Education in Africa, the beginning

Education enhances lives. It has the ability to end cycles of poverty and disease, and give a base for sustainable development (http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/). Most think of education as different subjects in school such as science, math, history, etc. However, education is so much more. Students and children can learn a variety of different preventive topics like sex education, diseases, and poverty. Having a broader curriculum benefits everyone by establishing the base of sustainable development. This education is not always available to everyone even with globalization efforts. The main problem is the ignorance of inequalities within gender differences not allowing both male and females to obtain education. But education is a basic human right regardless of gender, race, or economic status.


Education is necessary for everyone no matter your race, gender, or ethnicity. From education people are able to get better jobs and protect themselves from common problems because they have the knowledge and capital to fight back. However, education is not made available to everyone based on inequalities within culture and society. Recently institutions have been trying to globalize their education systems but have not yet succeeded. The American Council on Education has documented that “very few higher education institutions demonstrate a significant level of internationalization” (Global Competency). With educated students around the world, having a better understanding of different cultures and ethnicities everyone will be more capable of responding to global issues. This will also provide education about the equal rights for all humans, making everyone aware and knowledgeable that these rights must be upheld. Currently in America, less than one percent of students study Arabic or any other crucial language. Colleges are the most qualified and resourceful institution to take on this challenge. More global education needs to be incorporated within an international scale, which includes learning a variety of foreign languages. Even more beneficial would be to introduce these topics into elementary and secondary education. Education does not have to be limited to these topics but rather can expand and further the levels of understanding. Expansion of education is necessary in places like Africa where availability of schooling is not the only problem.

According to UNICEF, 93 million children were not able to obtain education in 2006. 80 percent of these children lived in Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of Africa’s education is not provided for rural regions. Even worse is that less education is provided for women. This is strongly correlated with income levels of women. It has been found that families with lower income in Africa either, do not send their children to school or their children perform poorly because the lack of resources and enhanced stresses at home. Western Cape of South Africa is one of the country’s wealthiest provinces and has had “strong institutions, including governing structures, schools and universities.” Because of these benefits the area has a higher enrolment of students in school and a higher income rate. Education in this region began under apartheid rule.

Under the apartheid, education was the antithesis of a race blind culture and society. There were separate departments for each racial defined group. Departments operated schools for four major ethnic groups in urban areas. Each of these departments was overseen by a larger deciding department. Not only were these segregated groups restricted from education they were also differentially funded. “At the peak of the apartheid , schools serving white students had more than ten times the funding per pupil than the schools serving African servants” (Ladd, 4). As government changed and fell under new rule more responsibility was placed on the national government. The government distributed funds to each province, which they could then spend in the way they thought most appropriate. Difficulties still existed because wealthy provinces would receive more money than rural areas. However, the government was able to conquer this problem by distributing funds among provinces- racially blind. Thanks to the use of national norms, public resources were equalized. The post apartheid schooling system has experienced limited improvement, but still improvement. Between 1996 and 2002 “most provinces took steps to increase the number of classrooms, and the ratio of learners to classrooms” (Ladd, 9). Changes are continually being made to improve education throughout Africa with curriculum reforms titled Curriculum 2005. Another system of fee charges was implemented to encourage students to stay in school. This system helped keep low income families in school and greatly affected the availability of education to middle class and poverty class (Ladd, 10).


Africa has a divided education system-that is gender based- and many women are without the ability to obtain education. Botswana is one city that has made education their second biggest priority, second only to training. Providing education to everyone in Botswana is still difficult, so “distance education” has started to expand. Still children are not even awarded the opportunity to enroll in the education institution (Access to Education). This only happens in certain areas of Africa. Even more important is the difference within gender roles. African tradition puts more importance on male children then female children. “Lower wage reflects lower education levels, and gender inequality in education is related to growth” (Lutz and McGillivray, 3). This relationship is easily seen in the rural areas of Africa. And in these rural areas women have an even rougher life. Women get paid less than men but more importantly have a higher rate of poverty due to their lack of education; due in part to the unequal distribution of funds. Women lack property and inheritance which in turn restricts housing security and economic options. But, if women cannot receive education and training, they will forever be in poverty. Without the availability of education, women are also pulled into dangerous work environments and are more prone to disease. This is when education is even more necessary. Education does not have to be limited to training, it can also be teaching societies about disease and sex, and the struggles behind those two issues. Just as measures have been taken to make education more available for people, there also has been a program to increase education for women; called the Poverty Alleviation Program. No matter how strong the program, it is hard to overcome the deep rooted troubles of women in Africa.


