GLOBAL EDUCATION AND GLOBALIZATION- AN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL,

CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS

Abstract

Miss Amita Marwha

Faculty, Deptt. Of Economics

Isabella Thoburn College

ladys3074@gmail.com

The last century intense with a dream and aspirations and major social experiments has

ended with general collapse of initiative for social transformation and total disillusionment

with efforts of ‘development’ of the so called ‘developing’ nations. The so called victorious

ideology-capitalism- has sought to consolidate its triumph with a call for ‘globalization’ for

freeing of market, for unchecked hunting by private capital within and across nations with

total disregard for the sovereignty rights of nations across the world. Globalization did not

develop evenly: indeed, it was accompanied by inequality and conflict. The global development

of economic and social relations has been paralleled by wide disparities between North and

South.

The assessment of the benefits and costs of globalization, the interpretation of the process as

such is a highly controversial issue. In different contexts, in various parts of the world and in

respect of various sides of globalization, the phenomena and processes that help building

today’s (and increasingly obvious tomorrow’s) global/planet village are perceived ambivalently

as positive or negative, good or bad, beneficial or damaging, profit-making or loss-making.

Global education may help people realize that globalization expresses the course of the future

social development and that it depends on us all whether developments benefit only a

privileged part of the globe’s population or humanity as a whole. Global education (and global

learning) is an answer to globalization processes and their chances as well as risks.

In this paper I will try to analyze the role of the education in overcoming these trends which

are adversely affecting the welfare of the nations across the globe.

INTRODUCTION

It is an error to think globalization is purely an economic process - it has deep social,

cultural and environmental consequences. Globalization is an obsessively recurring word in

every type of discourse which tries to describe and explain social, economic and political

developments in the world today. In the past few decades, processes related to globalization

induced major changes - economic, technological, cultural, demographic, and environmental and

political. The term Globalization refers to international integration in commodity, capital and

labor markets (Bordo et al., 2003).

TRENDS IN GLOBALIZATION

International trade after WWII entered a long period of record expansion with world

merchandise exports rising by more than 8 per cent per annum in real terms over the 1950-73

1periods. Trade growth slowed thereafter under the impact of two oil price shocks, a burst of

inflation caused by monetary expansion and inadequate macroeconomic adjustment policies. In

the 1990s, trade expanded again more rapidly, partly driven by innovations in the information

technology (IT) sector. Despite the small contraction of trade caused by the dotcom crisis in

2001, the average expansion of world merchandise exports continued to be high – averaging 6

per cent for the 2000-07 periods. For the entire 1950-2007 period, trade expanded on average by

6.2 per cent, which is much stronger than in the first wave of globalization from 1850 to 1913.1

As dollar prices expanded much faster after WWII than before WWI the nominal trade

expansion of the former period is more than twice as fast as in the earlier period (9.8 per cent

versus 3.8 per cent per annum).

1 a Refers to period 1870-1913.

Source: Maddison (2001), Lewis (1981), UNCTAD (2007), WTO (2007a).

Politically, globalization is thought to result in the erosion of nation states and national

sovereignty by new international actors. The state’s control over its national economy

is being lost through the activities of private business enterprises such as transnational

corporations (TNCs) whose decisions (for example, on the location of factories) are

seen to be increasingly made in a global context, while economic policy formation is

increasingly being influenced by multilateral economic institutions (MEIs) such as the

IMF and WB. The state’s political sovereignty is seen as being impinged upon by

regional formations, such as the EU; its regula-tory functions are increasingly being

determined by supranational organizations such as the ITU and WTO and by

international trade agreements. On issues such as human rights and environmental and

labour standards states are under increasing pressure from INGOs to maintain and

improve on them.

