The world is becoming easily interconnected by the day. It is not as hard as it used to be before, when there was virtually no inter country or intercontinental connections. Today, globalization has taken lead in making the world a global village, this means that people from all walks of life from different parts of the world, from the largest cities to the remotest villages do in one way or another interact and integrate (Stromquist & Monkman2000). Globalization is therefore the act of people from companies, governments, continents and nations. It has been made possible by the advent of modern technology which has played a huge role in making it easier by creating an enabling environment. Without it, the world could still be in the dark ages when it could take far too long for any communication to travel from the source to the recipient (Bak & Stair 2011). Globalization is therefore the mastermind behind fast and efficient interaction amongst the people of the world.
The education sector has not been left behind in the advent of globalization. There are far too many positive attributes that have come with it which have impacted education a great deal. To begin with, globalization has played a huge role in formulating policy structures that have influenced the teaching and learning process in many parts of the world. Many of the policies have opened up the education systems of many nations for scrutiny by others and they have used them to benchmark their own in an effort to improve their own education systems (Harasim 1993).
Education by all means plays a very central role in the development of any nation or economy. This then translates into the social development of the people in it. It helps enhance and promote better standards of living all thanks to globalization. This is mainly seen through how the nations of the world integrate for the common good of making the world a better place to live in. with it, levels and standards of education improve because nations are able to share from one another all those values and policies that help them make the world a better place to live in (Foskett & Maringe 2010). Shared education helps the nations of the world link up in the effort of developing so as to reach good standards that will positively impact their lives.
King, Marginson & Naidoo say that globalization has played a very crucial role in the education policies of many developing nations such that they have seen a major improvement of the living standards of many of their people (2011). For instance, in the Arab peninsula, globalization has helped improve how education is disseminated and what is disseminated to such an extent that the nations in that region have realized tremendous economic growth thereby reducing poverty degrees. The countries of sub Saharan Africa have also not been left behind in their fight against the high levels of the HIV and AIDS pandemic (Wood 2008). This has also been made possible by the exposure that people there have had to the outside world more so in the developed world through not only formal education but also through informal education. This is a clear indication that were it not for globalization, then most of these countries in the third world could still be having very serious problems dealing with much of the issues that affect their livelihoods.
In as much as globalization has played has played positive effects on education, there are a few negative ones attributed to it. For instance, developing countries have experienced brain drain to such an extent that they do not have enough specialized personnel to deal with problems affecting them. This is so because most of the elite move to the developed world in search for greener pastures. Also, there are increased crimes as well as loss of cultures as popular cultures are emulated at the expense of a people’s culture which of course may lead to a total eradication of a culture in regard to food, language and even dress code.
Global organizations have also not been left behind because they also do play a great role in the education systems of the world. Some of them fund education in many countries. For instance, an organization like the International Monetary Fund gives loans and subsidies to different nations in order to fund their education systems (Jones 2006). This way, children from those nations can easily access learning just like their counter parts in the developed world do. A foundation like The Rockefeller Foundation gives scholarships to needy students from needy backgrounds. These scholarships too, help them reach higher educational heights which they may never have reached considering their poor economic backgrounds (George & Wilding 2002).
Gangopadhyay & Chatterji argue that, the education sector has received a great share of development and progress all thanks to globalization and even from global corporations (2005). Sharing of knowledge and ideas has been the backbone of new developments that have been realized in this sector in the recent past. As for Helliwell, the increased awareness has resulted to changes in perspectives of different groups of people from different parts of the world (2002). People have become more integrated and this has worked for the common good of all people of the world regardless of where they are in the world.
References
Bak, O. & Stair, N. (2011). Impact of E- Business technologies on Public and Private Organizations. Hershey: IGI Global.
Foskett, N. & Maringe, F. (2010). Globalization and Internationalization in Higher Education: Theoretical, Strategic and Management Perspectives. New York: Continuum International
Gangopadhyay, P & Chatterji, M. (2005). Economic issues of Globalization. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.
George, V. & Wilding, P. (2002). Globalization and Human Welfare. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan limited.
Harasim, M. L. (1993). Global networks(electronic resource): computers and international communication. Massachusetts: MIT.
Helliwell, J. F. (2002). Globalization and Well Being. Vancouver: UBC Press
Jones, P. W. (2006). Education Poverty and the World Bank. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
King, R., Marginson, S. & Naidoo, R. (2011).Handbook on Globalization and Higher Education Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Stromquist, P. N.& Monkman, K. (2000). Globalization and Education: integration and contestation across cultures. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield.
Wood, M. C. (2008). The Impact of Globalization on Education reform: A case Study of Uganda. Ann Arbor: ProQuest.