Women who are able to go to school, drop out more often than not throughout Africa. Young women must help out at home with chores and childcare because it is the cultural standards for their communities. With the rates of HIV/AIDS pandemic, many students are without parents and have forced responsibilities to do everything on their own. This does not leave much time for children to become educated. Not only that, but teachers also have a bias against female students. According to UNESCO and national studies, Africa is making significant advances in overall enrollment, including rural areas. “Despite such a high increase, given the low gender ratio of enrolment, Sub-Saharan Africa remains furthest from achieving the goal” (Africa Union, 14). Good news is that female enrollment is continuing to rise every year.

One of Africa’s biggest societal problems, mentioned earlier, is the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With education this problem could be improved, even demolished. Currently there are not enough teachers to reach out to all children in AIDS affected areas. New methods of education are being tested because traditional education systems aren’t enough. Some new educational systems are “interactive radio and community run schools” (Coombe and Kelly, 439). Improvement in prevalence rate is seen with an increased rate of women in higher education. “The decline in prevalence rate for 15-19 year old women in Lusaka was more marked for those with secondary and higher levels of education” (Coombe and Kelly, 440). This is significant evidence that the more educated people are, the less vulnerable they are to infection. Being literate is one of the most beneficial skills in life through education. However having knowledge will not solve the problems. People will still make their own choices and be pulled into situations that are not ideal, “knowledge must be complemented by attitudes and values that will lead to appropriate decisions” (C and K, 441). However, education and the habits it instills will have long term benefits for skill and behavior. Through the routine of everyday education students learn to apply themselves, endure constraints, and acquire a sense of direction for the future. That lesson is priceless.


Change comes in different ways, but in this case it must come from government intervention and the community. Without the government, change will only be minimal. Education must be made available through a system of intervention. Legal changes being made in Africa are focusing on the curriculum, recruitment, training, and assignment of teachers, with the goal of increasing the number of female teachers. “Training modules cover gender issues, adolescence reproductive health, teenage pregnancies, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and civic education” (Africa Union, 20). With this broad range of training many issues can hopefully be conquered not only in Africa but around the world. Civil Societies have also made initiatives to promote gender equality. Women’s groups are addressing issues including education, pregnancy, and science. One particular group is lead by Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Because of FAWE’s efforts, countries including Botswana, Kenya, Guinea, Malawi, and Zambia now allow women to enroll in formal education after pregnancy. In Nigeria a gender development institute launched a Girls Power Initiative to equip girls with human rights and skills to “cope with growing up.” These are only a few of the ways communities and people are trying to overcome the education deficit. Groups alone cannot do it all. Complete change can only be accomplished with the staff, the environment, and the procedures and regulations supporting the change. Education, if made available to everyone and managed correctly can start a trend around the world that will improve everyone’s way of living. Globalized education has its pros and cons but overall it is one of the most important changes that should be implemented.




Sources:
Global Competency is Imperative for Global Success The Chronicler of Higher Education 55 No 21 1, Jan30 2009 Dhurbarrylall, R. (2005).

Development of Distance Education in Mauritius. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 6(3), 185-197. Lewin, K. M. (2009).

Access to Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Patterns, Problems and Possibilities. Comparative Education. 45(2), 151-174.

