Global Ideas
Nov 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Paul W. Erickson
Do school designs support global education reform initiatives?
The global impact of competition in education is prevalent. Nations are advancing education reform through government policy to achieve learning outcomes relevant to new economies, support high-quality learning environments, and promote learning readiness with early-childhood education. Developing nations are bringing up a new generation of well-educated students to compete globally.
Do school designs support global education-reform initiatives? Advancing nations seek U.S. assistance to design facilities that support education reform. Just as the U.S. economy has served as a model for other nations to emulate, so is the pattern with school design. Economic and development organizations provide another perspective, placing the United States 18th in high school graduation rates among 36 nations examined. U.S. math and science test scores for 15-year-olds have dropped the past three years. Still, school designs in the United States are viewed by the world as supporting and enhancing global education reform.
Our children will graduate into a world very different from today. Rapidly changing economies, technologies and societies are connecting the world more than ever. New skill sets in global knowledge are needed that go beyond math, reading and science basics. Governments, businesses and education institutions understand the need for global competency. U.S. education is resilient, flexible and adaptable; likewise forward-thinking school districts desire adaptable and flexible facilities.
International awareness
Developing countries are advancing in performance, especially in primary and secondary education; parents, teachers and communities emphasize education as the pathway to a better life. Nations are re-evaluating education policies and curricula to compete globally, and staff development places more emphasis on global content. Higher-education mobility has become the product of global emphasis in primary and secondary education. The number of mobile students has risen dramatically in the early 21
Nations recognize long-term benefits of education and look internationally to benchmark education systems and policy changes. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) enables nations to compare performance of education systems worldwide.
In the 20th century, a highly qualified U.S. workforce transformed the nation into the dominant world economy. Now, most industrialized countries have caught up with U.S. high school graduation rates. For example, South Korea went from minimal ranking to obtaining the highest school graduation rates in the world. As U.S. student enrollment subsides, the workforce will shrink while other nations experience enrollment growth and expand their education systems and workforce.
Performance is not simply a matter of money. It is based on strategies supporting high standards, accountability and autonomy, strengthened teacher professionalism and personalized learning. It is reminiscent of the 1996 “Breaking Ranks” themes from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). That report prescribed personalization, coherency, time and organization, technology, professional development and leadership as necessary shifts to advance teaching for the 21st century.
The knowledge economy
An obvious catalyst for education reform is information technology. E-learning strategies include teacher training, online curricular and learning portals, national communications programs connecting remote communities through fiber optics, and modernization of learning processes to encourage innovation and creativity. Creating computer labs and mobile access portals is a straightforward strategy to embed technology into new learning approaches. New school designs with voice, data, video systems and cabling or wireless infrastructure support e-learning. Schoolwide paging/intercom communications and electronic security systems help create safe learning environments. Students learning new technologies acquire information, perform research and communicate globally as required in a knowledge economy. Once e-learning is initiated, a learning paradigm shift occurs.
The pedagogical paradigm moves from “teacher-controlled instruction” to “student-centered learning,” and education reform begins: student-centered learning with diverse teaching methods in lieu of teacher-delivered instruction; specified learning outcomes with time variables in lieu of specified time with varied learning; discovery and understanding in lieu of knowledge transfer; choice, experimentation and risk assessment in lieu of a prescribed approach.
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
