Interpreting the Impact of Globalization and Its
Affects on Educational Theories and Institutions in The United States
Neslihan Celik-George
University of Florida
Abstract
This essay details various ways that globalization is interpreted and debated across global and national spaces, and focuses particularly on the effects of globalization educational theories and institutions in the United States. This essay also demonstrates how international students who are enrolled at American universities and colleges have shaped and enhanced the global character of the United States in the latter part of the 20th century, and studies the factors on why and how that global character has declined during the earlier part of the 21st century with the onset of economic occurrences such as “brain drain” and “brain gain”. The United States relies on the work and participation of international students in order to continue to expand culturally, socially and economically as a nation.
Keywords: globalization, education, diversity, theories, international students, nation
Interpreting the impact of globalization and its effects on educational theories and institutions in the United States
Millions of young people will not hesitate to move to another county that will prepare them to take their place in a global environment. The traditional form of cross-border flows in higher education has been for students to migrate from one country to another to advance their studies. Various social and economic factors provide mobility and competition for foreign students between countries. In the United States, international students are an important source of diversity at college and university campuses. They are not only enhancing career opportunities and gaining experiences for future employments, but they also help the United States gain a global understanding of cultural diversity.
Hundreds of thousands of students from around the world come to the United States each year for higher education. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors report, the number of international students studying at colleges and universities in the United States rose dramatically over the past 50 years from less than 40,000 students in the 1950s to more than 580,000 students in 2001. These students are also attracted to technologically and culturally advanced nations such as the United States where they can look forward to different experiences and better job prospects such that “The growth of the knowledge-based economy has led not only to competitio among employers worldwide for the best brains but also among the institutions that train the best brains. Rapidly increasing demand for higher education, in turn, exceeds the capacity of many countries to supply it domestically” (Kritz 2006). The American education system features many types of institutions, academic and degree programs, social environments, entry requirements and subjects that international students can specialize in.
In the United States, many students choose to stay and become employed in the country after their education has been completed. This period of studying abroad is usually followed by a year of professional training and work experience, which can be extended if students are able to secure visa sponsorships from their employers. Obst and Forster (2005) indicated that “global people play an important part in U.S. higher education, not only because they contribute roughly $13 billion to the U.S.economy every year, but also because many academic programs rely on them to conduct research and serve as teaching assistants in key fields of science and technology.” International students help to cover America’s shortage of engineers, scientists, and doctors where 24% of physicians and 25% of engineers in American training programs are foreign. According to Immigration lawyer Greg Siskind (2007) this is not a new phenomenon. Foreign physicians have made up this percentage of the US physician population for decades. According to the study, each additional 100 foreign-born holders of advanced degrees from U.S. universities working in science, technology, engineering and math(STEM) fields create an additional 262 jobs among U.S. workers. (Humphries, 2011) The IIE reported (2004) 22.7% of international students’ education costs were covered by scholarships while the remaining 81.7% of international students paid at least three times more for tuition than in-state students. Among those students, about 49% were enrolled in graduate programs, 45% in undergraduate programs, and 6% were enrolled in no-degree and/or intensive English language programs, according to the IIE.
There are many reasons and benefits for students to study aboard. These include: Gaining a global perspective and broadening one’s horizons by experiencing the various cultures of the world; cultivating a global network of social contacts; improving social and communication skills; learning new technology and exploring new concepts and ideas; becoming a more well-rounded individual; developing independence and acquiring problem-solving skills; and becoming a global citizen(http://www.impeloverseas.com). Some researchers make the claim that the United States benefits from international students in their programs because it acquires only the best and brightest talents from different countries to contribute to and enhance the American economy and its position on the global stage. “The one criticism often directed at international student mobility is that it leads to a brain drain for the sending country and a brain gain for the receiving country.” (Kritz, 2006, p. 29). Giroux (1995) highlights a few of the advantages that the educational system provides to international students:
"refusing a notion of national identity constructed on the suppression of cultural
differences and social dissent, multiculturalism – explores how dominant views
of national identity have been developed around cultural differences constructed
within hierarchical relations of power that authorize who can or cannot speak
legitimately as an American." (p. 7)
The concept of globalization stems as far back as 1492 when explorer Christopher Columbus and his crews reached the Americas, leading to the first European contact with the Americas and precipitating a period of spice and goods exchange and centuries of European colonization and exploration of foreign lands. Cohen and Kennedy (2000) demonstrate “The date of Columbus's voyage to the Americas, 1492, can be taken as a convenient symbolic marker opening the modern era…..a questing spirit, a powerful leaning towards rationality, the search for valid, verifiable knowledge, and a belief in the possibility of transforming the material world in the pursuit of social 'progress’”. A number of observations and researches also have been made in attempting to define what exactly a global citizen is and how international students encompass the idea of a global citizen. On the one hand, globalism and the global citizen can be characterized as a shared interest or commonality among different groups of peoples. The Global Citizens Network states on its website: “The peoples of the world are one people, enriched by individual differences, united by the common bond of humanity. The diversity of the Global Community is its greatest strength; understanding and respect are its greatest gifts” (http://www.globalcitizens.org).Banks (1997) definemulticultural education as an idea, an educational reform movement, and a process. Tansel and Güngör (2003) have indicated “In recent years, knowledge-based high technology countries, such as the United States, have been eager to accept a growing number of foreign professionals and students in order to fill their shortage of skilled manpower and thus perpetuate their innovation-based economic growth.” Developing countries such as China, India, and Turkey rank among the top ten sending countries in total foreign student enrollments at United States universities (IIE, 2001). The global citizen knows how to decipher and filter through information that is accessible and provided. Hence, multicultural perspectives help to guide educators in their work through their understanding of diversity, cultural backgrounds, and race.