Measuring and Analysing Educational inequality: the distribution of. Ewout Frankema and Jutta Bolt

The Road to Gender Equality in Africa: an overview The Africa Union Commission Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 6, 2004

Trends/cases Education as a Vehicle For Combating HIV/AIDS Carol Coombe and Michael J. Kelly http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/file_download.php/8b101702cb719eb63573e502e05f8a8eprospects119.pdf

Resist and Create Change

Education in the United States is criticized to be behind other countries. I would agree with this critique because the United States education has not made school a priority for everyone. Although there have been changes, few have been successful. Globalized education is trying to fix this problem by making education the same around the world. However, I do not think this is an appropriate fix. Every society has a different curriculum and therefore education should be kept individualized. There have been some attempts by the United States to make education better but statistics from around the world show that we are still not as committed as other countries.


A typical high school day in the United States last about 7 hours, from 7am-2pm. Primary school is from 8am-2pm and middle school is about the same amount of hours. The high school dropout rate has continually fluctuated but rarely has a consistent decrease. “In the last decade, between 347,ooo and 544,000 10th-through 12th-grade students left school each year without successfully completing a high school diploma.” (Drop Out Rates U.S.) This is a big problem because poverty rates have not improved either. “The high school graduation rate is a barometer of the health of American society and the skill level of its future workforce.” (Decline)I would go as far to say that education, if provided and made a priority for everyone, would improve the poverty rate. What is more interesting is that the dropout rate for Asian/Pacific islanders was lower than that of any other race or ethnic group in the U.S. And when you look at the statistics in China and other Asian countries, this makes sense.


Education in China, strict and tedious, is run much differently than in the United States. As you progress in level of education you also progress in hours spent in school. In Primary, school lasts about 8 hours. Once you head into middle school you have 10 hours in school and in high school it goes up to 12 hours. That is a lot of time to spend in school, learning. Somehow they make it work while also keeping kids in school. However, China is experiencing some issues with rural schools. The dropout rate in rural schools has been rising recently to around 40 percent. A member of the CPPCC National Committee- Wen Jiating- proposed that “the patterns of rural education should be modified, rural schools should stop following the steps of urban schools in the design of teaching and learning materials in a way that benefits rural students in their future work.” (Xinhua) This is an idea everyone should consider. No matter where you live your education should pertain to your future, not what others feel you should be learning. That is why I think globalized education is a step in the wrong direction. Even though, this is not the first way the United States has tried to improve their education.


Several years ago President George W. Bush put into effect the “No Child Left Behind Act.” This act was supposed to help students stay in school. Instead students struggled to pass standardized tests and ended up falling further behind. The act “requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those states are to receive future funding.” (Wikipedia) If any schools do not pass the standardized tests, they do not get funding. This is not a beneficial system because the schools that do not pass continue to not pass. What is even worse is that schools spend more time teaching for the WASL than teaching for knowledge. If students are only learning how to test they are not learning actual skill for their future which further puts the United States behind other countries. Decline in educational status has been seen since the 20th century within science specifically.


While the United States was fighting over whether or not to teach evolution in schools, other countries were finding new evidence. The Butler Laws were put into effect in 1925, which stated that it was illegal to teach evolution. United States discussed whether or not to include religion in education and other countries already decided not to and move on. Studies show that the United States is tenth among other industrialized nations with high school degrees. (NewsMax) And the numbers continue to increase for the rest of the world. Changes that I believe need to occur in our education system are the removal of standardized testing. Education needs to be made available for everyone without the expectation of them learning certain topics. What is important is that education should be an open door for students to explore and find the right path for their future. Of course there is basic knowledge that everyone should learn but not all knowledge should be designed the same. As I said before I do not think globalized education is the answer to this problem. Although the U.S. has a ways to go to improve education enrollment, availability, and curriculum I believe it is possible. All we need to do is encourage our young generations that education is the most important thing and their main job.

