Globalization on Education Between Singapore and the United States

A Comparative Study on the Impact of Globalization on Education between Singapore and the United States
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Abstract
The objective of this research is to compare the impact of globalization on education between Singapore and the United States. Studies show that globalization has acquired significance in every sphere, particularly in education. Some scholars have studied the globalization impact within the education system of diverse nations and have found that globalization has both positive and negative effects on education. Globalization has had numerous effects on education and roles played by students and teachers. Globalization can benefit society members if they have adequate knowledge, skills, and ability required to pursue their occupation. They need work, income, and a healthy environment. One could only reach these goals if national governments distribute sufficient resources to education, institutional framework, and adequate educational resources.
Keywords: Globalization, Singapore, education system
Introduction
Globalization is a significant development that has changed the world. It is commonly understood as the increased flow of goods, capital, people, and ideas across borders. It is also the process of building connections aimed at developing a world system that diverts national concerns to the geopolitical phase of the world (Gopinathan, 2017). Some major globalization effects include internationalization, a decline of the nation-state, denationalization of economies, and commodification of education. Globalization has also promoted social, economic, and cultural changes due to worldwide interaction (Koh, 2014). The education sector has also witnessed changes brought about by globalization.
According to Tan (2018), the globalization of world economies is promoting the internationalization of subjects in schools. It also opens opportunities for new partnerships in research and teaching with institutions and agencies across the globe. Given the value of intellectual capital in a globalized economy, many countries attempt to upgrade their human capital by promoting skills, especially learning ability (Bidyuk, 2016). They strive to develop citizens who are competent in the language, adept at creative thinking, effectively multicultural, and proficient in technology. The ideal citizen should be a skilled problem-solver with the drive to innovate, learn continuously, and think widely (Merriman & Nicoletti, 2017). Convergent education reforms across nations include neo-liberal measures and education performativity.
Evidence shows that performativity has taken part in establishing a devolved environment with centralized control and more freedom and flexibility provided to Singaporean local authorities (Gopinathan, 2017). Globalization has now enabled schools in Singapore to be active in decision-making. Indeed, there is a strengthening democracy as Singapore schools enjoy power in shaping the local education landscape (Koh, 2014). The primary motivator to decentralization in Singapore is to improve government efficiency and effectiveness. This implies that democracy may not be strong in the school itself. Under the decentralization framework, the school management has the authority t make decisions (McGinn, 2017). Within the school, the principal may choose the preferred management style.
Bidyuk (2016) noted that all reform proposals emphasize the need for attention to process, utilize technology in education appropriately, introduce assessment changes, higher-order thinking skills, and devolve powers to principles with moves towards greater central control over curriculum and pedagogy. Through globalization, the Singapore government has introduced neo-liberal strategies to promote diversity and choice in the educational landscape and strengthen autonomy and innovation at the school level (Gopinathan, 2017). This research compares the impact of globalization on education between Singapore and the United States.
Methods
The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of globalization on education and provide a comparative analysis on the impacts on education between Singapore and the United States. A secondary method of data collection was used to provide data with key sources being journals, articles, books, and publications that contained information about the impact of globalization on Singaporean and American education. Google was used to obtain these sources by searching keywords like ''Impact of globalization on education’’, ‘‘Impact of globalization on American Education,’’ and ‘‘Impact of globalization on Singapore education’’. Sources were scanned for authenticity and reliability to ensure the presentation of factual information.
Findings
According to Gopinathan (2017), education is globalization’s area o concern. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers globalization as the flow of economy, knowledge, technology, and human capital across borders. Globalization impacts the US and Singapore education differently due to the peculiar history, cultures, customs, and objectives. Currently, the primary issue within the changing education landscape is the innovation linked to the new technologies (Koh, 2014). Based on social transformation, globalization is changing the primary roles of education institutions in Singapore and the US. For instance, higher education institutions in these countries are developing a mentality that modifies learning into a redeemable product.
Tan (2018) believes that education has shifted from the center of liberal arts to a business activity where the marketization of academics increases commercially-oriented study. Such commercial objectives force schools to compete for resources and capital. Also, academic globalization in Singapore and the US includes various parameters like scholars, students, academic fields, and institutions of higher learning as contributing factors (McGinn, 2017). Colleges and Universities have remained global due to the exchange of information, ideas, students, and scholars.
Merriman and Nicoletti (2017) presented a theoretical framework to determine how globalization affects American institutions of higher learning. This framework considered higher learning institutions to be hubs of globalization in the international scope. McGinn (2017) also explained a new model of institutions of higher learning where students acquire degrees from different education settings due to satellite campuses and worldwide partnerships. As such, Colleges and Universities are becoming international because they are expanding their idea of being global to attract overseas students (Bidyuk, 2016).
While studying globalization in an academic context, it is observable that research universities play a significant role in the worldwide competition, attracting many foreign students. (Bidyuk, 2016). Merriman and Nicoletti (2017) stipulated that a country must catch up with the vivid globalization to survive in the international labor market. Therefore, Singaporean and American educators should consider the following. First, the most critical barrier of today includes climate change, extremism, and cybercrime which need instant solutions (Bidyuk, 2016).
To address these challenges, it is imperative to adopt academic research and work together with other nations. Second, American and Singaporean specialists of tomorrow must think globally for culture and business to cross the borders (Bidyuk, 2016). Third, both the US and Singapore schools should attract new internationally-oriented learners and researchers to be competitive at national and global levels (McGinn, 2017). The two countries should enrich classrooms with multiple perspectives due to the rapid increase in the number of international students.
Additionally, it is necessary to support more Singaporean and American students to go abroad and learn with people from different cultural backgrounds (Gopinathan, 2017). At the same time, the competitiveness of the US relies on drawing the best scholar since international students bring academic, cultural, and economic benefits to the learning environment. They improve the educational discourse, adding their views into the learning process (Koh, 2014). It should be noted that worldwide learning is essential for future US and Singapore education (Merriman & Nicoletti, 2017). Therefore, it is advisable to support educational exchange between nations.
In the US, there are different agencies that ensure the country is competitive in the global market (Merriman & Nicoletti, 2017). The US State Department is the most far-reaching public subtlety to augment the mobility of global students (Bidyuk, 2016). Due to globalization, the US provides extra services to helps foreign students enter colleges and universities (McGinn, 2017). The department also works together with higher education communities to enlarge the enrolment of international students, expand opportunities for American students to study widely (Merriman & Nicoletti, 2017). Moreover, globalization has enabled the US to financially support analysis and research on student mobility trends and capacity of study abroad (Bidyuk, 2016). This provides colleges and universities with information to attract more international students and develop appropriate curricula.
Discussion
Regardless of its definition, globalization has direct consequences on education. Based on the findings, it can be noted that gl...