ERIC Review: Issues in Global Education Initiatives in the Community College.

Abstracts

This review of literature examines the impact of globablization on the community college missions and the expected competencies that students should acquire from a community college education. In the late 1990s, many community colleges began incorporating an awareness of globalization into strategic planning and curriculum planning initiatives. The author presents a list of accepted competencies for the "globally competent learner," and suggests additional competencies, which include a focus on the importance of intersection of language and culture, an understanding of the interconnectedness of the economy and the environment, and the development of a critical approach to media and communications. Finally, the author explores the link between multiculturalism and globalization as concepts that have been considered for integration into the community college curriculum and mission during the past decade.

In recent years, numerous state-level planners have acknowledged the necessity of preparing students for an increasingly interdependent world. Most often, strategic plans focus on preparing students for a global economy, but they may also cite the need to provide global awareness or even extend the definition of the community served by the community college. Local and multinational businesses require certain competencies that must be acquired by students who want to participate in a global economy. Educational leaders share some of these objectives but also recommend competencies that differ from the traditional general education objectives by including ones that reflect an awareness of the global dimensions of social, cultural, scientific, and economic issues. The analysis of this trend toward globalized or internationalized education invites a comparison with an educational trend of the last decade--multiculturalism. The "new" global competencies may represent a more palatable version of multiculturalism that is justified according to the economic imperatives of the dominant culture.

In 1996, participants at an American Council on International Intercultural Education (ACIIE) conference adopted a framework for global education. Participants defined a competency as "an ability, a skill, a knowledge, or an attitude that can be demonstrated, observed or measured" and includes cognitive as well as affective attributes (ACIIE, 1996, p.3). Conferees created a list of developmental stages that "represent a continuum germane throughout all levels of education:"

1. Recognition of global systems and their connectedness, including personal awareness and openness to other cultures, values, and attitudes at home and abroad.

2. Intercultural skills and direct experiences.

3. General knowledge of history and world events--politics, economics, geography.

4. Detailed area studies specialization--expertise in another language, culture, or country. (p. 3)

At the community college level, the first stage is of critical importance; learners may reach varying degrees of stages two through four. Progress through these developmental stages is not necessarily linear or uniform.

The following nine competencies were selected as the most important among the fifty generated by the participants.(1) The globally competent learner:

1. Is empowered by the experience of global education to help make a difference in society.

2. Is committed to lifelong, global learning.

3. Is aware of diversity, commonalities, and interdependence.

4. Recognizes the geopolitical and economic interdependence of the world.

5. Appreciates the impact of other cultures on American life.

6. Accepts the importance of all peoples.

7. Is capable of working in diverse teams.

8. Understands the nonuniversality of culture, religion, and values.

9. Accepts the responsibility for global citizenship.

A review of the literature suggests that these competencies are being challenged by the emergence of new pedagogical techniques, necessary changes in program implementation, evolving theoretical perspectives, and the educational imperative to develop students' critical thinking.

Background

"[G]lobal education is an imperative not an option" if our communities are to survive globalization (ACIIE, 1996, p. 2). ACIIE's rationalization for global education is based primarily on the interpretation of globalization as a largely economic phenomenon. "Globalizing our students and our communities has direct economic benefit and reduces the inevitable fear created by the ongoing internationalization of business" (p. 2). ACIIE presents a rather narrow conception of globalization that does not acknowledge the cultural, political, or social dimensions of internationalization. Much of the public and academic debate on globalization focuses on issues surrounding the rise of the global economy: the worldwide influence of capitalism, the rise of information as the significant economic product, the need for knowledgeable workers skilled in information technology, and the new role of labor. Despite the focus on economic forces, globalization has a social and cultural face as well. The spread of electronic communications technology in particular has had a profound effect on developing what McLuhan called the "global village."