Works cited:
Dropout Rates in the United States http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/droppub_2001/

Economist’s View: The Declining High School Graduation Rate in the US May 13, 2008 http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2008/05/the-declining-h.html

China experiences rising school dropout rate (Xinhua) 2005 http://www.chiadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/04/content_421520.htm

U.S. Falling Behind in Education NewsMax Wires Tuesday, Sept 14, 2004 http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/14/141847.shtml


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Getting the Background

Globalization and Education articles. http://www.infed.org/features/globalization_feature.htm
In this resource you can find three great articles on the topic of Globalization and Education. The first article focuses on what Globalization is and how it is seen today. Reading this is important because you get a full understanding of Globalization. At the end it also includes the impact on education and how education ties in with globalization. The second article is more focused on the incorporation of education and globalization. Now that you understand what globalization is and how education fits into it, you can now learn about the problems and the successes of globalized education. The reader can now understand what is really happening with globalized education and the issues surrounding it. The third article then discusses the different forms of education, both informal and non-formal education. What is good about this article is that you can see the difference of globalized education within different types of schools. I really like this source because it gives all sides of the issue and really informs the reader.


Education as a human right or a traded service? http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-132774428/globalizing-education-human-right.html
This source is a large article about education and its globalization. Again this source starts with the overall review of globalization and what it is. It then goes into more detail about what the focus of globalization is with education, “increasing the privatization of education.” This source is more technical then some of the others but does contain some good information on the depth of which education is being looked at. For those who enjoy the legal side of things this is a great source because it talks about the laws and the role of states in “promising and ensuring free education, comparing globally created legal and extralegal guidance.”


Globalization of Education-Globalization theory, the role of education. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2010/Globalization-Education.html
I really like this source because it is a great article about the idea of globalization with internationalization. This is a different take on things from previous resources so I feel that it is a nice refresher, with something different. According to this article education plays an important role in the theory of globalization. Early examples are given like Christianity, and colonialism. The section on education is short but I think this article has a lot to offer on the topic of globalization in general and can expand the readers knowledge.
Globalization and Education: A community resource.


http://globalizationandeducation.ed.uiuc.edu/
This site is a lot of fun. It is very pretty and has a lot of links to offer. Available to anyone this site is a resource for people who want to post papers or blogs. Whats great is that those who post things are students, teachers, and parents, so you get a wide variety of view -points. In this one site you can get perspectives on the positives and negatives of globalized education. In one section of the site you can click on a link to the teachers of global education and what you will find is a page of other sites pertaining to education all over the globe. It also provides materials and resources for teachers.


Essay: Globalization and Education as a Commodity by William Tabb, Queens College and the Grad Center http://www.psc-cuny.org/jcglobalization.htm
William Tabb discusses how education becomes globalized, and what this means for education. He describes education and the “neoliberal model of education” in three elements. You first have to make the product more cost efficient, test the performance, and focus on the marketable skills. This last point is one of the biggest focuses in global education. Everyone wants to make education about a specific skill so that people can get more jobs. But that is not all education is. Tabb is very informative about these three issues and how they are put into effect. Going into detail about each area of change incluing cutbacks, closing programs, and computers. This essay is very informative to someone who already knows about global education but does not understand how it is being done. By reading this article you will understand what is being done in communities around the world to make education global and why there are drawbacks to it. The only downfall of this source is that Tabb does not give other sources of information and his article is much shorter than I thought it would be.


Global Education vs. Globalization http://globaleducation.edu/ge/vsglobalization.html
This resource is another essay but takes a more positive spin on global education. This author even goes far enough to say that global education can be an “antidote to the sadly universal human tendency to lose track of the experiences of others.” Making the point that a global education will teach everyone around the world about other cultures, making it seem as if global education will be better. It is always important to know the pros and cons of an argument so I think this source is good to have because it gives the positive side of global education. When making a decision on this kind of topic you need to have a source like this so that you know both sides of the story.


