astiz & Wiseman, 2002, p22). Intense population movements and the swiftness of communication and information in and out of the country led to erosion of established national identities. The increased consequences of treaties on domestic affairs of national states have compromised responsible government and federalism practices and erosion of sovereignty of the people of Australia. For example political institutions that are beyond the control of national communities have influence communities without being answerable to them. Amid the Australian political landscape, an anti-globalization sentiment has featured most due to existence of groups such as Citizens Electoral Council of Australia and Australians Against Further Immigration. Thus, the advent of globalization emphasized fully in international impacts of domestic policies and also domestic ramifications of international events. The impacts of global race for the bottom have greatly supported the expanded unequal distribution of wealth between and within people of Australia. In addition, the changing character of international law and treaties and expanded role of non-governmental organizations in examining domestic policies of national government such as education programs have threatened the sovereignty of state. Advancement in global communication, information and transportation networks has contributed to the rapid spread of criminals linkages across the globe (Burbunes &Torres, 2000, p 285). Thus, it has exposed the country to security risks and attacks due to illegal arrivals of immigrants from Western Asia and Middle East. Greater movement of people in Australia has increased the threats of disease for example HIV/AIDS is being imported through both foreign and domestic travelers who do excursion on high risk infection areas. Consequently the Australian education systems have been negatively affected by the transmissions of pornography into European countries because of electronic revolution. As a result, the Australian student have been abused via those images, therefore this has pose a major challenge to national government on policy formulation and implementation (Burbunes & Torres, 2000, p 285). In addition, the global forces such as increased mobility of populations and information technology networks caused erosion of social cohesion that is fundamental to maintain national communities. Therefore the locals were forced to accommodate the increasing number of persons with diverse cultural norms, practices and beliefs. Although the levels of education have improved greatly due to globalization, the persistent patriarchal and oligarchic forces that inhibit women from ascending to all spheres of economic and political power have not been eliminated. Education and training systems and technological development are impacted negatively by existence of both market and coordination failures. Furthermore, the decentralization of educational administration and finance has had little effect on the educational delivery in the learning institutions despite its implementation (Astiz & Wiseman, 2002, p23). Improved global economic competition made nation state to focus on economic policies that heightened global competitiveness at the expense of national policies that could stabilized domestic political economy and social cohesion. Indeed, it forced the Australian government to focus in economic growth promotion rather than engage itself in protection of national identity. Many people perceived globalization as a modern version of cultural imperialism that eventually led to creation of a universal western society. The western approach of education was inadequate as it majored only in money creation rather than focusing on preservation of indigenous cultures. To conclude, we must understand the relationship between globalization and education change, there is need to know how globalization and its ideological packaging influence the overall delivery of schooling from transnational paradigms to national policies and local practices. The Australian government has to increase expenditures on education that will expand educational opportunities to meet the social demands for more education. Furthermore, the national policies strive to reconcile human resource development and globalization process to achieve sufficient impact on development. The openness of trade will expand the returns and new opportunities References Allen, J. (2004).Sociology of Education: Possibilities and practices, 3rd edition katoomba: Social Sciences Press.340-452 Apple, M.W. (2000).Between Neoliberalism and Neoconservatism: Education and conservation in a Global context. In N.C.Burbules & C.A.Torres (Eds), Globalization and Education: Critical Perspectives. 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