In this article, the contributions of new developments to produce or eliminate class distinctions and social inequalities in a world which is supposed to be globalizing are examined. Then, some critical remarks are made on what kinds of possibilities for emancipation these developments create. These remarks are based on a reevaluation of some leftist and rightist points of view which has been classical ones in sociological literature about the nature and functions of education in industrial society. For this, above all a brief story of education in pre-global industrial or modern era from the points of view of these ideas is reviewed. It is true that in the globalization the internet network and some other conditions of communication and social mobility have brought about the constitution of new possibilities in education. One of the most important aspects of education, however, is still the reproduction of social stratification. Just on the contrary of the widespread ideas education has not been got rid of its ideological function. The modern function of education in crudely producing the national ideology has decreased its importance, but education has also been charged by new ideological functions, and these all produce various com positions that could be stated as relativism, performance sublimation and technocratism, which correspond to the ideology of a free-liberal market.

In this article, I pay particular attention to some of the most important dynamics surrounding globalization in education-the increasingly powerful discourses and polices of neo-liberalism concerning privatization, marketization, performativity, and the enterprising individual. While I demonstrate the truly international effects of neo-liberal policies-and the differential realities they tend to produce in real schools—I also suggest that we cannot simply read off the effects of these policies in the abstract. Their uses and effects are historically contingent. They are at least partly dependent on the balance of forces in each nation and on the histories of the ways progressive tendencies have already been instituted within the state. Yet, I also suggest that any analysis of these discourses and policies must critically examine their class and race and gender effects at the level of who benefits from their specific institutionalizations and from their contradictory functions within real terrains of social power.

Contemporary conditions for education demand qualitative advances in different angles: schooling, its relationship with other competing educational agencies, the intellectual devices we have to understand this new educational reality; and the strategies at local, national, regional and planetary levels in order to intervene in an effective and synchronized way. The global and the postmodern condition share a chronological timing, the celerity of their visibility, the effects produced by technological advances (especially telecommunications), and the dislocation this produces in cultural, economic, political, and military regimes. I present a review of positions on these issues and argue for a non essentialist or non foundationalist outlook. My argument here is that discourse analysis and the linguistic turn undermine the alleged absolute character of Modern values, enabling us to better understand their status and thus to attempt educational devices in tune with the postmodern, global, interconnected, and to imagine better weapons against oppression and injustice.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico and the United States came into force on January 1rst, 1994: it was only one element of the commercial liberalization policies driven by the Mexican government since the mid 80´s. However, it was the most polemic one, because of the very conflictive nature of the historical relationship between the United States and Mexico and because of the slow democratization process in the national political life during the nineties. In consequence, the social, intellectual and strategic discussions on commercial liberalization were mostly centered on the bilateral link with the United States instead of being focused on globalization as a general trend. In this context, NAFTA has served as a vector of change for the Mexican Higher Education system in some areas. The most clear manifestation of its direct and indirect effects on the higher education field was, in one hand, the rise of internationalization policies; and in the other, the development of a complex system for specialized accreditation, mutual recognition of academic diplomas and international certification of professional competencies. In this paper, we have analyzed both the characteristics of the national debate around globalization and its consequences on the educational reform installed in the nineties.

The article focuses on challenges of national governance system of education in a period of economical and cultural globalization. The article discusses how increasing globalization can have effect upon the democracy systems and educational reforms. The rise of new institutional economic framework can be perceived as part of globalization. The new institutions and their rules may change the premises for democracy and governance on national and local level. The article analyses the policy activity going on in some of these institutions directly or indirectly related to education. The possible consequences and impacts on education and educational policy on national and local level are discussed s well.

As the third millennium unfolds, the human species is undergoing one of the most dramatic technological revolutions in history, that is changing everything from the ways that people work, to the ways that they communicate with each other and spend their leisure time. This Great Transformation poses tremendous challenges to educators to rethink their basic tenets, to deploy the new technologies in creative and productive ways, and to restructure schooling to respond constructively and progressively to the technological and social changes that we are now experiencing. I argue that introducing new literacies to empower individuals and groups traditionally excluded would require a reconstruction of education to make it more responsive to the challenges of a democratic and multicultural society. This reconstruction of education would supplement traditional print literacy with media literacy, computer and information literacy, and multiple literacies to read and creatively respond to new multimedia such as the worldwide web.

Globalization provides a new framework for thinking about higher education. Its implications are severe and long-lasting, both for higher education institutions and for their faculty. Even though its impact is still relatively slow, it undermines the two fundamental assumptions behind the modern institution of the university: its nation-state inspiration and its welfare-state support. Globalization adds also two new dimensions which can no longer be ignored in thinking about higher education today: the distrust to the public sector in general and the increasing reliance on corporate culture and economic rationality in new social domains. If changes brought about by globalization processes are as deep as they seem now, its impact on the academy may be tremendous and it may change the nature of the institution beyond recognition.

