Arab Educational Information Network

An array of factors, such as: new communication and computer technologies, the movement to open market economies, the free movement of technologies and capital across borders, the spread of democracy, the demand for accountability and the increasing connectedness among nations have catalyzed change across social, political and economic systems worldwide. These changes have drawn attention to the need for educating students to live and work in a new global environment. Developing global education curricula will require that educators draw on perspectives from other cultures rather than relying on a narrow national world view. In this study, the researchers report on Ege University School of Agriculture students’ perspectives on globalization and the related content for developing curricula. Students were classified as neutral, pessimistic and optimistic. A majority of the students were classified as pessimists and optimists, with a slight majority classified as pessimistic in their view on globalization. The data indicated that students’ perceptions concerning globalization largely mirror the perception of the two schools of thought described in the literature as the pessimistic view and the optimistic view. In general, students believed that curricula content that foster immersion in a foreign culture are critical for the success of global studies curricula. (Published abstract)