On the other hand, some researchers have suggested that globalization emphasizes remarkable contrasts as opposed to similarities between different groups of peoples, which could often lead to cultural fragmentation or displacement. Iyer (2000) describes being a global citizen in his book “The Global Soul”:
“I’d often referred to myself as homeless — an Indian born in
England and moving to California as a boy, with no real base of operations or
property even in my thirties. I’d spent much of the previous year among the
wooden houses of Japan, reading the “burning house”poems of Buddhist monks and
musing on the value of living without possessions and a home.” (p. 5)
In the 21stcentury, accessible information and knowledge continues to increase with the onset of the World Wide Web and the exchange of commercial resources and products that moves between countries. At the same time that the global movement is shaping its “global” citizens, it is also creating types of cultural fragmentation, one of which is known as brain drain. Brain drain can be defined as the mass emigration of highly skilled individuals or knowledgeable workers from one country to other countries that offer better opportunities in their areas of specialty as well as lifestyles. A variety of factors have contributed to the brain drain phenomenon such as personal conflicts, political instability, lower salaries, and most importantly, the lack of opportunities in the home country after studies have been completed and a preference to live abroad.
Consequently, a brain drain in one country can become a brain gain for another country. Developing countries such as India were initially suffering from brain drain while developed countries such as the United States were experiencing brain gain; following 9/11 immigration and travel policies, the roles became reversed. Author David Heenan points out developing countries in years to come will be able to benefit from globalization as much as developed countries:
“The people at the top end of the spectrum — scientists,
engineers, doctors — are much more mobile just in terms of their makeup. Their
skills are in real demand, not only in their home country, but elsewhere.
Foreign governments and foreign companies are actively all over them. To the
extent that these people go back and contribute to the strength of their
particular economy and those economies prosper, more and more people in those
countries are going to enjoy the benefits of globalization and a higher standard
of living. That's a very healthy thing for the world to see more of these
countries move up the curve.” (Clifford, 2005)
But it is also important to acknowledge that from a cultural and social standpoint, many international students studying at American universities and colleges may not find it conducive in the long run to remain in the United States for employment opportunities. A large number of skilled immigrants and international students, who have graduated from the nation’s top research universities, particularly those specializing in science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, and who would might have considered staying to work in the United States, could decide to return to their home countries because they are turned off by American culture or costs so much foreducation, living expenses, and visa/citizenship requirements.
Furthermore, globalization relies heavily on the economic concept of capitalism. The rationale that capitalism will provide for happiness, or at least satisfaction, on a global scale is fundamentally a claim that the culture-ideology of consumerism will make people happy. Happiness is used here in the sense of satisfaction of people’s basic material and emotional needs with the proviso that capitalist globalization systematically blurs the difference between basic and false needs (Sklair, 2010, p.114). For a bette understanding we need to look at a “big picture” of modern world with analytical mind-set. After examining several alternative meanings, Bullivant defined culture "as a social group's design for survival in and adaptation to its environment." With this definition in mind, he added that one aim of multicultural education would be to teach about the many social groups and their different designs for living in a pluralist society. (Davidman & Davidman, 2001, p.6). In this context U.S. government should give priority to workers who earned advanced degrees from U.S. universities.
In conclusion, the aim of a global education is to better prepare people to live in an increasingly globalized world and to be productive citizens shaping a better future. In the United States, this concept has been embodied through the acceptance and active participation of international students at universities and colleges, and their gradual integration into the American workforce and culture. Information is the currency of today's world; who is able to control and develop sources of information will have the upper hand in a global society. At the same time, as long as economic development worldwide remains uneven, migratory pressures and economic and political instabilities will continue to exist. But global understanding and education can help to raise awareness and understanding among American school students of international issues, development, and poverty.
References
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