On the cultural level, local and national cultures are seen to be increasingly submerged

in an undifferentiated global mass culture, described by Ritzer (1993) as

‘McDonaldization’. This involves the replacement of indigenous, traditional, national,

and local cultures by an international culture of consumerism, seen in the global

spread of pop music and Hollywood films, the increasing control of mass media by

Western conglomerates and the endangering and disappearance of minority languages

and cultural practices.

On the economic level, control of the global economy is seen as being concentrated in

a small number of massive transnational corporations, whose turnover may be greater

than the GDP of many nations, which can pick and choose where to locate their

production, adminis-trative, and research and development centres. Countries are said

to be forced to cut tariffs and taxes if they wish to attract foreign direct investment

from these TNCs. The increasing number of free trade agreements, whether global

(GATS), regional (NAFTA), or bilateral (ANZCERTA), are reducing the ability of

states to form economic policies to promote their national interests. Finally, MEIs,

such as the IMF, WB, ADB, and the EBRD, are increasingly influential in policy

formation, especially in the case of developing and transitional countries which are

encouraged to remove protectionist tariffs, privatize state industries, abolish price

controls, and lift restrictions on private investment in order to obtain loans.

Governments have come under pressure to increase labour flexibility by making it

easier to hire and fire workers, introduce temporary and precarious working

conditions, and remove various trade union, health and safety, and minimal wage

protections.

Although social policy has arrived relatively late to ‘globalization studies’ its

engagement with this field has been substantial and productive. Indeed, whatever

one’s position in relation to globalization the concept/debate is a significant one for

this field, and even ‘skeptic internationalists’ who otherwise deny the fundamental

precepts of the globalization thesis would agree there is a need to address the wider

global contexts and dimensions of social policy. In fact, used carefully, ‘globalization’

presents many new opportunities to critically interrogate social policy – to think about

how we construct fields of enquiry, the concepts and theories we use, the areas and

issues we examine, and the types of questions we ask.

.During the nineteenth and twentieth century’s the forces behind welfare state building

and the social regulation of capitalism occurred within a world order characterized by

extensive international trade and migration, transnational corporations, and developed

international monetary and exchange rate regimes. While much recent commentary

focuses on contemporary transnational political mobilization in the ‘anti-globalization

movement’, there are examples dating back two centuries of political mobilization that

were international and extended beyond Europe. Two examples here are the anti–slave

trade movement (1787–1807) and the movement against Congo colonization (1890–

1910).

Colonialism was central to the international political order that underpinned the development of

social policies and welfare states in a range of countries throughout the world. The development

of the British welfare state, for example, is intricately tied up with Britain’s status as a colonial

power; its colonies – Ireland, Australia, Canada, India, Hong Kong, and many African countries

– sustained Britain’s its economic foundations, constituted a destination to which criminal

classes and other socially deviant groups and individuals could be exported and formed a labour

pool from which Britain drew to staff its welfare services. In turn, these countries’ colonial

histories impacted upon the development of their social policies, as Britain ‘exported’ welfare

ideologies and systems (the legacy of which these countries still bear today), influenced their

social and political structures, and, together with local elites, subsumed their economic

development interests to British interests. A tangible example of the transnational dimensions of

welfare systems is the British social security system. The Commonwealth spawned a global

administrative network of offices involved in the process-ing of war pension’s payments not only

to British war pensioners living abroad and to resi-dents of former British colonies, but also to

those with no connection to the British state, such as Polish soldiers who fought in the Second

World War under British command.

The main forces that have driven global integration have been technological innovations,

broader political changes and economic policies. Table 1 attempts to provide a chronology of

the major events and forces that have contributed to today’s globalization.

Table-1

Time Economic Political Technological

1940s

Establishment of the Bretton

Woods System, a new

international monetary system

(1944-71)

Foundation of the

United Nations(1945)

Expansion of plastics

and fibre products, e.g.

first nylon stockings for

women (1940)

Establishment of GATT (1947)

entering into force in January

1948

Launch of the

Marshall

Plan(1948–57),

a European

recovery

programme

Founding of

the

Organization

for European

Economic

Cooperation(1

948)

1950s

Soviet Union establishes the

Council for Mutual Economic

Assistance(CMEA) for economic

cooperation among communist

countries (1949-91)

Decolonization starts

(1948-1962).

