A Multiple Streams Analysis of the Impact of Globalization: Case of a Russian Community College

Abstract

The open-door concept is far-reaching as many countries promote access to higher education. Still persistent, however, is the uneven entry of various segments of society often on the margins of participation. While higher education in the United States has had an imprint on higher education across the globe, the US community college has served as a unique prototype (in various forms) that has become integral for educational access and workforce development. Despite cultural differences in higher systems globally, higher education for the average person in many societies often equates to greater economic and occupational mobility, particularly for students from nontraditional groups (Freeman, 1998; Raby, 2001). However, equality of higher education opportunities cannot be easily typified as policies and structures for who gains admission to college in the United States in contrast to other countries is fairly contextual. Even as the community college model of the United States has emerged in other parts of the world such as Australia, Canada, China, and South Africa, for example, comparative examination of education is fraught with ethnocentrism if not properly done (Noah, 1998). Hence, thematic comparisons (Kogan, 1998) of institutional attributes are better suited in contrasting educational systems. The aim of this chapter is to explore characteristics of 2-year colleges in the United States and in the Central-Chernozem Region of Russia. We focus on data related to Natural-Technical College which is located in the city of Voronezh, Voronezh Oblast. Voronezh Oblast is one of six oblasts that form the Central-Chernozem Region, also known as the Central Black Soil or Black Earth Region of Russia. Voronezh is situated approximately 300 miles south of Moscow and the CentralChernozem Region is a part of Central Russia. This chapter endeavors to discuss themes/patterns relative to globalizing behaviors in community colleges, and whether institutions seek to ingrain globalization as one means of equalizing opportunities in a postcommunist Russian context and in a post-civil rights era in the United States. More specifically, similarities and dissimilarities relative to the mission and core functions of US and Russian community colleges are assessed against key globalizing behaviors: (1) homogenization, (2) internationalization, and (3) multiculturalism. Conceptual underpinnings for Chapter 25 A Multiple Streams Analysis of the Impact of Globalization: Case of a Russian Community College