Mason (1998) posits that the growth of globalization depends on culture rather than economics. "Much of the promise of the globalization movement depends on how successfully cultural differences are addressed" (p. x). Some observers predict that the globalized world will be a highly differentiated society that expresses a tolerance for diversity (Waters, 1995). Internationalization of education can play a significant role in the cultural effects of globalization by facilitating the harmonious interaction of world cultures. Others predict that globalized education will contribute to the rise of "imperialists attitudes, loss of indigenous cultures and the relentless imposition of Western values" (Mason, 1998, p. 10). Each prediction for globalization has some merit. Educational leaders recognize the significance of their role in preparing students to face the multidimensional challenge of globalization.

Community Colleges Respond to a Globalized Environment

In the late 1990s, community colleges began to reevaluate their missions and goals in light of a larger global community. Ruth Burgos-Sasscer (1997) articulated a new vision for community college leadership in which "community" is redefined to include the state, the nation, and the world. Colleges also restated their objectives for student competencies. For example, Mesa College in San Diego identified "global and multicultural education" as one of its five major planning issues in the twenty-first century (Armstrong, 1997). "Being the second largest institution of higher education in San Diego and being located in an international city give Mesa both a unique opportunity and sense of mandate to expand into global education" (p. 11). Leaders planned to internationalize certain disciplines (humanities, languages, and business) as well as include more study abroad opportunities for students and faculty.

Institutional leaders must redefine the role of the community college in the context of globalization. The old tension between the academic and vocational missions of the community college takes on new dimensions in this paradigm. In an op-ed essay, Fred Gainous, chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, identifies how multinational corporations located in Alabama are changing the state's workforce preparation needs. Participating in the global economy means an increase in the number of high-skill occupations. "The new jobs are different from drive it, dig it, lift it, or pick it jobs characteristic of the traditional Alabama economy. Automobile assembly, steelmaking and fabrication, health care, pharmaceutical production, electronics, computer components and their various support businesses have blossomed" (Gainous, 1999, p. 17). The new jobs being created are knowledge based and require higher levels of education and training. Adapting to a knowledge-based economy requires more than learning new technological skills. H. Martin Lancaster (1999) of the North Carolina Community College System admonished the state's trustees not to abandon traditional educational objectives in favor of mastering new technologies. "If [we do], we run the risk of simply reducing our students' capabilities to nothing more than machine operators, destined to obsolescence with the next generation of technology" (p. 10). Globalization challenges community colleges to reassess their dual roles in preparing the workforce and providing a traditional liberal arts curriculum. Critical understanding of cultural and historical issues is as important as learning new software applications.

The impact of globalization on community college strategic planning has been widespread. The Southern Rural Development Center (Rosenfeld, 2000) includes globalization among the trends most likely to influence rural community colleges in the new millennium. Globalization will affect colleges by requiring them to serve a diverse population of students and community partners who operate in a global context. The center's report suggests several institutional responses to globalization, including providing lifelong learning opportunities and enhancing students' understanding of world cultures, economic systems, and business environments. Lifelong learning opportunities have become important because working with information technology requires continual skill upgrading. Awareness of international issues is essential since "U.S. colleges can no longer assume that work opportunities, markets, best practices, and new ideas are found only within U.S. borders" (p. 7).

The Board of Trustees of Howard Community College (HCC) in Maryland established a Commission on the Future (COF) in 1998 "to help the College identify emerging issues, prepare for the future, and develop a vision of the College's role in the 21st century" (1999, p. 5). The recommendations of the COF focus on seven areas including preparing students as global citizens. Specifically, COF recommends helping students "build a set of skills and knowledge with global relevance [including] awareness of and sensitivity to international business practices, customs, and etiquette; the ability to apply learned skills in an international context; knowledge of the customs, literatures, music and art of other cultures; and the ability to speak, write, and read a second language" (p. 21). HCC's global education program will include curricular revisions as well as overseas training and exchange programs, cultural events, and international fairs and clubs. Additionally, the COF recommends identifying "emerging technical issues and implement[ing] appropriate technological strategies that advance the College's global opportunities" (p. 23).

From the perspective of community college leaders, curricular issues are a high priority in addressing the changes brought about by globalization. Not only will graduates be required to have higher technological skills but also a greater awareness of global cultural and historical issues.