Globalization of Education an Introduction by Joel H. Spring chapter 1 http://books.google.com/books?id=k7Yatzu4XGQC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=globalization+of+education&source=bl&ots=Fxy0DqVF8L&sig=07fmuXgD4tfo4EnHgJaxlKv2fME&hl=en&ei=XJu7S7umNYOotgOzm9ypBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Here is an excerpt from a book titled Globalization of education: an introduction by Joel H. Spring. What is nice about this book is that a lot of research has gone into the writing. The reader can be confident that what their reading is real. What is more important is that not only has research been done but that there is information from the World Bank and UNESCO. This gives the topic more validity and a world reference rather than just stating this is the way it is. This book references all sides of the argument and describes exactly what the misconceptions of global education are. In one paragraph the book says “globalization of education does not mean that all schools are the same as indicated by studies of differences between the local and the global” with a reference to the source. Giving one example of how the book uses outside sources, including studies. This is a much longer source but it has a lot to offer.


http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/433 Globalization and Higher Education: Competition and Cooperation Charles M. Vest HM
Trying to have a variety of sources I chose this video because it has a lot of information to offer. This video is focused on the speaker Charles M. Vest. This discussion is about competition, like what we need to be doing in our economy to compete with other countries, and also the cooperation of our country with others. What is important in this video is that Charles talks about how we are falling behind in our education in the U.S. and will not be as skilled as other countries in years to come. Charles goes through each topic of education one at a time with graphs describing where we are compared to other countries. The nice thing about this video is that it has a lot of sources and information behind it and is an in depth discussion of the topic. In my opinion this is one of the best sources there are for global education. One point made is that “rapid growth, and quality will follow.” This is an important point because in a global economy we have to compete which means rapid growth. The problem is quality is also important and Charles discusses how we need to keep this in mind while we’re expanding education.


www.essays.se/about/impact+of+globalization+on+education/
At this website you will find an abundance of essays about the “impact of globalization on education.” What is great about this source is that it has four essays on this topic with all different sides. The only problem with this site is that not all of the articles are solely about the topic of education. A couple of the essays mention the idea but do not dive into it fully. I think it is a good source but I also feel it takes too long to find the information that is important to those who want to learn about global education.


www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/data.html#education
This is the globalization website which is an online site full of data resources. Under the education tab section there are only two sources to look at but they are much different then any of my other sources. The two links are comparative data from OECD and the UNESCO world educational statistics. If you need to find out about education around the world and the statistics behind it, this is the site for you. I think it is important to have this kind of information because you can back up your argument with numbers. Just like it is important to have all sides of a topic is is also important to know the data behind it.


www.campaignforeducation.org/
This site is a little different from the rest of the sources I’ve discussed. This site focuses on a campaign that is trying to increase global education. It is interesting to see what people have to say about this campaing on the sites blogs. Even more interesting is reading about what the campaign is and why they are promoting global education. Instead of reading an essay you’re reading logos and banners about why global education is necessary. I think this source can be very helpful because by reading these different updates you can learn a lot about what is going on to make education global, and be able to describe the cases going on. There are even articles about what has gone wrong with education worldwide which is refreshing to see that the campaign is acknowledging what works and what doesn’t.


www.globaled.org/curriculum1.html
Teaching Materials Curriculum and Lesson Plans is an interesting source because it talks about what will be taught in education that is global. Instead of discussing what global education is this site discusses what will be taught. This is an important site because when determining whether or not global education is a good choice or not I think you should know what kind of education will be taught. This way you can decide whether or not the education will be beneficial. And if you were writing a paper on this topic it would be good to reference what will be topics of global schooling. It is also a great resource because the site offers topics about all different countries and the kind of education being offered there. This gives readers a broader understanding of education and different cultures.


www.edpsycinteractive.org/educ.html
On this site there is an abundance of information on education in general. This site is very informative because it has a broad background about education and the curriculum of different forms of education. There are different titles of information on the site describing education, systems of thinking, educational reform, and teacher resources. My favorite section was teacher resources, because I want to be a teacher so I always look for sites with teaching ideas. What is also great about this site is that some of the links take you to books and resources that you would find elsewhere. But that is a problem also because you cannot find all the information right on the site.


