The Globalisation of Education - what are the implications?

1. The Globalisation of Education - what are the implications? Revised version of a talk given for the Information Technology Strategy Committee seminar series, at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, November 2002 John Schostak

2. ‘Realist’ Architecture for action: Schostak (2002)

3. Background thinking • The idea: its ‘philosophical’ origins in: • Meaning of ‘education’ v. ‘schooling’, ‘training’ • ‘globalisation’ - are we at a critical point in history? • and discussions about possible on-line futures : EU ‘framework 6’ visions • Social and cultural practices: • the development of on-line mechanisms and cyber-structures to ‘invent’ the future: • Portals, dynamic data base management and ‘emergence’ mechanisms • Democratic processes governing interaction • The material realisation: • ‘technical developments in global communications’ ‘city of learning’, ‘city-plus’ and ‘Norwich Plus’

4. Continuation of notes from previous slide

5. Emergence of on-line ‘Education Space’ • Given: masses of distributed providers and clients • Given: global choice of “providers” • Given: increasing influence of global employers to define training, professional and skills needs • Required: strategies for “emergence’ of, and assuring quality of, on-line: • Curriculum, Assessment • qualifications • commercial institutions offering courses and qualifications • self-elected educational and schooling communities For social justice

6. GLOBAL-LOCAL EDUCATIONAL SPACES • Ways of managing: • Local ‘Modernist, geographically specific -e.g., national • Supplied by specialist institutions • ‘Post-modern’, On-line, global • Distributed • Complexly supplied Education System Critical, creative processes Naturalising process Schooling/ training Education

7. An On-line ‘fantasy’ Emergence of an Educational Innovation Network (EIN), connecting schools with a university, which is then connected to a community and is then connected to an E-city network

9. EU Framework 6 - see http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ • A regional (not national) approach to infrastructure development • Large scale role-outs • Construction of collaborative networks across the public and private sectors • Ubiquity and mobility (anywhere, anytime, anyone) as key concepts: BANs, PANs, LANs, WANs, Full Internet • Open protocols to ensure sharability and communication across platforms, databases etc.

10. Suppose • The infrastructures are in place from BANs to full internet - anywhere, anytime, anyone • The ‘ceilings’ have been removed, ie., no worries about broadband capacities for absolutely anything our imaginations can conceive of doing Now what?

11. A ‘brainstorming session’ May 2002 Tools for: • Communications - loss of the power to ‘broadcast’ to captivated masses - replacement by ‘emergent districts and communities’; management of light and dark networks • Relevance and the adaptability of ‘learners’: loss of linearity - parallel activities • Emergence v. planning; Quality and “trust metrics”; IPR v freeware, free content • Management of Dangers

12. So, what do we fear? • Erosion of HEIs autonomy, innovative and critical potentials • Erosion, even loss, of teacher role • Loss of face-to-face teacher student; student-student contact and community • Increasing ‘stealth powers’ (‘Dark side’) of global commercial enterprises to define and control ‘education’ for their purposes

13. Stealth Architecture: Schostak (2002) ‘Light side’ Closed curricula Controlled ‘Dark side’ Open curricula Unpredictable

14. Making open curricula educational • Self-governance to enhance: • Creative Powers • Expression • Access to Information • Generating and exploring ‘agendas of interest’ through critical dialogue • Engagement in Action to realise curricular interests • Access to Resources to support needs, interests, and opportunities

15. Political Contexts of Education • Guardianship • Anarchic • Totalitarian • Polyarchy (as threshold to democratic, and characteristic of most contemporary ‘democracies’) • Democratic

16. So, what do I see as the most important challenges facing the accomplishment of ‘education’? • Fragmentation - collapse of boundaries/identities • Personal • Political • Ethical • Cultural • Alienation/freedom from the ‘real’ • Virtual realities - everywhere and nowhere • Unlimited Transformation/translation • Uncertainty • Freedom from origins/identity/authority Resolved through emergence of ‘global-local’ educational communities?

17. So, it’s time for discussion about: • The role of HEIs - if any - in consortia with other kinds of ‘providers’ as a catalyst of the new educational spaces (resource providers) • The governance of global educational communities and the management of quality, interests, and relevance to personal and local needs (practical mechanisms of governance) • The cultural, professional and organisational changes necessary to adapt to the new educational environments (relevant cultural, organisational, professional practices) • And, a concept of education appropriate to the new on-line worlds (appropriate philosophies)

18. References • Dahl, R.A. (1989) Democracy and its Critics, New Haven and London: Yale University Press • Sayer, A. (1993) Method in Social Science. A Realist Approach, London, New York: Routledge • Schostak, J.F. (2002) Understanding, Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research in Education. Framing the Project. Open University Press