Expanding Global Education Competencies

Although the ACIIE framework describes a number of desirable cognitive and affective outcomes, the relevant literature indicates that the acquisition of certain social and cultural skills, as well as technological and environmental knowledge, is also essential for becoming a citizen of the world.

In addition, the implementation of global education is complicated by the shifting balance between liberal arts and occupational program objectives as illustrated by new concerns in foreign language pedagogy and the need for critical understanding of global communication, environmental, political, and economic systems (Cornwell & Stockard, 1999). These two issues are explored in the following pages.

Pedagogy for Intercultural Adaptability

Globalization has led to an increased frequency of intercultural interactions (Kim, 1999). In recent years, there has been an unprecedented movement of people across the globe, resulting in a greater number of multicultural and multilingual societies around the world (Crozet, Liddicoat, & LoBianco, 1999). Intercultural communication skills are necessary for interacting with foreign nationals as well as the increasing number of immigrants in the United States (Walker, 1994). As a result, intercultural adaptability has become necessary for survival not only in international business transactions but also in interpreting international events and media transmissions. Intercultural adaptability is a broad term that encompasses speaking and listening skills as well as the ability to interpret behavior in different cultural contexts and apply social or experiential learning in new cultural contexts.

Intercultural competence must include knowledge of a foreign language as well as the ability to adapt to the unspoken cultural context. Without knowledge of a second language, learners experience other cultures through their own cultural lenses. "Cultures are taken to be only manifest and exteriorized phenomena that those who do not enter the new world cannot observe" (Crozet, Liddicoat, & LoBianco, 1999, p. 2). This perspective contributes to stereotyping and viewing foreign cultures as commodities to be consumed or absorbed.

As a result of globalization, both pedagogical techniques and proficiency measures in foreign language teaching have changed. Foreign language study can no longer be relegated to the liberal arts curriculum but has become important for students of occupational programs as well (Walker, 1994). Crozet, Liddicoat, and LoBianco (1999) have enumerated the ways that teaching culture and language has changed as a result of a "reconceptualization of culture and the role of culture in language teaching" (p. 7).

The traditional approach is through the teaching of literature. In this view, culture is limited to high culture only with little emphasis on communication skills. Cultural competence is defined as "control of an established canon of literature" (p. 8).

Cultural studies uses the areas studies approach, which is learning about cultures through the history, geography, and institutions of a country. Cultural competence is defined under this paradigm as a body of knowledge about a particular country as well as the ability to communicate with native speakers.

Cultures as practices portrays the culture in terms of its practices and values. Cultural competence is the ability to observe and interpret the words and actions of a person from another culture. This paradigm is limited in that the learner remains within his or her own cultural paradigm.

Intercultural language teaching (ILT) attempts to achieve a change in the learner's cultural or linguistic behavior by portraying culture as embedded in language use (a "linguaculture") and examining the learner's own linguaculture along with others. Kim (1999) also notes that analyzing one's own culture is essential to intercultural competence. ILT allows students to understand how worldviews are shaped by language and culture. It facilitates learners moving from being mere observers of another language and culture to allowing them to experience another culture by creating a "third place" in which participants of different cultures can interact on equal terms.

ILT offers a new paradigm to allow learners to function better in foreign cultures and to respond critically to the notion of culture. However, tying culture mainly to linguistic expressions does have its limitations. Languages such as French and English are often used in different cultural contexts. The linguaculture of someone from Cote d'Ivoire is quite different from someone from Paris. ILT does not account for these sorts of differences, so additional means of providing cultural knowledge is necessary. "Even when the natural barrier of language is overcome, we can still fail to understand and to be understood" (Porter & Samovar, 1985, p. 15).

In addition to new pedagogical techniques, global competencies demand a different implementation of foreign language training, especially for occupational programs.

1. Workforce development programs in particular need fast, efficient language programs.

2. Instructors may not yet have the skills to function in an occupational foreign language program. Native speakers can be taught pedagogical techniques more quickly than teachers can master new languages.

