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Preface
Just 30 years ago, a volume about international
education might have compared and contrasted national school systems,
cultural attitudes toward education, and approaches to teaching, among
other issues. The volume might even have sought to find unity in the
variety, but it would likely not have addressed such issues as the
interchange of educational traditions and perspectives across cultural and
national borders. Today, these issues are as much a part of the discourse
on education as teacher training and student attendance. Indeed,
educational traditions have become so intertwined with issues of
globalization and multiculturalism that any exploration of conventional
pedagogical concerns must take them into account.
In acknowledging the continuity between the past and the
present as well as the peculiarities of the 21st century, this volume
contains articles that analyze the ideas that have always been associated
with the value and purpose of education but in the context of a world that
is growing ever smaller as globalization spurs greater interdependence
among the world’s societies. Selections in the opening chapter consider
educational access on a global scale, focusing on the difficulties of
bringing education to those who have traditionally lacked it. The authors
examine the conditions in which students in various parts of the world are
obliged to learn, and how individuals and organizations, both public and
private, are trying to improve those conditions so that populations that
are at risk of being left out of the world economy have access to the
knowledge and skills necessary to compete within it.
Of course, education has never been merely about the
mastery of certain bodies of knowledge and the acquisition of particular
skills. Even at the most basic level, teachers have always sought to
produce individuals who embrace the values and beliefs of their
communities. The articles in the second chapter, “Beyond Knowledge: The
Other Uses of Education,” address this facet of the learning process,
exploring the ways in which curricula can be used to shape students’
identities and the role that schools play in conditioning individuals to
accept the principles of their communities.
Selections in the next two chapters, “Globalization and
the Goal of Education” and “Education in Our Technological Age,” directly
examine how the changes that are occurring in the world affect both what
is being taught in schools and how it is being taught. The first of these
chapters deals with globalization, with particular entries discussing the
ways in which the global market is forcing educators to adjust their
teaching methods to prepare students for the challenges of living in an
interconnected world. Pieces in the subsequent section investigate how
technology is impacting the classroom experience and students’ approach to
learning.
The book concludes with a selection of articles that
considers the struggle to ensure educational value, which in today’s world
usually means maintaining quality. The topics covered include efforts to
provide a curriculum that successfully balances inclusiveness with
academic rigor, the difficulties of gauging quality, and how to ensure
that students have access to the best educational opportunities available.
In closing, I would like to thank the authors and
publications that granted permission to reprint the articles in this
volume. I would also like to acknowledge those who have helped me put this
book together, especially Lynn Messina, Paul McCaffrey, and Rich Stein.
This book’s release coincides with the arrival of my son, Dionisio Sean
Rolls, into the world. I hope both find a warm welcome.
Albert Rolls
August 2007
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