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How Globalization Can Cause Fundamental Curriculum Change: An American Perspective

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Abstract

Globalization, unlike 20th century social and economic developments, will cause fundamental rather than merely incremental educational change. `Globalization' refers to a complex of technological and economic factorsincluding the global spread of communicationtechnology networks, and the global integration ofproduct and labor markets.

I argue that (1) there is a powerful new alliance among elites and educational consumers for fundamental change; (2) globalization destabilizes the internal processes of school organizations that constrain fundamental change,motivating educators to innovate; (3) globalization erodes the institutional categories of public discourse that hold standard school practice in place, allowing a `shadow institution' of non-standard educational agencies to form; and (4) new synthetic visions of educational institutions in better accord with models of rational action in networked environments, are being formulated; and (5) these are now guiding a convergence of piecemeal innovations towards a fundamentally transformed institutional pattern.

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Waks, L.J. How Globalization Can Cause Fundamental Curriculum Change: An American Perspective. Journal of Educational Change 4, 383–418 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JEDU.0000006068.61419.90

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