www.globaled.org/finalcopy.pdf
This is the same website as a previous source but the article is different. This source is called Global Education Checklist for Teachers, Schools, School systems, and State Education Agencies. What this site offers is a document that provides a checklist that is “a practical tool [for] teachers, curriculum developers, school administrators, and state education” can use to gauge their work. For those of us exploring what global education is this site can be helpful because it lays out very simply what global education teaches. Some of the checklist for example were like a multiple choice question where the first question was “global issues-knowledge. What do your students know about global issues, and how well do they know it?” There are then four answers to assess yourself on whether your curriculum answers this question thoroughly or not. But to a reader that is not a teacher it makes you think about what answer you would want to circle and what should be taught in global education.


www.interationalaccreditation.org/iao/resources/moving-towards.asap
This article focuses again on the standards of global education but without the checklist. Instead this article examines establishing global standards and how the standards should be made. Here we have an article on the pre-standards because the discussion is on what the standards should be and whether or not there should be standards. When discussing global education I think it would be good to know what the two sides of standardization are so that when you make a choice on how global education should work. It also lays out problems of global education with descriptions like “it does not really allow you to see how well each system educates its students” because each culture has a different way of conducting its education. But the article goes further to explain how online education has solved this problem by making a level playing field.


All of these sources are great for anyone who is interested in globalized education. Each source has something different to offer and there is a lot of variety of information. Also there are a variety of topics ranging from the background of globalization to the standards of globalized education.

Knowledge is Power

Education is a life-long process but the bases of knowledge starts with school. Inequality is found around the world in all areas like: poverty, slavery, politics, and education. Education is different all around the globe but some areas do not have any formal education. This fact reminded me of the theory we discussed in class: that education leads to prosperity. It is believed that with education you are guaranteed to succeed, but for some, education is not available so they are bound to be poor and perceived as insignificant. I wish this theory was just a false belief but evidence from around the world shows otherwise. Countries with little or no education have more poverty, slavery, and a lower economic living.


Slavery is still widely practiced in many countries and is correlated with the availability of education. In Ghana slavery of children is a large problem. As described by Kevin Bales in “Global Slavery” children in Ghana are being used to fish in Lake Volta late at night. The children have to dive into the freezing cold water with no light and weights attached to their feet. Their task is to retrieve snagged nets, however this job is very dangerous and bodies are found washed up on shore everyday. Sadly the police push it off as common drowning. Even worse is that the parents are “cooperative” with the slave labor of their children. This is partly because “with schooling hard to obtain and family incomes around the starvation level, parents sometimes agree to let their children go.” (Bales, 11) The International Organization of Migration (IOM)has stepped in and helped the situation by providing increased income and supplies to the families, allowing the parents to be less pressured and giving kids the opportunity go to school. If children can go to school and learn a skill they will eventually earn more money than working as a slave. The problem is that for most rural towns the closest education is in the city and rather than sending a child to the city, where they will hopefully learn a skill and one day earn good money, they have the children work in slave labor. This is a much faster route and more guaranteed. If given the chance parents will choose education for their kids like “The better-off families of the poorest villages used their resources and connections to get their children out of the poorest villages.” (Bales 14) The best way to tackle the problem of globalized slavery is to go the villages and fix the problem. To do this a universal education is one important establishment that needs to be implemented. I am not saying that education will solve all slavery problems but I think education can do a lot when everyone has access to it. When everyone is able to learn a skill or a trade they can then go off and apply it. Slavery is also associated with poverty which is sometimes another indicator of a poor education.


