Globalization and living together

136 Pages·2006·2.99 MB·English

GLOBALIZATION AND
LIVING TOGETHER:
THE CHALLENGES FOR
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
IN ASIA
FINAL REPORT OF THE SUB-REGIONAL COURSE
ON CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 9–17 MARCH 1999,
ORGANIZED BY THE
INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF EDUCATION
AND THE INDIAN MINISTRY
OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF EDUCATION
CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, INDIA
0
Authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of
the facts contained in this publication and for the opinions
expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of
UNESCO-IBE and do not commit the Organization. The
designations employed and the presentation of the
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concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city
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Education, its programmes, activities and publications,
see the IBE’s home page on the Internet:
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Published in 2000 by the
United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization,
7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France
and the Central Board of Secondary Education,
Siksha Kendra, 2, Community Centre,
Preet Vihar, Delhi, 110092, India
© UNESCO 2000
1
Foreword
The development and reform of school curricula is an on- recently, international exchanges and co-operation in cur-
going preoccupation for educational authorities in all riculum development were limited, being restricted to
countries. The approach of the new millennium has given professional associations of curriculum specialists. How-
new urgency to efforts by governments to provide all cit- ever, two recent trends have contributed to bringing inter-
izens with access to quality education, at least for the basic national attention to bear on curriculum matters:
level, while improving and widening access to secondary 1. The globalization of economies and societies raises a
education. More than ever before, governments are being new challenge, requiring the adaptation of educatio-
called upon to equip children and young people through nal content to meet both national demand and inter-
education with the capacity to lead meaningful and pro- national concerns;
ductive lives in a world of bewilderingly rapid and com- 2. The diversification of actors, both national and inter-
plex change. Existing curriculum content and pedagogical national, involved in the delivery of education (in par-
methods are increasingly being called into account, as pu- ticular with the growing use of information and
pils leave schools ill-prepared for the world of work and communication technologies—ICTs), as illustrated by
adulthood, unready and unmotivated to carry on learning the significant share of non-formal education, have
throughout their lives. The meaning and role of education, resulted in the emergence of new concepts and norms
of teaching and learning, are constantly being redefined in for educational content; as indicated by such terms as
an effort to meet the real needs and demands of individu- the ‘common core’, ‘universal values’, ‘basic life
als and society. skills’, etc. Once again, this means sharing responsibi-
The implication of globalization for societies around lity for educational content, as well as presenting us
the world is at the heart of present concerns to improve with new opportunities for international co-operation.
and upgrade education systems. While globalization is It is against this background and in an effort to respond to
often defined primarily in terms of its economic dimen- the numerous contemporary concerns about the content of
sions, the Report to UNESCO of the International Com- education, that the International Bureau of Education
mission on Education for the Twenty-first Century—the (IBE), designated as the UNESCO institute responsible
Delors report—sees the most important consequence of for strengthening the capacity of Member States in curric-
this complex phenomenon to be its socio-cultural and ulum development, is focusing its new programme activi-
ethical dimensions as regards the growing interdepend- ty on the adaptation of the content of education to the
ence and interrelationships between peoples and cultures challenges of the twenty-first century. The IBE’s pro-
the world over: ‘the far-reaching changes in the tradi- gramme is divided into two components: (i) integrating
tional patterns of life require of us a better understanding the concern of living together into the content of educa-
of other people and the world at large today; they demand tion; and (ii) adapting the content of education in order to
mutual understanding, peaceful interchange and indeed cope with some of the challenges raised by a globalized
harmony’.1 However, the report stresses that ‘learning to world.
live together’—one of the pillars of education—will only The IBE programme of co-operation in ‘research and
occur through the possession of self-knowledge and studies’, ‘training and capacity building’; and ‘the
understanding, and appreciation of one’s own origins and exchange of information and expertise’ is based upon two
culture. major assumptions:
It is now widely recognized that designing a curricu- (a) Although different Member States of UNESCO have
lum is mainly a national concern, normally shared very uneven and heterogeneous experiences in the
between educational protagonists at the central, local and design and adaptation of their educational content,
school level. The principle of subsidiarity suggests that there is room for beneficial exchanges between coun-
curriculum issues should not be addressed at the supra- tries;
national level. Indeed, experience shows that, until quite (b) Although there are some common views on how to
address the demand that content should be modified,
a great deal remains to be done to improve the pro-
cess of adaptation.
