challenges of global education

The discussion topic for this week, and my response:

Responding to the challenges of global education.

It's pretty clear from the lectures presented so far that education is a critically important factor in determining success in the era of globalization. Academic thinkers (Robert Reich, Gary Downey, et al) understand the correlation between liberal education and success in a global society. Industry leaders (Robert Chiusano, Adel Zakaria, et al) recognize the need for science and engineering education in determining success in a global marketplace. But what about our institutions themselves -- do our schools and universities "get it?" How have institutions of learning adapted to the demands of globalization?

In my (somewhat controversial, but strong) opinion, most educational institutions today are metaphors of the industrial era assembly line. Quoting Henry Ford, "People can have the Model T in any color - so long as it's black." This was for one reason: there was no room for customization on the linear assembly line. Educational institutions are modeled after such assembly lines: going from one grade level to the next, or one course after another to hit a milestone of graduation, which used to guarantee a lifetime of stable work.

Nowadays, we know that careers change over time and we need to be prepared for it. Reich mentions the notion of lifelong learning, both in the classroom and at the job. However, secondary and to a certain extent, higher education has been slow to adapt to these changing needs. Reich also mentions that everyone learns a little differently -- and I agree with his claim that the education system needs to be flexible enough to help everyone learn.

In essence, our educational institutions need to address two issues if they plan on adapting to our global society. First, we need to abandon the assembly line, one-size-fits-all model of education. Like everything else we buy today, education needs to be customizable to meet the needs of each learner. Second, we need to think about what is important to impart in each of our citizens' education. What are the skills everyone needs to be successful in a global society? Everyone needs to learn transferable skills that are universal to every job: critical analysis, communication, negotiation, to name a few, as well as specialty skills that give us a competitive advantage: whether it be math, science, engineering, business, and even music and art, as each provide value and fulfill a need at some level in the global society.

Solving the problem of reforming education to suit the needs of a globalization era instead of the industrial era is a difficult one for sure, but we know it’s important, and if we want a chance in staying competitive, we'd better get started soon.

By the way, there are two pretty good articles in Issues in Science and Technology that take a crack at this issue (on the higher education/university level):

Warning: Information Technology Will Transform the University -- Time has come to recreate higher education to capitalize on the technology that is here or soon to come.

Envisioning a Transformed University -- Change is coming, and the biggest mistake could be underestimating how extensive it will be.