Independence of India,

Indonesia, Egypt, for

example China

becomes a socialist

republic in 1949

Discovery of large oil

fields in the Middle

East. especially in

Saudi Arabia(1948)

Treaty of Rome establishes the

European Community (1957).

Korean war

(1950-53)

Increased use of

oil from the

EC and the European Free

Trade Association(1959) favour

west European integration

Suez crisis

(1956)

Middle East in

Europe and

Japan

“Just-in-time”

production

implemented by

Toyota

Major currencies become

convertible(1958-64)

Decolonization in

Africa (15 countries

become independent

between 1958 and

1962)

Increasing usage of jet

engines in air transport

(1957-72)

1960s

Foundation of the Organization

of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries (OPEC) (1960)

First person in space

(Yuri Gagarin, 1961)

and first man on the

moon (Neil Armstrong,

1969)

Development of the Eurodollar

Market in London which

contributed to the expansion of

international liquidity

Integrated circuits

become commercially

available (1961)

Offshore oil and gas

production

Kennedy Round, 6th session of

the GATT (1964-69) Rapid

spread of automobiles and

highways in the North

accelerates demand and shift in

fuels consumption(from coal to

oil)

Erection of Berlin

Wall (1961) and

Cuban missile crisis

(1962) highlight sharp

confrontation between

East and West

Green

Revolution -

transforming

agricultural

production in

developing

countries

(1960s

onwards

First line of

Japan’s high-

speed train

system

(shinkansen)

opened in 1964

Trade policies of East Asian

countries put more emphasis on

export- led development than on

import substitution Elimination

of last customs duties within EC

Increasing usage of

containerization in

ocean transport (1968

onwards)

(1968

1970s

Departure from US dollar

exchange rate gold standard

(1971)

Yom Kippur war

(1973) Israel helps to

trigger oil price hike

First single chip

microprocessor (Intel

4004) is introduced

(1971

Oil price “shocks” (1973-

74 and1979) reverse

decades of real oil price

declines

Rise of Asian newly

industrialized countries

Volcker Fed successfully

extinguishes US inflation

Developing country debt crisis

Mexico starts market reforms

and joins the GATT in 1986

Enlargement of the

EU to 12 members Microsoft Windows

introduced (1985)

1980s

Louvre Accord promotes

stabilisation of major exchange

rates (1987)

Fall of the Berlin Wall

(1989)

1990s

Indian economic reforms

launched in1991

Establishment of the

North American Free

Trade Agreement (1994)

Asian financial crisis

(1997

Dissolution of the

Soviet Union(1991)

leads to the formation

of 13 independent

states

Eurotunnel

opens in 1994

linking the

United

Kingdom to

continent

The number of

mobile phones

increases due

to the

introduction of

second

generation

(2G) networks

using digital

technology

Launch of the

first 2G-GSM

network by

Radiolinja in

Finland

(1991)

Establishment of the WTO

(1995) following Uruguay Round

(1986-94)

Invention of the World

Wide Web by Tim

Berners-Lee (1989) -

first web site put online

in 1991. Number of

internet users rises to

300 million by 2000

Adoption of the euro by 11

European countries (1999)

Maastricht Treaty

(formally, the Treaty

on European Union)

signed (1992)

2000 Dotcom crisis (2001)

Container ships

transport more than70

per cent of the

seaborne trade in

value terms

China joins WTO (2001)

Number of internet

users rises to 800

million in 2005

End of the Multifibre

Arrangement(quantitative

restrictions of textiles

lifted Enlargement of the EU

to 27 members

Major political changes in recent years such as the opening of the Berlin Wall and the

rising tide of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Republic of South

Africa, in Central and South America, etc. seem to support an optimistic view of

globalization and its effects. However, this has also been a time when ethnic and religious

conflicts deteriorated into cruel wars in various parts of the world. While there has been

growing awareness of the common needs and wants of people the world over, how exactly can

the different views on giving access to the Earth’s resources be reconciled is still an open

question.