1Delors, J., et al. Learning: the treasure within. Paris,
The approach to implementing the programme followed
UNESCO, 1996, p.22. (Report to UNESCO of the International Com-
mission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. by the IBE is based on the assumption that the pro-
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gramme proposes to include: (a) an international platform offers a rich and varied picture of the challenges facing
of information on educational content; and (b) a number Asian countries seeking to adapt educational content to
of regional and sub-regional co-operation projects. The meet the social demand of the coming decade.
preparation of such programmes is carried out through The IBE would like to thank all of the contributors,
regional workshops. both from the participating countries and from other parts
After a first workshop held in 1998 for the Member of the world, who have shared their information and
States of the Mediterranean Region, a second sub- experience during the workshop. Indeed, the distinction
regional workshop took place in 1999 in New Delhi to between ‘faculty’ and ‘participants’ proved to be of little
cater to the concerns of South and South-East Asia. The relevance in this workshop, where all contributors
purpose of the second workshop was: learned from each other.
(a) To collect information about the status of educational On behalf of the International Bureau of Education, I
content in the region—a ‘fact-finding’ exercise; would like to express our deep appreciation to the Gov-
(b) To encourage the assessment of experiences, both ernment of India—and in particular to the Central Board
among Asian countries and a selected number of of Secondary Education—for its generous support of the
countries from other parts of the world; and workshop. India both financially supported and hosted
(c) To explore and map out some areas for potential co- the meeting and contributed significantly to the debates
operation among the participating Member States. and to enriching the information shared among the partic-
Two key phrases of the IBE’s new programmes were in- ipants. Finally, I should mention with thanks the financial
corporated into the umbrella theme of the course, which and intellectual contribution of the Deutsche Stiftung für
was The adaptation of content to the demands of the glo- internationale Entwicklung, which ensured the success of
balization and the need for learning to live together. the workshop.
This publication is a compilation of the various pres- Jacques Hallak
entations made during the workshop. Both through the Assistant Director-General,
diversity of topics covered and the list of issues raised, it Director of the IBE
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Introduction
This publication is divided into five parts. In Part One, en- also the social goals, of this essential area of education.
titled The impact of globalization on curriculum develop- His presentation indicates the possibilities which voca-
ment, the keynote lecture by J. Hallak and M. Poisson tional education offers for promoting values of co-opera-
outlines the implications for education of the phenomenon tion and respect for others.
of globalization, and stresses the renewed urgency for cur- Part Three, Interdisciplinarity, school-based manage-
ricula to promote peaceful coexistence and co-operation ment and non-school science education: a few topics for
among pupils. reflection by curriculum developers, includes three case
The subsequent round-table debate examines the rel- studies from countries outside of the Asian region. Two
evance of new trends in the teaching of science, social cases examine major curriculum reforms, one at the
science and the humanities to the challenge of globaliza- national, and the other at the provincial level. E.M.
tion and the principle of learning together. The presenter Skaflestad discusses how the new national curriculum in
for the humanities focuses on the primordial role of lan- Norway was designed as a connective model establishing
guage instruction in the curriculum. The science pre- clear links between all educational levels and emphasiz-
senter identifies the opening up of schools to society and ing an interdisciplinary approach in subject teaching,
a growing recognition of the need to develop scientific with core values being taught across the curriculum.
