The impact of globalization on the US and China’s education systems and the differences between the two systems

The impact of globalization on the US and China’s education systems and the differences between the two systems
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Abstract
Every nation has had its own educational systems over the past century. These systems have often differed in terms of the duration and the curriculum that is disseminated to the students. There has however, been a growing need for the increased unity of these education systems, due to the advent of globalization. With the world increasingly becoming a global village, there is the need for exchange of skills between nations, which will mean some similarity in the kind of education system of each. Even for those seeking further studies away from their home countries, the same is the case, as they will need some acclimatization with the new systems of education in their desired countries. Such is also the case between the U.S.A and China, two nations with great development records but somehow different educational systems.
Since the 1970s, globalization has influenced every aspect of people’s lives. In China, forces of globalization forced the country to adopt a new education curriculum that addresses global problems. Similarly, the US responded to globalization by introducing information technology in its education system. However, the impact of globalization seems to favor the global elites in both countries because of obvious reasons such as their ease in accessing both kinds of education at their own convenience. There is quite a lot of similarities between the educational systems of these two nations, especially when it comes to the knowledge acquisition part of it. Nevertheless, the Chinese education system continues to be rigid and test-oriented while the US encourages the development of practical skills through creative thinking.
Keywords: China, U.S., Educational system, curriculum.
Introduction
Although the living standard of people around the globe is still unequal, globalization has helped 400 million individuals to move out of acute destitution. Due to globalization, education systems around the world have embraced complex new technologies that support practical skills. Even superpower nations such as China and the United States have been forced to integrate information technology with learning methods. The imposing nature of globalization on China’s education system became prevalent in the 1970s when the country adopted an open-door policy followed by education reforms that address the challenges of the 21st century. On the other hand, the extensive use of information technology in the US education system makes the country a preferred learning center for foreign students. Despite the influence of globalization on the US and China’s education systems, the two countries have distinct differences that define their education. The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the influence of globalization on China’s and US education systems. The paper will also evaluate the differences that distinguish the education system of each of the two countries.
Literature review
The origin of modern globalization dates back to the early-1970s. This is a period that witnessed massive advancements in the field of information technology, increased economic rivalry among states, and the termination of the Bretton Woods Agreement. The agreement has works to try and ensure that there was some form of uniformity and union in the way nations across the world improved on their respective economies. It led to the establishment of the global body, IMF, but further efforts to make countries work around a similar economic model of currency, failed. This was because of the differences in the forms of government, such as socialism, communism and capitalism around the global nations; which effectively meant differences in educational systems too.
To date, the concept of globalization is still a disputable notion whose meaning is yet to be precisely identified. However, attempts to define globalization focus on the speed of processes and increased interconnection and integration (Bardhan, 2013). Regardless of the perceived definition, globalization has made education a key part of the Chinese and American societies while also necessitating the restructuring of educational policies. Education is actually, what has continued fanning the rate of globalization across the world. Even in the face of trade wars, Baylis (2020) argues that globalization seems to demand and impose collaboration mechanisms between Chinese and US educational sectors. The demand and forced imposition of these educational mechanisms is due to the need for a more inclusive system that can ensure the citizens from the two countries can collaborate and share ideas relating to various contemporary issues affecting them and the world at large.
In China, the impact of globalization on education is closely related to the open-door policy that was implemented in 1978 and shifted the country to a socialist market economy (Guo et al., 2013). Just like the country’s economy, Chinese education underwent massive changes that range from access to overseas learning institutions, change of the country’s education curriculum, and the emergence of numerous learning institutions. Regardless of these positive impacts, the study of Camey (2015) found out that native Chinese, especially those from Southeast China, perceive the influence of globalization as a threat to the traditional setting of Chinese schools.
One thing worth noting is that China is a tightly controlled nation, while its culture is usually jealously protected by its people. They tend to believe that globalization would slowly erode the traditional cultural practices that aligned their education to their way of life. In contrast, the influence of globalization on US education is what turned the country into a global power through highly trained human capital. However, Stiglitz (2012) asserts that the influence of globalization in the US and China exposes those with IT knowledge to better education facilities while leaving the apparent losers in a state of mediocrity.
Impact of globalization on the US and China’s education system
* Education structure
As a requirement or response to globalization, both the United States and China have undertaken massive changes to align their education systems with information technology and international practices. In 2001, the Ministry of Education of China initiated the New Curriculum Reform that was described as; “a reform of basic education unprecedented in modern Chinese” (Guo et al., 2013). The new curriculum aimed to depart from the traditional Chinese education structure and establish one that develops skills related to global problems.
These so-called global problems were mainly revolving around the incorporation of practices from other countries into the country’s curriculum, so as to come up with skilled personnel who can work in any corner of the world without necessarily suffering from the rigidity caused by the earlier educational system back home. For instance, while the old system ignored the importance of English, the new curriculum introduced English as a compulsory subject from Grade 3. The reforms in English are perceived as a means of providing Chinese students...