3. Materials need to be updated to include technical vocabulary and applications to real life situations.

4. Employer expectations require adjustments to course schedules, instructional methods, and materials.

5. Promoting awareness of cultural differences, especially in terms of interpersonal communication, may necessitate incorporating opportunities to develop sophisticated communicative abilities (Walker, 1994).

6. Proficiency standards developed for the Tulsa Junior College provide intercultural education outcomes appropriate for occupational students.

a. The ability to carry on a basic conversation with a native speaker.

b. The ability to read basic messages, letters, and instructions in the new language.

c. The ability to write simple notes.

d. An understanding of the other's value system including the status of the family, the role of women in professional activities, the importance of education, the literacy rate, the population growth rate, economic resources, the value of tradition, the dominant religion and its influence on governing powers (Walker, 1994, p. 27).

Critical Understanding of Global Systems

The need for critical understanding of global systems is not well defined in the higher education environment. Although the ACIIE framework makes reference to "general knowledge of world events," it does not include knowledge of two critical global systems: the environment and communication systems. Additionally, a globally educated person should understand that the nature of globalization is a highly contested issue.

The environment is certainly the most clearly global issue. Although political, cultural, and economic systems affect the parts of the physical world unevenly (Dirlik, 1999), the scientific community accepts the idea that incidents that affect the environment in one part of the planet will have some sort of impact on the worldwide meteorological, biological, and geological system (Mortenson, 2000).

Objectives for environmental education are more clearly articulated for K-12 students, but learning should not be confined to this level. Schmidt (1999) and Huckle (1999) acknowledge that the intersection between economics and the environment requires that learners consider the impact of economic globalization on the environment. Schmidt provides an example of how environmental education can be integrated into a global education framework for car mechanic training. "S/he must have diagnostic skills and knowledge (computer literacy), be customer-oriented (direct personal contact), have all the skills of the trade (high tech), must take into account the ecological effects of his/her work, be able to calculate the cost of a repair, and, more generally, be conscious of adding value" (p. 5).

Global competencies in environmental systems should not be limited to scientific knowledge about the global environment. Globalization may provide some important economic advances and also dangers to the environment. The overexploitation of natural resources is likely to be a negative effect of global expansion (Huckle, 1999). The concept of environmental stewardship, the responsibility to protect the environment for future generations, adds a new dimension to the general education objective of developing civic responsibility (Alexander, 1999). Educating for a sustainable environment includes awareness of the global interconnectedness of issues of water, food, health, education, and wealth (Crease, 1998-1999).

Despite a great deal of talk about the importance of the knowledge economy to the global environment, ACIIE's framework for global competencies includes neither technological knowledge nor critical thinking about the social and cultural effects of worldwide media. Cornwell & Stockard (1999) note that globalization is tied to technological advancements in travel and communication. "Electronic communications have played a major role in making globalized business possible on such a scale. In popular parlance, globalization is often understood as the rapid and unprecedented global circulation of cultural forms and commodities, detached from their original context" (p. 11).

Global communications systems may not be successful in linking the entire world at this point, but such a prospect is treated as inevitable in public discourse. Marshall McLuhan predicted that, as a result of global communications technology, our planet would become a global village. In recent years, McLuhan's ideas have been subject to intense scrutiny in academia. What is the nature of the global village today? How do the technologies that have created it operate? What are the social, cultural, and political implications of this technology? With the rise of the Internet as an economic and political phenomenon, academic and public interest has become more focused on these issues. A global education would not be complete without the means to understand global information technology and its social, political, and cultural ramifications.

Media literacy offers a possible means of incorporating critical thinking about the content of media. Alverman and Hagood's (2000) review of critical media literacy indicates that it can be characterized in terms of critical perspectives on media content, the ability to produce as well as consume multimedia texts, and activities and issues involved in media viewing. Critical media literacy offers a means of approaching content but only touches on the relationship between consumption of media and production. As new software applications make it easier for people to create their own media content, computer and information literacy skills will become more important competencies.

