Menand, H. (2013). GLOBALIZATION AND EDUCATION: 21ST CENTURY INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES FOR URBAN TEACHERS. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
In the current knowledge economy, a connection exists between globalization and global macro policies and the micro level effect of these policies at the local classroom level. This study begins by establishing globalization's impact on education at the local level by operationalizing 21st century instruction as a global educational outcome that is actually a macro policy with micro effects. With this framework in place, this study examines the ability of a higher education institution to prepare pre-service teachers to provide 21st century instruction in the public middle school setting. In order to examine the connection between higher education and the public middle school, the study utilizes qualitative research to examine the level of preparation pre-service teachers receive at the higher institution level. The study also utilizes qualitative research to study participants at the public middle school level in order to measure the degree of 21st century instruction in the classroom resulting from their higher education pre-service preparation. The study finds that a connection exists between the university and the public middle school setting. The professor participants clearly conceptualize globalization and 21st century instruction. Additionally, the teacher participants also conceptualize globalization and 21st century instruction. However, a point of diffusion exists between the active and intended curriculum suggesting that conceptualization is not the same as instructional delivery. Finally, the results support the hypothesis that globalization has an impact on classroom instruction at the local level.