Poverty as seen in the villages and many other areas around the world, including the United States, is associated with little or no education. Not everyone who is poor is uneducated but it is more likely that they are. In today’s economy you can be educated and still not get a job but in other countries if you do not have an education then you will never have a decent paying job. According to Global Issues.org “nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.” That is nearly a billion people that are not significantly educated, and therefore will most likely not get well developed jobs. “Education is indispensable to the economic health of a good society,” said Plato, who believed that education contributes to economic wealth. The problem is poverty stricken areas do not have the money or resources to establish schools and therefore their economy is not able to grow through education. Instead it continues to struggle. With education hard to obtain many children are “kept from school because they are needed at home to support their family” (Dollar a Day) and this lack of education “keeps children from obtaining jobs that would lift them out of poverty.” Education and poverty become a constant cycle of continuance. There are ways to get around education and still be successful but this is rare and difficult to do. Success is tied to your economic status which is also influenced by education. Individuals have a higher chance of being successful both personally and economically if you go to school and graduate than if you’re not educated at all. “Education increases workers’ average earnings and productivity.” (Schweke) Adding support to the fact that education is important for everyone.


Looking at different areas of the world it is easy to see that education is not available to everyone. Children in India can’t easily get to school and therefore find other things to do to help the family. Usually children start to work at an early age and as shown in the moving “Global Slavery” many get pulled into slavery, or abducted into slavery. When freed and interviewed after years in slavery one child stated that by being un-intelligent anyone can cheat you but if you are educated you know better. This is a powerful statement because many of the people in slavery don’t know how to read and so when they are asked to sign a contract they don’t know what it says. If education was available to children like the ones in the movie I think the percentage of slavery would go down, it would not be eliminated but it may be reduced. Also if education were available for everyone all around the world there may be fewer people in poverty. If more generations of people are educated and skilled they will be able to get better paying jobs. Eventually children will not be forced to work at a young age unless they choose to drop out of school. Overall I think education is important and beneficial in more ways than just obtaining knowledge. Globalization of education may help this effort but cannot resolve everything.


Works Cited:
Schweke, William Smart Money: Education and Economy Development. July 7, 2004. EPI Book
Library.thinkquest.org A Dollar a Day: causes of poverty
www.eric.ed.gov World Bank George Paacharopoulos-project director
Bales, Kevin “Understanding Global Slavery”University of California Press. 2005
Global Slavery video: provided by Google videos


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Fellow Students

Hello everyone in 370. I have a request if it is at all possible, that you read my second blog and not my third one with the visuals. I didnt realize the visual blog needed to be organized like a real essay blog. If you could please read the blog before the visual one because that one is written much better and is more worth your time to evaluate. Thanks everyone

Education Around the World

Education is conducted around the world, in very different ways. In almost every city there is some sort of education taking place by the means of passing on knowledge. How different areas of the world educate can be a very interesting topic to compare and contrast. For this free blog I would like to focus on some specific areas of the world and what their education looks like. I found this information from edutopia.org. If you would like to find more information this site has a lot of great information.

First I will focus on the Swiss Alps. Here in the high mountains the schools are very small along with the classroom sizes. Classes consist of about 8-10 students and the singular teacher teaches all grades and ages. This is much different from schools here in the United States where classes range up to 20-30 students with 8-10 teachers for each grade. Here are some pictures of the school in the Alps.




Moving over to Bulgaria schools are much different than the Alps. In Bulgaria schools are much more lecture based and less personal. In the Alps the one teacher gets to spend a lot of one on one time with her students but Bulgaria teachers do not. Along with this impersonal classroom education is focused on preparing students for work rather than producing thinkers and innovators. Also schools in Bulgaria are built like American schools in the fact that kids from 6-18 years of age progress through several grades. However changes are being made by teachers and staff.



Education in Thailand


Thailand is trying to implement a constructivist to its schools and taking on western beliefs while replacing their own Thailand customs. However Thailand government states that “Education shall be based on the principle that all learners are capable of learning and self-development, and are regarded as being most important.” From the University of Michigan site on education around the world.

Education in South America.
According to the University of Michigan there is a lot we can learn from the way South America runs its education. Teachers in South America focus their lessons on skills students can learn and use for the outside world. They also teach “community relations and equality.” This gives students world understanding and knowledge for everyday use.