Although justifications of global education operate on the assumptions of the inevitability of globalization, academics and policymakers have not reached consensus on the nature, direction, and viability of globalization (Dirlik, 1999; Massey et al, 1993; Portes, 1997). In order for learners to respond critically to issues of globalization, the nature of globalization itself must be a necessary component of a global education.

Analysis of the Trend Toward Global Education

Adoption of global education competencies has the potential to reform inequalities in general education objectives. A review of the general education requirements of community colleges has indicated a significant gap in both liberal arts and nonliberal arts programs in terms of opportunities to learn about "self and society" (Zeszotarski, 1999). Implementation of ACIIE's global education framework has the potential to rectify this discrepancy by providing a justification for and means of implementing the study of language, culture, and global systems in occupational curriculum. Unlike the multiculturalism movement, global education may have greater potential to enact this change because it be can justified by appealing to the dominant culture's interest in the economic outcomes of education. However well this feature may serve the diffusion of global educational objectives, the fate of multiculturalism presents an important lesson for community college leaders interested in improving students' global awareness.

Olneck (2000) identifies three dynamics that limit the potential for multiculturalism to redefine cultural capital and, thus, what kind of knowledge is valuable both economically and socially. Cultural capital (Bourdieu as reviewed in Olneck, 2000) exists in three forms. First, cultural capital is manifest in means of expression and interaction, "cultural preferences and affinities" (taste) and a demonstrable "command of valued knowledge." Second, cultural capital is cultural expressions (literature, art, film) and the places they are housed (libraries, museums, theaters) that are valued by the dominant culture. Finally, cultural capital is "institutionalized in academic qualifications that credential recipient's cultural distinction" (Olneck, p. 319-320).

Higher education institutions play a role in the development of cultural capital for individuals by being the site where students can develop taste, behavior, and a manner of expression according to the dominant culture. Additionally, the institutions establish competencies as a means of measuring an individual's mastery of these concepts. "Within the myriad of formal and informal acts of evaluation that schools enact, particular knowledge, linguistic behavior, styles, dispositions, and modes of thought and expression are given value. Students are found qualified or wanting according to how completely or convincingly these are displayed" (Olneck, 2000, p. 320). Colleges and universities function in the creation of cultural capital by verifying an individual's possession of cultural capital through the awarding of credentials. Additionally, higher education institutions verify what knowledge is deemed valuable in society in general (Olneck, 2000).

The dominant culture can be transformed by a curricular innovation in several ways. According to Olneck, education can contribute to the transformation of cultural capital by questioning the independence of the institution and the knowledge it imparts from other social, economic, and political institutions and hierarchies. Through innovative curricular practices, educational leaders can also increase the range of valued knowledge or behaviors and validate new curricular, pedagogical, and assessment forms.

Olneck contends that multiculturalism has failed to transform cultural capital because it has been unable to undermine the interdependence of education-based capital on other kinds of capital defined in other kinds of markets, especially labor. "The value of school-based capital is mediated largely through employers' valuations of students' institutionalized academic capital" (2000, p. 325-326). Multiculturalism has been more successful in altering the content of curriculum but not necessarily pedagogical or assessment methods.

The fate of multiculturalism is instructive for those who seek to institute global education as a socially transformative curriculum. By assigning the goal of preparing students for a global economy, global educators may make global competencies more valuable than multiculturalism to the dominant culture. Even though many of the tenets of global education, such as intercultural competence and valuing diversity, are similar to those of multiculturalism, global education may be diffused more widely than multiculturalism because of its direct application in the global marketplace. Economic outcomes are often cited as the most significant justification for increased intercultural competence. However, educators who adopt this as the primary justification for global education are playing a dangerous game in which the educational value placed on critical thinking and equity may be compromised. Global education programs that provide intercultural competence and knowledge, promote continued learning through both informal and formal means, and provide contested knowledge about the fate of a global perspective will enhance students' ability to be both productive and responsible citizens of the world.

(1) Some of the additional competencies listed were included on the participants original list but were dropped in favor of those listed in the final report.

References

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Paula Zeszotarski is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA and the Publications Coordinator for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. [e-mail]