Globalization Theory and Policy Implications for Community College Leaders

Abstract

Just as the long historical process of globalization affects the operating environments of emerging community colleges around the world, so too does it impact colleges in all parts of the United States. College leaders in societies throughout the world have witnessed shifts in manufacturing to service to knowledge-based economies, cultural and linguistic shifts in service populations, and the pace of technology advance to the point where knowledge emerges not in lines and clean facts, but in swirls of new information, ideas, and possibilities. As a result, these external influences have a dramatic effect on the leadership climate in community colleges, presenting unusual challenges and decision-making scenarios. This chapter utilizes the term “college leader” without regard to national or state systems, but in doing so is referring to community-based, pre-baccalaureate, higher education, and public college leaders. Other chapters in this book offer details on neighbors much “nearer” than many would have realized even a decade ago, representing potential partners, learners, and even our very teachers in this expanding global learning environment. The policy and original data presented here indicate how the demands of college leadership have intensified just as globalization has intensified through both geopolitical power shifts (be it fall of Soviet bloc or rise of Islamic fundamentalism) and telecommunications and computer technologies. Second, the chapter outlines policy considerations for leaders to make the most of the emerging global learning and service environment. Community and educational leaders can no longer operate on a strictly local, or internal level, as so many influences on both learners and economic stability depend on the continuous and open exchange of information and other resources. The hope is that readers will connect the applicable cases in this book with the larger, often global, challenges we face within our state, provincial, national, and transnational systems. In order to do that, a brief description of the many ways globalization manifests its influences is necessary. As a result of presenting the above, the concluding analysis reveals policy considerations for community college leaders in this emerging global service area. Chapter 33 Globalization Theory and Policy Implications for Community College Leaders