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Education path to Globalization

The first form of education was through survival skills and adaptation. As the human race progressed organized schools were introduced, first by religious association and then with public schools. Predominantly during this time teachers were female and the class sizes were very small, covering the basic topics like math, history, language, and grammar. As education grew in importance an organized system was established. This establishment is how the globalization of education began. Through the years education has become globalized by online courses, government and business management, and standardization.


Organizations of education are operated under a nation-state that “controls, regulates, coordinates, mandates, finances, and certifies,” (Nicholas, Carlos, Globalization and Education) the process of learning. These organizations invoke a policy of conformity and identification with the nation state. Having a government run system came about with economic restructuring throughout history. A world trend of economic changes can be classified into several factors. The first phase of this change: the globalization of labor and a national economy. The next phase is the arrangement of classes and social structure within individual countries and the expansion of national trade and world market. Having more trade meant there was a need for an increased workforce and a restructuring of the labor market. With the restructuring of the labor market also came about a change in labor workers and a new concept of a “team” effort. Continual changes in the work force occurred throughout the years but soon economic downfall would ensue around the world and result in the reduction of budgets. This encouraged the privatization of social services like education. Privatization comes with the need for control leading to government involvement and the establishment of policies.



Major corporations and businesses took advantage of this opportunity through business venture. These ventures included providing supplies and “future job placement in return for future considerations.” (Rosilez, changing education) And with privatized schooling came a shift to the focus of “assessment testing.” Having a specific way to evaluate or to determine who fails and who succeeds is a better predictor of those that will survive and those that will not make it in the business world. This concept is clearly illustrated in the NO Child Left behind Act implemented by the Busch Administration. The act reinforces standardized testing by rewarding schools that have high test scoring students and in reverse punish schools that do not have high test scores. In a sense this is changing the focus of education. The goal has shifted from learning to know to learning to pass. It is not supporting the education of students but rather leaving education behind and teaching what must be known for the test. Not only are students not getting any benefit from this globalized education but neither are teachers.


Teachers used to be the doorways to education. Instead, they are the followers of a management written curriculum. Teachers no longer have the freedom to teach the way they want because they are being watched by the government and the organizations that pay them. If students do not pass the standardized tests teachers have to deal with the consequences. All of this is making education more of a world- wide business then a community institution. “Hence the ideas of social justice, availability of non manipulated resources, and educational freedom are being replaced with market perspectives of profit.” (Rosilez) We have seen this growing branding of education with world accessible schools online. Schools are no longer just an institution they are a consumer product just like everything else, which is why it is a globalization issue. Companies are creating schools that focus on business skills and making it available to the world so that you can learn these skills anywhere. Schools and colleges used to fight about whom had more pride and now they fight over who has the easiest and fastest graduation path.



Having schools available online all around the world comes from the concept of de-localization. In the beginning of education schools use to be the focal point of towns and now are hidden away by the surrounding cities. Separating the school from the community are large fences and walls because people have become worried about the safety of their children. As Smith says these walls “strengthen the idea that the school is somehow separate from the community.” (Incorporating education) The extreme of this de-localization is seen today with many classes being taken online. There is not interaction with students and studying can be done at home away from everyone else. What can we expect in the future? It is hard to tell, but we can speculate that education may become globalized in the fact that everyone will be taking the exact same courses through an online system. With schools already being put on the same curriculum across nations, what’s to stop that same curriculum from being put into affect around the world? This is the epitome of globalization, having a set system that everyone uses and to me that is the next step for education. Everyone will be learning the same things in the same way, which will prepare them for the business world.


Works Cited:
Burbules, Nicholas C. Torres, Carlos Alberto. “Globalization and education: an introduction” Published in globalization and education: critical perspectives http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/burbules/papers/global.html
Rosilez, Victor. “The changing Face of Education” http://globalizationandeducation.ed.uiuc.edu/Other/teachers_papers/changing%20face.pdf
Smith, M. K. (2002) 'Globalization and the incorporation of education' the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm.


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