Globalization and Education

The influence of globalization on education systems and education delivery is a topic that is increasingly being discussed among governments, teachers, students and communities. There are concerns on whether the education sector is benefitting from the positive effects of globalization or is it at risk from the negative impacts. This essay will argue that globalization has a vast influence on education systems and that there are ways in which the negative impacts of globalization can be controlled. This essay will unfold in three parts. Firstly, it will highlight the influences of globalization on education systems. Then it will discuss some positive and negative impacts of globalization on education systems. Lastly, it will suggest some ways in which the negative effects of globalization can be controlled.
“Education in the 21st century is marked by the vast influence of globalization and the drive for international comparability. In Fiji, as in the rest of the Pacific, this is no different. Education systems in the Fiji and the Pacific are characteristically informed and influenced by external push and pull factors which are reflective of globalization” (Koya, 2002).
Globalization has been underway since the dawn of history. “It is now characterized by shrinking space and time and by vanishing borders. Globalizing processes are dismantling obstacles to movement. As a result, there has been an increasing flow of people, goods, services, ideas, technologies and information across international borders. In simple terms, globalization is defined as a ‘process that widens the extent and form of cross-border transactions among peoples, assets, goods and services and that deepens the economic interdependence between and among globalizing entities, which may be private or public institutions or governments” (Lubbers 2000). Globalization is a basically connecting different country together as a global village.
The explosion of knowledge and information in the era of