Education in the New Powerhouse Economies: Catching Up or Leading the Way?
“Education in the new powerhouse economies – catching up or leading the way? Discuss in relation to India and/or China.”
India and China: Catching Up And Leading The Way
In recent years, China and India have both exploded onto the international education landscape as major global forces (Altbach 2009). China is considered one of the world’s most influential economies (OECD 2010b), whilst India is seen as playing a key role in the global knowledge economy (Agarwal 2007). India has also been described as “the science superpower of the Third World” (Altbach & Chitnis 1993:1). The sheer scale of the education sectors in these countries is remarkable (Altbach & Chitnis 1993). The literature generated by academics in an effort to understand the place that these “new powerhouse economies” occupy in the global education race suggests that both countries demonstrate significant strengths as well as interesting challenges that can offer illuminating comparisons to countries in the west. Both countries have faced significant technological and industry-shifting developments as part of the phenomenon of globalisation (Rizvi & Lingard 2010). Globalisation has led to the “breakdown of political barriers and … unprecedented developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs)” (Aneja 2010:58). As a result, India has shifted from an agrarian society to a knowledge-based economy and society (Neelakantan 2007) while China’s economy “[which was] projected to become the world’s largest within two decades” (Keating 2009:550) has necessitated a “large-scale education system” (Tsang 1991:56). Both nations have strived to “expand their global profile and develop strategies for international programmes (Altbach 2009:11). This has significant implications for the demands placed on education in both countries. In both China and India there are vast challenges relating to issues of equity and access across all education sectors. Tsang (1991) describes China’s “large
India and China: Catching Up And Leading The Way
In recent years, China and India have both exploded onto the international education landscape as major global forces (Altbach 2009). China is considered one of the world’s most influential economies (OECD 2010b), whilst India is seen as playing a key role in the global knowledge economy (Agarwal 2007). India has also been described as “the science superpower of the Third World” (Altbach & Chitnis 1993:1). The sheer scale of the education sectors in these countries is remarkable (Altbach & Chitnis 1993). The literature generated by academics in an effort to understand the place that these “new powerhouse economies” occupy in the global education race suggests that both countries demonstrate significant strengths as well as interesting challenges that can offer illuminating comparisons to countries in the west. Both countries have faced significant technological and industry-shifting developments as part of the phenomenon of globalisation (Rizvi & Lingard 2010). Globalisation has led to the “breakdown of political barriers and … unprecedented developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs)” (Aneja 2010:58). As a result, India has shifted from an agrarian society to a knowledge-based economy and society (Neelakantan 2007) while China’s economy “[which was] projected to become the world’s largest within two decades” (Keating 2009:550) has necessitated a “large-scale education system” (Tsang 1991:56). Both nations have strived to “expand their global profile and develop strategies for international programmes (Altbach 2009:11). This has significant implications for the demands placed on education in both countries. In both China and India there are vast challenges relating to issues of equity and access across all education sectors. Tsang (1991) describes China’s “large
References: World Bank, 2011 ‘Learning for All: Investing in People’s Knowledge and Skills to Promote Development’, World Bank Education Strategy 2020, Discussed at the Board of Directors on April 12, 2011.