attitudes and behaviour in students as principal trends in Though centrally prescribed, the curriculum provides for
science teaching. The final presenter stresses how the local and individual adaptation. Kenneth Ross describes
social sciences are an ideal medium for transmitting the the introduction of the most decentralized system of
values and attitudes necessary for harmonious existence schooling in the history of public education in Australia,
within society and the natural environment. in the state of Victoria. Under this system, in which each
school in collaboration with the community draws up its
In the following working group discussions, the sci-
own charter outlining its particular vision and aims, insti-
ence group addresses the following four issues: the ade-
tutions design their own educational programmes based
quate coverage within the curriculum of both basic
on a core curriculum and standards framework estab-
scientific knowledge and ongoing scientific develop-
lished by the Department of Education. The final country
ments; the organization of experimental activities; the use
study from France describes the valuable role played by
of, and respect for, the environment; and bridging the gap
one of the world’s major science and technology muse-
between scientific and traditional knowledge. The
ums, La Cité des sciences et de l’industrie (La Villette),
humanities and social sciences groups discuss how both
in making available a wealth of educational resources to
subject areas may support general education by defining
the country’s schools. This study illustrates the impor-
new opportunities for curriculum design, teaching/learn-
tance of collaboration between non-school institutions
ing methods, pupil assessment and implementation strat-
providing learning opportunities and schools, stressing
egies.
the need for schools to emerge from their traditional iso-
Part Two, entitled Some challenges for the adapta-
lation and to become more involved in society.
tion of content raised by the principle of learning to live
In Part Four, Current trends in the adaptation of edu-
together, is comprised of a number of presentations on
cational content in South and South-East Asia, U. Bude’s
various key current concerns in curriculum reform. R.H.
lecture focuses on the need for curriculum development
Dave and J.S. Rajput stress the need for comprehensive
to be a continuous holistic process aimed at real and
reforms to existing approaches to teacher education, with
meaningful change in the classroom. The importance of
the emphasis to be put on career-long education and
flexibility and openness in curriculum policy and design,
training, and the development of a professional ethic
permitting regional and local adaptation of a core docu-
among all teachers. J.-M. Sani and M.M. Pant outline the
ment, based on the needs of diverse socio-cultural groups
possibilities which information and communication tech-
within a country, is emphasized. The advisability of pro-
nologies (ICTs) offer for innovating the educational proc-
viding for broad-based participatory approaches to the
ess, underlining the need in this context for a redefinition
curriculum development process is stressed, with the fun-
of the role of the teacher while stressing that this role
damental importance of the teacher in successful curricu-
remains key to ensuring the effective exploitation of ICTs
lum design and implementation underlined.
as tools for learning. The need for vocational education to
meet the demands of globalization is stressed by Arun The report concludes with an overview of the country
K.Mishra, who points out not only the economic, but reports on curriculum development presented in Part Five.
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8
PART I :
THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION
ON CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
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Education and globalization:
learning to live together
Jacques Hallak and Muriel Poisson
This text will first define the phenomenon of globaliza- EU, MERCOSUR, SADC, etc.), and the develop-
tion, considered as the most widespread trend on the eve ment of multinational corporations have contributed
of the twenty-first century, and will present some of its to a dramatic increase in trans-border exchanges.
implications for knowledge, employment and poverty. l A dominant ideology of regulation by market forces:
Second, it will identify some of the challenges raised by the end of the regulation of monetary, financial and
globalization in the specific sphere of education. Third, it economic markets, following, in particular, the set-
will focus on the principle of teaching/learning to live to- ting-up of the Bretton Woods system, the GATT
gether. This is considered a key issue in helping young agreements and, finally, the expansion of the free-
generations to cope with the challenges raised by globali- market ideology after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc,
zation. This section will also cover, more precisely, the has greatly contributed to the interpenetration of
different means of introducing teaching to live together in national economies;
educational content and the problems that this may entail. l Fast and significant technological progress: technical
Fourthly, it will pay careful attention to the role of teach- progress in the communications field has permitted
ers in this context. They are undoubtedly the key actors in users to access and exchange information at any time
any reforms that may take place. In particular, we describe and from any place in the world, which has largely
how to help them adapt their teaching methods and devel- facilitated the speeding-up of production, as well as
op a ‘sense of ownership’ towards the curriculum, so that the sharing of goods, services, capital flows—and
change can actually be guaranteed at the school level. This also ideas.
section will conclude with the main topics that were se- l The aim of increasing return on capital investment,
lected for debate during the course. added to the possibility of locating the units of pro-
duction of goods and services almost anywhere in the
world, have also contributed to uniting or globalizing
GLOBALIZATION, A NEW PHENOMENON
our planet.
