Current Trends, Challenges, and Issues In

EducationFelicia McCollum

Current Trends• Technology changes human relations

– Changes in educational technology-especially the use of the internet and other computer forms and the growth of distance learning.

– Advances in technology allow people to interact in new ways that were previously obscured by geographical, economic or social boundaries.

– Effect On Students: Student contact can be across great physical distances. Students are able to learn from various people all throughout the world.

• Knowledge and innovation-based jobs are moving– Western companies have already learned that it makes sense to

move industrial jobs offshore. Today, many companies are beginning to move their creativity and Research &Development jobs to markets with lower labor costs.

– Effect On Students: Less jobs are available when students get out of school. There is large scale unemployment in those communities where those industries were previously located.

Moravec, John W. ( June 18, 2007)

Current Challenges• Governmental Pressures

– Most governments are under pressure to reduce the growth of public spending on education and to find other sources of funding for the expected expansion of their educational systems.

– Needs to be a readily supply of skilled workers– Effect On Students: The average level of education is increased

in the labor force which mean students graduating from secondary school would need to be prepared to enter college instead of going directly to the workforce. The quality of education a student receives is being compared internationally.

• Technology Gaps– Increasing the technological gap and digital divides between

advanced countries and less developed countries.– Education deficits are greater in developing countries – Effect On Students: Students in less developed countries do not

have the same opportunities as students in advanced countries, which results in illiteracy rates being very high

Smith, M. K. (2002).

Current Issues• De-localization and

orientations in education– Globalization has severed the link between locality

and schooling and undermined the idea of community schooling. Strengthens idea that school is separate from the community where it is located.

– Limits the amount of interaction with local shops, agencies, and groups.

– Learning is highly individualized– Effect On Students: The sense of “community” is

lost among the school and the student. Many of the activities that previously involved face-to-face interaction, or that were local, are now conducted across great distances. Students use social networking to connect with friends, instead of actual field trip, teachers use online simulations for various learning activities.

Carnoy, Martin and Rhoten, Diana. (February 2002)

Affect On Secondary Students

1. Knowledge and innovation-based jobs are moving

2. Technology changes human relations3. Technology Gaps4. De-localization and changing technologies

and orientations in education5. Governmental Pressures

References• Carnoy, Martin and Rhoten, Diana. (February 2002), . The Meanings of

Globalization for Educational Change. Comparative Education Review, Vol. 46, pp. 1-9 . http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/324053

• Smith, M. K. (2002). Globalization and the incorporation of education. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from ww.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm.

• Moravec, John W. ( June 18, 2007). Top Ten Global Trends The Force Us To Rethink Education. Retrieved from

http://www.educationfutures.com/2007/06/18/top-ten-global-trends-that-force-us-to-rethink-education/