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Students as change partners: A proposal for educational change in the age of globalization

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Abstract

This essay builds on the concept of students as partners in change proposed in The Fourth Way: The Inspiring Future for Educational Change by Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley (2009) and points out why the current movement toward curriculum standardization and homogenization is counterproductive in preparing students to become competent citizens for the globalized world. Instead, the author suggests that education systems and schools should focus on students as the driving force of educational change. To do so, we need to view students as global entrepreneurs in the sense that they need to become owners of their own learning and develop a globally-oriented entrepreneurial spirit.

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Correspondence to Yong Zhao.

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Zhao, Y. Students as change partners: A proposal for educational change in the age of globalization. J Educ Change 12, 267–279 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-011-9159-9

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