Educational Philosophy and Theory, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2002 Carfax Publishing @ TaylorhFianclr Group

Introduction to Symposium on Globalisation GREGORY HEATH RMZT University, Melbourne, Australia

‘Globalisation’, it must be conceded, is a very broad term which has many interpre- tations. Some see it as too general a term to be useful as representing an analytic or critical concept whilst others believe that it has to be further disaggregated to more meaningfully concise terms such as ‘economic globalisation’, ‘cultural globalisation’, ‘globalisation of communication’ or ‘globalisation of knowledge’, and so on. Yet again, it is seen by some as presenting a radical discontinuity with the past forms of social, economic and cultural relationships and by others as an incremental step in the long history of imperial domination; this time by (mostly US-based) global corporations rather than formerly bellicose nation states. These differences serve to prove that globalisation is still contested territory at all levels. Whatever is the case in terms of accurate descriptive categories, it can be asserted that there is a dramatic transformation in economic, political, cultural and moral understanding and interre- lationships. We are in a position to increasingly piece together what globalisation means for educational policy and practice and to define the challenges at a theoreti- cal level. The articles collected in this issue make a contribution to this further understanding.

Education sits in an unfamiliar and interesting position in the face of globalisation. This is new territory for education, its institutions and practitioners. On the one hand, the manifestations of globalisation, particularly through information and communications technology, threaten to render the traditional forms of pedagogy and institutional structures obsolete or irrelevant. The world in this mode is seen as a deregulated marketplace for knowledge, consumer driven, on demand, and sup- plied by innumerable e-legions of deregulated providers. Here there is seen to be at best a place for a very light hand of policy and government intervention lest it distort the free play of the transformation of ideas into capital. On the other hand, education is seen as variously, the ‘powerhouse of the knowledge economy’ or the ‘building blocks of the knowledge nation’. Governments in many countries are prepared to take this seriously with some significant, although often selective and equivocal, re-investment in schools and universities. Here, in globalisation’s most enlightened manifestations, inclusive citizenship is seen as dependent on the exten- sion of knowledge to all through life-long and life-wide education.

In recognising these conflicts we see education in turmoil on many fronts. There is a worldwide shortage of teachers and a reluctance on the part of graduates to consider the profession. There is an uncertainty about the long-standing and hard

ISSN 0013-1857 print; ISSN 1469-5812 online/02/010037-03 0 2002 Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia DOI: 10.1080/00131850120098354

38 G. Head?

won moral authority of teachers which manifests itself on many fronts including a uaning of public faith in the profession. There is wavering support on the part of governments for schools and universities and increased distancing from accountabil- ity for education policy through deregulation and ‘pro-choice’ privatisation. There is an uncertainty about the role and future of universities themselves and their role in the transmission of knowledge to the next generation. But more pervasive and destabilising is the unease about the basis of knowledge. The questions of ‘what is worth teaching?’ and ‘why is it worth teaching?’, have taken on a new relevance not seen since the debates of a century or more ago establishing the secular curriculum.

A major cause of this turmoil is often seen to be ‘globalisation’. The educational domain is an area in which the impacts of globalisation are most severely felt. Traditional educational practices and institutions come under increasing pressure facing a mounting crisis of relevance and legitimacy. Often, instead of providing frameworks for leadership or ‘roadmaps’ for understanding, education has become itself subject to global pressures of doubt and uncertainty. Universities, under immense pressure, have resorted to ‘service to industry and the professions’ or similar, to justify their existence and continued support from the public purse. Not that these rationales are unworthy or unreasonable in context, but they are not, and cannot be, the founding ideas of universities as communities of scholars serving the well-being of humanity and the planet.

In a globalised world there is an almost overwhelming tendency to see education solely as a means to an end, as instrumental to goods which lie outside the realm of knowledge and rational or critical understanding. Education here is all about ‘achieving outcomes’ more quickly, more often and more effectively than ever before. The idea that the aims of education could be set by educators, or those committed to improving the ‘human condition’ has, alas, come to be seen by policy makers and captains of the global elites as risible. This poses a problematic that need4 a very detailed and reflective response. Not least of the ironies is that in the knowledge economy, knowledge and its legitimation is controlled by the consumers rather than the producers of knowledge. And knowledge becomes valued for its fluidity; its capability to drive innovation and change rather than the established values of enlightenment and conceptual elaboration. This presents new challenges for philosophers and theorists of education. They must deal with diversity of culture, ethics and pedagogy, and through these engage with the agendas that are now defining the legitimacy of knowledge and setting the aims of education. This will be achieved by in part engaging creatively with the global knowledge economy and in part by reasserting the central role of critical reflection in informing dialectics of theor!- intu practice.

hiany of the papers in this issue have their origin in the 29th Annual Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia conference held at RMIT University, Mel- bourne. ‘The discussion established there has continued to intensify as the issues of globalisation become more intense and a response more urgent.

The authors in this issue engage with aspects of globalisation which each form a piece o f our mosaic in mapping this complex phenomenon. Robin Usher examines the use of spatial metaphors in the restructuring of boundaries in the practices of

Introduction to Symposium 39

curriculum and pedagogy whilst Michael Peters discusses the place of knowledge and the public good in the global economy. Richard Bagnall provides timely consideration of the ethical impact on universities as they struggle to respond to the pressure of the globalised marketplace and the commodification of knowledge. Bruce Haynes takes up the challenge of the consequences of globalisation for scholars researching the philosophy of education and how they can contribute to the survival of the scholarship of research in universities. Eve Coxon provides an excellent study of the transforming role of educational policy in a post-colonial context in an analysis of the process of globalisation in changing the relationship between New Zealand and the neighbouring Pacific states.

Whilst globalisation continues to meet strident opposition in the streets as well as in many social and political forums it unquestionably represents a turning point of transformational change in which education finds itself absolutely central. There- fore, educators find themselves with the special challenge to protect the value of the local whilst embracing and enhancing the accessibility of the humanising benefits of the global.