“International Education” What's in a Name?

Abstract

Not far from my home is a public elementary school that closed for a thorough remodeling and then re-opened amid fanfare with in its new name and dual language immersion as its focus. Several years later, middle school nearby added to its name, too, with perspective as its focus. Across town, a blighted city high school was divided into small schools, and one of them became a studies academy. Two other city high schools have added Baccalaureate. These are not unusual events. A new movement--actually a new wave of an old movement--is under way in schools across country. This movement consists of newly internationalized public schools along with state coalitions for international education, an annual Education Week co-sponsored by U.S. Departments of State and Education, an array of language initiatives, Goldman Sachs Foundation's awards for exemplary schools, and more. Phrases like the global economy, increasingly interconnected world, and citizens are rolling off many tongues. Audiences hear these words and nod their heads knowingly. International appears to be new common sense. But what does it mean? What forms is it taking, and what work is it doing? I have peered into current wave from three angles: observing a handful of public schools that have transformed themselves into schools, interviewing movement activists who are helping to shape them, and examining government and foundation initiatives. NATIONAL SECURITY National security is justification for new international education movement. To those who assumed that world mindedness, global citizenship, intercultural understanding, or something of that sort was defining and directing movement, this may come as a surprise. Today's wave is dominated by nationalism. education as a national security initiative has two key dimensions: economic and military. The economic way to secure nation is to improve nation's economic competitiveness with other nations--maintaining it or regaining it if it already has been lost. The military way is to strengthen nation's armed forces, including its intelligence communities. ECONOMIC SECURITY U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings makes economic argument for international education. Through No Child Left Behind Act, we are committed to having every child in United States learn and succeed in our global (1) She links school reform directly to success in today's world and defines that success in economic terms; school reform is a technology for accomplishing that goal. The link is also expressed in a burgeoning number of state reports. For example, according to North Carolina in World: Increasing Student Knowledge and Skills About World, Improving international education is about providing students best opportunity for success in emerging workforce. (2) Similarly, Asia Society's annual conference brings together high-level delegates from two dozen states ... to address a significant problem in American education: wide gap between growing economic and strategic importance of Asia and other world regions to United States, and U.S. students' limited knowledge about world outside our borders. (3) In each of these, international education is intended to address key problem posed by globalization: defense of nation's competitive edge in new worldwide economy. (4) Schools are solution. Only schools can produce enterprising individuals who will be successful in this flat new world. (5) This is calculus of neoliberalism (free-market fundamentalism), with its strategies of privatization, entrepreneurs, and free-trade agreements. …