This article identifies three significant global trends in education, namely, the democratisation of education, the bureaucratisation and decentralisation of education, and the marketization and privatisation of education. The first trend involves the emergence of mass schooling and the rapid expansion of higher education to meet the increasing demand and diverse needs of the populations. To manage this vast expansion, large bureaucracies are set in place, some of which are very centralized and others are more decentralised. There are contrasting trends in educational management with centralized systems taking decentralized initiatives and vice-versa. In order to finance the vast expansion of education, many countries have to seek alternative sources of funding which include community financing and increased financing through user fees. The article also examines how these trends have been modified and adapted to suit the local contexts in different countries, with specific reference to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The paper outlines the dimensions of globalization, and explores the implications in practice through the example of transnational education, an important new trend in the globalization of education. Key issues discussed are: The role of the state; the impact on the local system; assuring quality and standards; protecting the rights of students; and fostering the quality of internationalization, especially in its non-commercial aspects. The discussion is illustrated with examples of activities, regulations and procedures from Southeast Asia and Australia, and quality assurance instruments devised by supranational organisations including UNESCO and the OECD. The paper concludes that educationists have a responsibility to identify the key issues for education in new trends, and to formulate methods for maximising the benefits of globalization while minimizing its potential negative impacts.

Globalisation cannot be regarded simply as a higher form of internationalisation; it is a turbulent phenomenon with a tendency to undermine a comparatively stable world-order based on sovereign nation states. Nor can globalisation be regarded as simply the triumph of the American imperium or of free-market capitalism; it also embraces global resistance to western and market ideologies. The University, despite its internationalist and universalistic rhetoric, is a creature of the nation state and a public institution. As such its future is fundamentally challenged by globalisation, whether of the free-market right or the resistance of the left. The University will either adapt to the new environment of globalisation or be replaced by new kinds of knowledge organisation.

Globalisation generally refers to the complex set of processes resulting in the greater interconnectedness of the world forged by an increasingly integrated global economy and the explosion of worldwide telecommunications. It has, and inevitably will exert, enormous economic, social, cultural, and political influences including an evident ascendancy of market forces at all levels. Higher education has not been insulated from globalisation pressures. However the impact of globalisation is at least partly determined by institutional responses, which ideally should mirror local, regional, and national conditions and contexts. Institutional responses can both reproduce and resist the global in day-to day life. There is no single generally recognised institutional strategy or process for responding to globalisation. The argument put here is that universities should respond actively, not passively, and on a basis of their content. .

Technological advancements that are directly related to individual's life and urge his initiative of choice, willingly or unwillingly, arouse psychological reactions. Technophobia is one of these reactions and it generally arouses in the cases of problems faced while adapting new technology. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of fear of technology among 1108 teacher candidates with respect to various variables. The participants were from several departments in Educational Faculty at Anadolu University. Data were collected by using a personal information questionnaire and a standardized measure of technophobia. First, the psychometric properties of the Technophobia Scale were investigated. Second, significant differences were found between the gender and socio-economic status of the subjects and their technophobia levels.

The presentation of social issues and the approaches adopted in primary-level Turkish and English social studies textbooks is examined. Turkish (Social Studies 1-3) and English (Key Stage 1-2) textbooks and educational materials are compared. Upon the examination of the Turkish textbooks, it is clear that they cover a series of recommendations on what the decent/good behaviour is and what the truths of social life are. They seem to be written in the form of manuals on decent behaviour. In the English textbooks, however, the social issues are presented in the form of stories, which depicts socially unacceptable behaviours as well as the acceptable ones. The story-based citizenship teaching approach provides opportunities for pupils to involve actively in the process of the evaluation of the story from ethical, cognitive, and empathetic dimensions. As a result, it is suggested that Turkish textbooks may cover topics that facilitate student participation and evaluation of the issues.

One of the basic missions of schools is helping the development of a healthy personality of their students. Hence, all school personal should be knowledgeable about student psychology because students are at the center of education at schools. All other elements are there to help them develop healthy personalities. According to the existentialist-humanistic approaches, purposes of education include students' becoming free individuals; holding the responsibility of their existence; making choices and decisions; developing strong personalities; making plans for themselves; and acting toward their own development. Determining to what extent schools are achieving these missions carries a critical importance at this point. The present study focused on the development of such an inventory that could be used in the investigation of the attitudes of superintendents, principals, and teachers toward the process of educational administration in the framework of existential approaches.