I strongly consider that some of the questions raised by globalization processes could and should

be addressed by education. In order to function in an adequate and respectful way in our society,

young people and adults have to remember through education and constantly consider the

fundamental equality in diversity of human beings, the need for respecting other cultures and

races and for condemning violence, coercion and repression as social control mechanisms.

Global awareness and global consciousness has been documented in more than one way in

recent decades. Firstly, it was the media that gave access to globalised information, culture and

life styles. Consciousness of global change as growing interdependence and the need for

international cooperation was complemented by a systematic response to change promoted

mainly by international organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of

Europe, OSCE. More and more, individuals and organizations, supporters of global education

realize that people and their leaders clearly need developing attitudes and behaviors conducive to

the acceptance and promotion of interdependencies and cooperation among nations.

Many international covenants and declarations prepared and enacted by these institutions over

time contain suggestions, recommendations and lines of action for both the design and the

implementation of professional global education programmes, seen as relevant educational

responses to the challenges of the contemporary world2. Such covenants and declarations,

conveying the firm belief in the educational potential.

Global education is concerned with four main fields of research and action:

• interdependency within a global horizon • sustainable development • environmental awareness and concern

• human rights (including anti-racism), democracy, social justice and peace

2 Global education stresses their interrelationship for humanity as a whole and the close link

with international contexts. It addresses issues according to an interdisciplinary approach

and gives central importance to all aspects of interdependency, based on active and

2 Educators concerned with the way global education programmes are made and carried out may benefit from the ideas and suggestions

embedded in several documents which are seen as educational texts in the Annex of global education charter in a list which does not claim

to be exhaustive.

participative educational methods. The development of attitudes and skills that global

education is supposed to support and stimulate pursues to make children able to avoid

indifference and the lack of concern. It avoids a simplistic and one-sided thinking which

maintains clichés, bias and stereotypes, allowing their negative social effect to persist. The

aim of global education is to bridge the gap between knowledge (and even understanding)

and responsible action, helping young people develops political skills and confidence to

use them. Global education is identifiable in pedagogical practice as a cross-curricular

approach, as a disciplinary approach with special emphasis on globalizing aspects, or as

special extracurricular projects or programmes. Practitioners realized the need for methods

and strategies that combine feeling, thinking and doing, as well as balance play and

learning, the student’s actor-spectator status, learning and action through sharing.

Conclusion-Global education is not only about global themes, world problems and how to

find solutions all together. It is also about how to envision a common future with better

life conditions for all, connecting local and global perspectives, and how to make this

vision real and possible, starting from our own small spot in the world. Transformative

learning enables people to shape a common vision for a more just, sustainable world for

all. A focus on the kind of future we want is therefore crucial in such a transformative

vision.

Global education is also not just about change in the pedagogy but it’s the change in

the perspective of the institutions imparting higher education which should be

mirrored in their approach towards curriculums which in turn should be percolated

to the students via teachers better equipped with latest pedagogy to teach their

students.

Global education can contribute to the visioning process, but it can also play a role in the

creation of new methods where social movements and non-formal learning processes are

essential as they make room for values, issues and approaches not central to formal

learning and give voice to all people, including the marginalized ones.

Reference

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4. Nicola Yeates :Globalization and Social Policy

5. Subir Lall, Florence Jaumotte, Chris Papageorgiou, and Petia Topalova, with support from Stephanie Denis and Patrick Hettinger.

Nancy Birdsall and Gordon Hanson provided consultancy support-. Globalization and equality

6. World trade report-2008: Globalization And Trade

7. Global education charter :Appendix 2