The phenomenon of globalization1 has resulted from the A few figures can illustrate the importance of the phenom-
worldwide integration of economic and financial sectors. enon of globalization in Asia. Table 1 shows that the vol-
It has existed historically since the development of inter- ume of exchanges among the Asian countries has
national trade. However, it can be considered, to a certain mushroomed during the last decade. Thus, in developing
extent, as a more recent phenomenon, since over the past Asia and the Pacific, the total value of imports increased
few years it has experienced a high acceleration, due to the threefold from 1986 to 1995 and the total value of exports
following factors: more than quadrupled during the same period. About half
l Geopolitical changes: the erosion of the power of of these exports took place within the Asia region (52 %
nation states, in a context of transfer of sovereignty for 1995), which proves that the phenomenon of regional-
from governments to regional entities (ASEAN, CIS, ization is linked to globalization.
TABLE 1: Developing Asia and Pacific region: external trade–total value (millions of US$)
1986 1990 1995 1986-95
Imports 230 993 456 132 945 701 + 309 %
Exports 175 693 416 441 889 524* + 406 %
Exports to Asia, 52%; North America, 21%; Western Europe, 17%.
Source: United Nations, 1997.
1For more information on globalization, one can consult the following
booklet: J. Hallak, Education and globalization. Paris, UNESCO: Inter-
national Institute for Educational Planning, 1998. (IIEP contributions,
no.26.)
10
FIGURE 1. Foreign direct investment in decline in East for teamwork, the increasing use of new technolo-
Asia. gies, etc.,
l the progression of social exclusion—a large part of
$ billions the world’s population does not participate in this
60 process.
In this context of a changing world, the central role played
50 Ethaes tP Aacsiifai cand by education to favour social and professional integration
appears to be hugely reinforced.
40
Latin America and
the Caribbean
SOME OF THE EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES
30
RAISED BY GLOBALIZATION
Europe and
20 The educational challenges raised by globalization are a
Central Asia
multitude. We may mention the following as examples:
10 l The need to rethink the delivery of content, integrat-
South Asia ing new sources of information. The multiplication of
sources of information (newspapers, radio, televi-
0 Sub-Saharan Africa
sion, the web, CD-ROMs and other multimedia
Middle East and North Africa materials, etc.) and the fast evolution of knowledge,
-10 in particular, in the fields of science and technology,
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 imply not only the need to update educational con-
tent regularly, but also to review the design of curric-
Source: World Bank, 1998
ula and the teaching of subjects in an
interdisciplinary manner. This also raises the need for
Figure 1 illustrates the fact that the development of the better co-operation with ‘information brokers’—such
economies of different countries in Asia is linked to for- as science museums—that can play the role of inter-
eign investment, and that, consequently, countries of the mediaries between ‘knowledge producers’ (universi-
region are integrated in the global economy and depend- ties) and ‘knowledge consumers’ (pupils/students).
ent on outside partners. Direct foreign investment has thus l The need to favour the development of skills along-
increased from US$10 billion to US$60 billion between side knowledge. The fast evolution of today’s socie-
1990 and 1996 in East Asia and the Pacific, whereas in ties—and, more specifically, of labour markets—
other regions, such as Europe and Central Asia, the Mid- requires new skills from individuals. These were
dle East and North Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa, it has summarized in a report published by UNESCO in
stayed at the same level, or has only slightly increased. 1996 as follows: learning to know, learning to do,
learning to live together and learning to be (see Box
Among the main implications of the phenomenon of 1). They call for the redefinition of educational pro-
globalization, one can mention: grammes on a competency-based approach: this
l the emergence of learning societies due to the multi- implies that from now on, curricula should focus on
plication of sources of information and communica- students attaining a stated number of clearly defined
tion; skills or competencies at the end of each stage and
l the transformation of the nature of work with, in par- level of school education. This, of course, should
ticular, the need for more flexibility and mobility, the have consequences on teaching/learning methods,
importance of communication skills, the necessity student assessment procedures and certification.
