Globalization and International Education

The consensus among experts is that the world is rapidly becoming “globalized,” and that this increasing globalization is taking place at an exponential pace. Broadly speaking, globalization generally refers to the growing trend toward increasing cross-border interactions of all kinds between nations and clusters of nations, leading to ever more integrated and interdependent economic, cultural, and political systems.

Growing in tandem with world globalization are all aspects of international education. The term international education is ambiguous and can refer to several types of schooling arrangements. An international education could involve schooling outside the boundaries of one's native country, or an education with a nontraditional and global perspective within one's own country. The latter might also be referred to as an “internationalist” education. An international education might entail being educated with students from many different nationalities, or being educated with students from one's own national group. An international education can include a geographical or curricular dimension. It can also include a linguistic component, as with foreign language immersion programs that teach a country's culture through its language. An international school may offer instruction in two or even three languages.

The growing demand for all types of international schooling experiences is taking place at the tertiary level and increasingly at secondary, elementary, and even preschool levels. Globalization is increasing the demand and need for international educational experiences while fueling the process of globalization itself. Students who are educated in international schools are often well prepared to become global leaders in business, diplomacy, education, health care, and other enterprises with cross-cultural or cross-border dimensions. Many international students in prestigious world universities, such as those found in the United Kingdom and the United States, learned to speak English while attending an international school in their native countries. In short, [Page 1021]globalization and international education are inextricably linked.