Introduction
Globalization has become a buzzword in today’s social circles. The reason why the concept of globalization is becoming a primary topic of discussion in social circles is because the concept is a powerful force that touches on various aspects of different life. With the rate at which the economies of the world are becoming integrated, it is expected that in the near future, globalization is going to affect all social aspects including education and culture. By definition, globalization is a concept that comes as a result of a multiplicity of international strategies aimed at making the world smaller than it has been for millennia (Lum et al, 2006). The factors behind globalization are such things as technology and international politics. Currently, scholars do estimate that not long from now globalization is going to be the factor at the center of education systems, world economies and cultural diversity. This paper seeks to explain the impacts that globalization is bound to have on economy, culture and education in the foreseeable future.
Culture
According to Lum et al (2006) culture is one aspect of human life that is bound to be affected most significantly by globalization. According to the scholars, globalization essentially refers to the extent to which the wealthy western nations influence the east and the third world nations as a whole. Some social scientists and critics argue that, in essence, globalization is westernization of the world. While this presumption holds a great deal of truth, globalization is bound to affect the culture of the world populations through wiping away cultural diversity. Lum et al (2006) note that globalization brings about cultural syncretism – something that has seen unification of cultural practices. Unification of cultural practices means that the differentiating characteristics among cultures tend to get lost as the world adopts one culture – the western culture. Perhaps the most prominent example to illustrate this is the current McDonaldization of the foods industry. McDonaldization refers to the fast food culture that has its roots in the United States. Currently, fast food restaurants have become so common place including in the third world. Such cultures have replaced the reserved nature of taking meals from home, previously common in the east and Africa. It is therefore anticipated that in the future, cultural diversity will fade as the cultures of the world get inclined to the western culture through syncretism.
Economy
Currently, internationalization of the firm is among the most common topics in the circles of business. Bardan et al (2004) projects that in the future, the world economy will be integrated. With the rate at which globalization is taking root, it is likely that not many years from now, the world will be operating under one economy or a few regional economies. The most prominent example and explanation to this phenomenon is the current state of European economies. The European Union, arguably the most powerful economic integration in the world, is a depiction of what should be expected of all other regions of the world with regard to the economy. Bardan et al (2004) argues that such economic integrations are likely to reshape the world economy, especially considering that currencies are being integrated as well. In the European Union, the euro is used as the sole legal tender. Such integration has seen the creation of the Euro Area – a group of countries using the euro. Globalization is also bound to take businesses to the international level through such efforts as franchising. The most notable example of a firm that has been highly internationalized is Wal-Mart, which is the biggest private sector employer.
Education
Considering the effects of globalization on education, the most noteworthy effect is the reality that higher education has been highly internationalized. Currently, a student in the United Kingdom can comfortably enroll for further studies in a Chinese university. This, according to Sinagatullin (2006) is because higher education has been internationalized through such concepts as distant learning, home schooling and open learning. It is anticipated that in the future, globalization or internationalization of education will see people move from the conventional approaches to the digital approaches of US and other wealthy western nations such as the UK. Globalization is as well likely to boost literacy levels in the world since, with internationalization, people who would not have gone to school because of the inefficiencies of conventional education, can easily access education through online learning. This is as well likely to reduce paperwork in education system, as technology will seek to provide new methods of storing academic material such as cloud computing methods.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is noteworthy that, from the foregoing, globalization will shape the directions of culture, the economy and education in the world. While this is the case, it is also expected that globalization will reduce distances – both politically and culturally in a bid to unify the world in terms of socio-cultural practices. From the foregoing discussion, the most notable points are: the possibility of cultural syncretism, internationalization of higher education and integration of world economies. The most prominent examples the above points are: the case of European Union and euro area, distant learning and westernization of daily practices such as the consumption of fast foods. Overall, it is expected that globalization will make the world a smaller place through various effects, both good and harmful.
References
Bardhan, A. D., Jaffee, D. M., & Kroll, C. A. (2004). Globalization and a high-tech economy: California, the United States and beyond. Boston [u.a.: Kluwer Academic Publ.
Lum, B. J., Tehranian, M., & Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research. (2006). Globalization & identity: Cultural diversity, religion, and citizenship. New Brunswick [N.J.: Transaction Publishers.
Sinagatullin, I. M. (2006). The impact of globalization on education. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
