Russian society can benefit from the kind of simplified, packaged education that has developed in many countries, since it is a quick way to bring a mass of students to a certain level of competency. But it is not a good basis for creating the kind of specialists and creative thinkers that Russia will need to succeed in the coming years. [This…

The geography of trade in services is becoming increasingly important for a developing country such as Malaysia. But, present discussion on trade in education services, in particular, higher education and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in Malaysia is rather limited and takes a short-term perspective. This is especially so with…

Background/Context: This essay is part of a special issue that emerges from a year-long faculty seminar at Teachers College, Columbia University. The seminar's purpose has been to examine in fresh terms the nexus of globalization, education, and citizenship. Participants come from diverse fields of research and practice, among them art education,…

How has the globalization of technology contributed to the globalization of the war against the Enlightenment liberal humanism of Western civilization--in particular, to the globalization of the war between religion and science--and with what problematic moral, cultural, and spiritual consequences? Liberal-humanist and Heideggerian perspectives on…

Much educational research on globalization aims to prepare students to be successful citizens in a global society. We propose a set of three concepts, drawing on systems theory (Nassehi, Stichweh) and theories of the subject (Butler, Foucault), to think the global which enables educational research to step back from hegemonic discourses and…

The World Health Organisation estimates that around 600 million people or 10% of the world's population is disabled, with more than 80% concentrated in the global South. In spite of this, majority world disability remains stranded on the peripheries of development policy, research and programmes, and virtually excluded from the Western-centric…

This study tested cross cultural measurement equivalence of three identity constructs by testing the factor invariance among participants from four nations. Data from measures of identity exploration, commitment, and distress were collected from university students in Mainland China (n = 85), Taiwan (n = 117), Japan (n = 117), and the United…

The development of higher vocational education in China embodies a global trend of vocationalism that values skills and skilled workers, which is opposite, in some ways, to the Confucian tradition in Chinese education that values theoretical knowledge related to good governance. As the cultural trend supporting the development of higher vocational…

According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the world's top 500 universities are located in only 38 countries, with the USA alone having 157 of them. This article investigates the socioeconomic determinants of the wide performance gap between countries, and whether the USA's dominance is largely due to its economic power. A large…

Encouraged by transnational organisations, curriculum policy-makers in the UK have called for curricula in schools and higher education to include a global dimension and education for global citizenship that will prepare students for life in a global society and work in a global economy. We argue that this call is rhetorically operating as a…

Within the United States, defining the meaning of a degree and comparing the quality of institutions on a common set of metrics is no simple matter. In fact, there is no common definition of a US college degree beyond a general consensus that an undergraduate degree generally includes about 120 credits and consists of a general education…

This paper discusses Critical Theory, a model of theorizing in the field of the political sociology of education. We argue for a "reimagined" Critical Theory to herald an empowering, liberatory education that fosters curiosity and critical thinking, and a means for successful bottom-up, top-down political engagement. We present arguments…

This paper analyzes the case of Porto Alegre, Brazil as a counter-hegemonic global city. Porto Alegre is a city with no particular relevance to neoliberal globalization that, nevertheless, was launched to a global scale by transformations in local governance. New mechanisms of deliberative democracy captured the attention of social actors…

This article examines "caring" in the context of radical education reform in one Canadian province and school district. Historical provincial policy documents set the context for the district analysis. Drawing on our experiences both as participants and researchers, we use theories of care, critical policy, and the tools of critical…

This article reviews recent literature in educational administration that supports the argument that leadership matters. School principals exert influence on teachers, who in turn affect student achievement. There is a need for an international approach both to replicate large studies and to use a narrative approach to study leaders in their…