Education and the Rise of the Global Economy

This work discusses the relationship between the development of the global economy and educational policy. It begins with a discussion of European colonialism in chapter 1. Colonialism provided the foundations for the modern global economy and disseminated European ideas about education, science and technology. Chapter 2 examines Japan's response to colonialism which included the introduction of Western-style schooling, science and technology. However, Japan was interested in maintaining Confucian culture while assimilating Western science and technology. Japan is a case study of a country that achieved economic success through a corporate model of schooling. In Singapore (chapter 3), Asian and Western ideas of education blended to create a model of global education. A product of British colonialism and Asian nationalism, Singapore is financially dependent on the global economy. In reaction to the economic strength of the United States and Japan, the European Union (chapter 4) was created as a regional trading bloc. The European Union's education policies are designed to bolster economic growth, reduce unemployment and create Euro-nationalism. These programmes include lifelong learning, personal skills cards, a learning society and the fabrication of a European culture. The United States and the United Kingdom (chapter 5), continue as important supporters of free market economics. Their educational programmes are similar to those of the European Union. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank (chapter 6) have shaped global education planning and evaluation. The United Nations (chapter 7) supports the general trends in the global model of schooling. In addition, the United Nations has launched a major campaign to eradicate illiteracy. The United Nation's Education for All programme is targeted for victims of the global economy and is an attempt to fulfil the pledge in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has a right to education.