BOX 1.The four pillars of education, as defined by the Delors Commission.
l Learning to know, by combining a sufficiently broad general knowledge with the opportunity to work in depth
on a small number of subjects.
l Learning to do, in order to acquire not only an occupational skill, but also the competence to deal with many sit-
uations and to work in teams.
l Learning to live together, by developing an understanding of other people and an appreciation of interdepend-
ence in a spirit of respect for the values of pluralism, mutual understanding and peace.
l Learning to be, so as better to develop one’s personality and be able to act with ever greater autonomy, judge-
ment and learning responsibility (including memory, reasoning, and communication skills).
Source: J. Delors, et al. Learning: the treasure within, Paris, UNESCO, 1996. (Report to UNESCO of the Interna-
tional Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century.)
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l The need to adapt curricula to the needs of different spect for the values of pluralism, mutual understanding
socio-cultural groups, and to maintain the national and peace’. There are several ways of introducing this
and social cohesion of the country. The phenomenon concept into educational content. The three main strate-
of globalization has helped to widen the gap between gies are as follows:
those who globalize, and those who are globalized— l By defining new scopes for ‘old disciplines’ (history
or left out—of the process at the local, national, and geography, foreign languages, etc.): a study led
regional and international levels. This raises the by the University of Geneva, under the leadership of
problem for public authorities of how to maintain the the IBE, has shown that traditional subjects, such as
cohesion of a country. As a result, there are implica- history and geography, can contribute, to a great
tions for education, since the situation and the socio- extent, to teaching about living together. It thus cate-
cultural background of learners are seldom taken into gorized three different ways of teaching geography
consideration when conceiving and implementing (see the schemes included in Box 2). In the case of
curricula. Trying to cope with this situation means the ‘closed model’, a country is presented as a
not only having to refer to the national identity or homogenous space, delimited by its borders. The
promote the concept of citizenship, but also having to ‘opposing model’ takes into account the existence of
include the teaching of peaceful co-existence in edu- several overlapping entities (geographical, adminis-
cational content. trative, economic, linguistic, etc.) in the national ter-
ritory. Finally, the ‘comprehensive model’ puts
forward the existence of various entities, both inside
and outside the national territory, and their mutual
HOW TO INTRODUCE TEACHING
interactions. The only model favouring learning to
ABOUT LIVING TOGETHER
live together is obviously the comprehensive one,
INTO EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
which brings together different geographical scales
to permit an understanding of the continuity from the
If we refer to the definition given by the Delors Report
local to the global, and which allows not only the
mentioned in Box 1, teaching to live together is synony-
concept of identity to develop, but also those of oth-
mous with developing an understanding of other people
erness, inter-dependency and universality.
and an appreciation of interdependence in a spirit of re-
BOX 2. The role played by geography in learning to live together
BOX 2. The role played by geography in learning to live together
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and geogrhapishtoyr'.y and geography’.
l By introducing new subjects (i.e. education towards Box 3), shows that the introduction of these new con-
active citizenship, environmental issues, etc.) in cur- cepts demands a review of curriculum design by
ricula: the widespread concern for global issues, adopting a comprehensive approach, developing
such as population control, urbanization, environ- more participatory teaching/learning methods and
ment, consumption, citizenship, etc., favours their working in partnership with out-of-school actors so
integration in educational programmes. The example as to enable students to put what they have learned
of the project entitled ‘Educating towards active citi- into practice.
zenship’, launched by Quebec (Canada) in 1998 (see
12