Globalisation and Education

Globalisation — the increasing interconnectedness of societies, economies, and cultures across the world — has had a profound impact on education systems worldwide. The AQA specification requires you to understand how globalisation shapes education policy, how international comparisons influence national education systems, and how the processes of marketisation and privatisation are connected to global economic forces. This topic links the sociology of education to broader debates about neoliberalism, the role of the state, and the purpose of education in a globalised world.

Key Definition: Globalisation refers to the growing interconnectedness of societies through the movement of goods, capital, people, information, and ideas across national boundaries. In education, it manifests through international testing regimes, policy borrowing, the involvement of multinational corporations, and the pressure to produce internationally competitive workers.

---

Global Education Policy and International Comparisons

PISA Rankings and Their Influence

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), has become one of the most influential forces in global education policy. Every three years since 2000, PISA tests 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics, and science across approximately 80 countries. The results are published as international league tables, which rank countries by the performance of their pupils.

PISA has been hugely influential in shaping education policy. When the UK's PISA rankings declined in the 2000s, this was used to justify major policy reforms, including the introduction of the EBacc, increased testing, and the expansion of academies and free schools. Countries that perform well in PISA — such as Finland, Singapore, South Korea, Shanghai (China), and Estonia — are held up as models to emulate.

However, the influence of PISA has been widely criticised:

• Goldstein (2004) argued that PISA rankings oversimplify complex educational systems. Small differences in scores can produce large differences in rankings, creating a misleading impression of educational quality.
• Alexander (2012) pointed out that PISA only measures a narrow range of cognitive skills in three subjects. It does not assess creativity, social skills, critical thinking, or emotional development — aspects of education that many educators consider equally important.
• Countries that top the PISA rankings (e.g., South Korea, China) often achieve high scores through intensive testing regimes and long school hours, which have been associated with high levels of student stress, mental health problems, and even suicide. The assumption that high PISA scores equal good education is therefore questionable.
• Sellar and Lingard (2013) argue that PISA has created a "global education policy field" — a space in which national education policies are judged against international benchmarks, regardless of local context, culture, or priorities.

Policy Borrowing

One of the consequences of PISA and other international comparisons is policy borrowing — the practice of adopting educational policies from other countries. For example:

• The UK's free schools programme was inspired by the Swedish model.
• England's emphasis on phonics teaching was influenced by research from the USA and Australia.
• Interest in "mastery" approaches to mathematics has been driven by the success of Singapore and Shanghai in PISA mathematics.

Phillips and Ochs (2003) warn that policy borrowing is often simplistic — policies that work in one cultural, economic, and social context may not transfer successfully to another. The success of Finnish education, for example, is linked to its specific social conditions (low inequality, high social trust, a highly respected teaching profession), which cannot simply be replicated through policy changes in the UK.

---

Human Capital Theory

Key Definition: Human capital theory is the idea that investment in education and training increases the productive capacity of individuals and the economy as a whole. Education is valued primarily for its contribution to economic growth and international competitiveness.

Human capital theory, associated with economists such as Schultz (1961) and Becker (1964), underpins much of the global education policy agenda. From this perspective, the purpose of education is to produce skilled, productive workers who can contribute to economic growth and help the nation compete in the global economy.

Governments that adopt human capital theory tend to prioritise:

• STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)
• Testing and accountability to ensure "standards"
• Vocational training and apprenticeships
• University expansion to increase the supply of graduates

Critique:

• Marxists argue that human capital theory reduces education to a servant of capitalism, ignoring its potential role in personal development, critical thinking, and social justice.
• Brown, Lauder, and Ashton (2011) argue that the global expansion of higher education has created an "opportunity trap" — more people have degrees, but the number of high-quality jobs has not increased proportionally. This leads to credential inflation (degrees are worth less) and an intensification of competition that benefits those with the most cultural and economic capital.
• Human capital theory assumes a direct relationship between education and economic success, but this relationship is complicated by factors such as social class, discrimination, and the structure of the labour market.

---

Neoliberalism in Education

Key Definition: Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free markets, privatisation, deregulation, reduced state intervention, and individual responsibility. In education, neoliberalism manifests through marketisation, competition between schools, parental choice, accountability through testing, and the increasing involvement of the private sector.

The global spread of neoliberal education policies represents one of the most significant consequences of globalisation for education. Ball (2012) argues that neoliberalism has become the dominant ideology shaping education policy worldwide, promoted by international organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the OECD.

Key features of neoliberal education policy: