Suzanne Majhanovich

Neo-liberalism, globalization, language policy and practice issues in the Asia-Pacific region

By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the English language had become the de facto lingua franca of the modern world. It is the most popular second or foreign language studied, such that now there are more people who have learned English as a second language and speak it with some competence than there are native English speakers. But why has English gained such prominence? What effect does this have on the globalized world? In this paper we argue that the importance of English in many ways promotes a neo-colonialism and certainly abets the neo-liberal ideals of encouraging a market economy. We present a series of cases in the Asia-Pacific region to illustrate dimensions of English as the hegemonic language and the implications of this for education policy and practice as examined in comparative education research.

English as a Tool of Neo-Colonialism and Globalization in Asian Contexts

At the beginning of the 21st Century, the English language is enjoying unprecedented status (Crystal, 2003). Some cases in point: at any given international conference, the language of communication will probably be English, perhaps with some papers in the local language with simultaneous translation; more and more universities world wide are offering some of their programs—particularly in business studies in English; policy documents world-wide are often written in English: international science journals increasingly publish in English.

Globalization, Education Reforms and Immigrant Students in Canada

In 1988 the Premier of the province of Ontario commissioned a report that signaled changes ahead in provincial education. The report was entitled People and Skills in the New Global Economy (1990) and was supposed to furnish a picture of the status of education in Canada, and more specifically in its most populous province, Ontario. Moreover, the Premier wished to provide a blueprint for changes in education geared to preparing citizens of Ontario to be active members in the global economy. The document was prepared by the Premier’s Council of Advisers, the majority of whom (20 out of 34) came from the business sector. The Government was represented by the Minister of Education, Skills Development and Colleges and Universities, the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Economics and Provincial Treasurer, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology, but the education sector included only two university presidents, a president of a community college, a professor who was also chair of the Science Council of Canada, and one school trustee. Considering that the plan produced would set into motion far-reaching changes in education and training in the province, the Council was remarkable for the absence of representation from the education community. To be fair, the final report does acknowledge input from professors at several universities and one member of the Toronto Board of Education. Given the make-up of the Council, it is not surprising that the substance of the report reflected a business mentality and what in vernacular terms is called “Bizspeak.” Headings such as “Higher-Value-Added Restructuring,” “The Drivers of Skills Change,” “The Training Imperative,” “Labour Force Displacement and Adjustment” to cite a few convey the tenor of the document. The concern with testscores of Ontario students in international assessments, drop-out rates, and standards, and the need to raise them are all key topics which for some time now have been identified with a right-wing agenda as Aronowitz and Giroux (1985, 1993) and Apple (1999, 2001) and others have made very clear.

Marching on a Long Road: A Review of the Effectiveness of the Mother-Tongue Education Policy in Post-Colonial Hong Kong.

This paper reports a study of the effectiveness of the mandatory mother-tongue education policy in post-colonial Hong Kong. Special attention has been placed on students’ academic achievement before and after the policy implementation in 1998 in order to find out if students learn better through their mother tongue without sacrificing their knowledge of the English language. A content analysis has been conducted on the relevant policy documents, and students’ public examination results have been gathered to serve as a policy-effectiveness indicator. Findings reveal that mother-tongue education is beneficial to students’ learning in some subjects, especially the language-intensive ones. However, students’ performance in English learning has been adversely affected by the policy. We end with suggestions in response to the recently announced finetuning arrangements of the mother-tongue education policy.

The Comparative and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC)

The Comparative and International Education Society of Canada/Societe canadienne d’education comparee et internationale (CIESC/SCECI) was established on 5 June 1967. As an educational society in an officially-bilingual country, the society from the outset has been a bilingual organisation with its Constitution in both English and French. Conference papers may be in either language, and the society’s journal also publishes in both English and French. In 1970 the 1 World Congress of Comparative Education Societies was held in Ottawa; and in 1989 the CIESC hosted the 7 World Congress in Montreal. This chapter presents a history of the development of the CIESC, touching on its context and epistemological foundations. The society’s characteristics are discussed and its activities are presented. The foci include CIESC members’ international leadership, the journal, awards, and academic endeavours. The concluding section comments on challenges and future directions.

Building Democracy through Education on Diversity

In our globalized world, the many facets of diversity are ever more in evidence. Issues of race, class, ethnicity, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation and physical disability are manifestations of diversity that have often evoked negative or even violent reactions in society. And yet, any society that deems itself democratic needs to come to terms with diversity in open, informed and accepting ways. Education has an important role to play in developing socially aware, democratic citizens. The ten chapters in this volume contributed by authors from around the world address some of the tensions inherent in a diverse society and provide examples and recommendations for addressing the challenges of diversity in an equitable and democratic way. Three major themes are considered: developing a pedagogy for diversity; issues of gender and race in democratic education; and the transformative role of the arts in democratic education on diversity.

Introduction: Global Issues

The twelve chapters in this volume are organized into five loosely geographic sections, each reflecting particular ways in which local, group, and indigenous identities have been affected by a dominant discourse.

How the English Language Contributes to Sustaining the Neoliberal Agenda

By 2008 when it appeared as if the American and European markets would crash and that the world was on the verge of an economic depression, economists from both the left and right began to proclaim the end of neoliberalism, or at least of some of its basic features exemplified by, for example, the Washington Consensus.

Language learning to support active social inclusion: Issues and challenges for lifelong learning

The European Union (EU) currently comprises 28 member countries with 24 official languages. However, there are actually many more minority language groups within various nations resulting in even greater diversity. The recent influx of large numbers of migrants from Africa and the Middle East, most of whom are arriving without a working knowledge of any of the official European languages, further complicates the matter. Consequently, proficiency in one or more of the languages spoken in Europe, particularly the official languages, is a priority both in policies and practices. In this ethnically highly diverse context, it is important to foster social inclusion and active citizen participation if the European Union is to function democratically in a peaceful fashion, and be economically successful. Since language is related to access to democratic processes, a democratic language policy is essential (INCLUDE 2014). Indeed, over the past two and a half decades, several policies have been developed which relate to languages in the EU. These include the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (CoE 1992) and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU 2000), which in clause 3 (Equality) prohibits discrimination on the basis of (among other factors) linguistic diversity. Section 2 of the Treaty on European Union (EU 2012) deals with language rights and recommends that every European citizen should learn two

Effects of Globalization on Education Systems and Development

With its comprehensive coverage and quality this provocative book is concerned with the future of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. By providing in-depth analysis of the economic, social and educational challenges of emerging states it offers an alternative roadmap to development. The authors in this collection substantiate the notion that emerging states often do not participate in policy choices related to their development when faced with universalization of curriculum and internationalization of education. The authors make explicit the direct and indirect effects of globalization on educational systems, social equity, and the path of development. In demonstrating the impact of neoliberalism or market-based reforms on the developing world, the authors show that education without human rights is vulnerable to negative forces of globalization and internationalization. The message of the book is quite pessimistic about possibilities to widen the economic space or increase freedom, unless development cooperation is made possible by “Helping People Help Themselves” as suggested by David Ellerman. The authors note that in the past, the issue of emerging states as an appendage to the world economy was a fundamental question related to colonialism, but now has become a question of imperialism which needs to be examined when considering the current patterns of development.