International Ed a Globalizing Educational

International Ed

A Globalizing Educational Tradition

There is a direct correlation between the patterns governing a society and the practices reflected in an educational tradition. At the root of the capacity of nations, regions and communities to evolve, and often the incapacity for the very same, is in substantial part determined by the nature, accessibility and purpose of their respective systems of education. This is not, however, to make the assertion that there is a single or correct approach to achieving a successful relationship between education and society. The world is comprised of innumerable cultures, ideologies and nationalist identities, all of which predispose the peoples therein to a vast array of optimal teaching methods and educational systems. It can therefore be an invaluable endeavor in better understanding the ways in which society and education mutually affect one another within in a number of contexts.

There is a demonstrable relationship between the integration of precedents set in a wide spectrum of settings and the successful assimilation of education with the goals of one's native society. As such, "policy makers in individual countries examine education systems in other countries in order to discern ways to achieve political, social and economic objectives. (Bray, 237) That is a central consideration for American educators and educational leaders, who have the opportunity to better serve their students by appealing to a global knowledge economy in the areas of curriculum, pedagogy and performance assessment. The academic discussion on this subject is referred to as comparative education, and proceeds from the belief that nations can collectively contribute to the advance of the educational process by taking into consideration the innovations and successes yielded by regional neighbors or even by nations across the globe.

Indeed, research produced in recent years suggests that after decades of proliferating its domestic modes of education, America is benefiting from the progress made in other parts of the world. This denotes an important geopolitical reality in which the goals of education are less intended toward predicating the rise in social and economic fortunes of individual nations, and instead seen only more directly through the lens of the functionality of the schools themselves. So reports the text by Arnove & Torres, which indicates that "the field has undergone a shift from a macrofocus on the role of schooling in contributing to such outcomes as social mobility and stability, political development, economic growth, cultural continuity, and change to a microfocus on the inner workings of schools and on what is learned and taught in school." (Arnove & Torres, p. 14)

This is a shift in perspective that has carried significant implications for educators, who have been given a greater directive to promote the virtues of other nations, cultures and traditions. I have personally found that in addition to the degree to which this allows us to seize on practical and philosophical advances in the field, there is also a tremendous opportunity to bring a greater sense of multiculturalism to the classroom. I often take every chance available to help students avoid the pitfalls of ethnocentrism that have historically impeded on the quality of American education. As Arnove & Torres (2007) tell, "the study of cross-national currents and interactions is closely linked to notions of global and education and, in many ways, to world-systems analysis." (p. 7)