Transnational education: An inestimable boon for peripheral countries

Globalization is both a process and a theory. Roland Robertson, with whom globalization theory is most closely associated, views globalization as an accelerated compression of the contemporary world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a singular entity.  As the major formal agency for conveying knowledge, the school features prominently in the process and theory of globalization.  In globalization, it is not simply the ties of economic exchange and political agreement that bind nations and societies, but also the shared consciousness of being part of a global system. That consciousness is conveyed through ever larger transnational movements of people and an array of different media, but most systematically through formal education. The inexorable transformation of consciousness brought on by globalization alters the content and contours of education, as schools take on an increasingly important role in the process.

The hallmark of a globalized world is the creation of an international rhetoric that potentially makes the world and its nations borderless. With this end in mind, such rhetoric has been used to translate the nations’ connectedness into more possibilities and opportunities in the fields of economic trade, political affairs, social welfare, human migration and mobility, even information technology. One of the structures that obtained the benefit of internationalization is the educational system. As internationalization emerged and flourished, certain reforms in the landscape of educational institutions has been instituted in order to respond to the needs and practices of the global framework. Their curricula are now subject to the compelling pressures of contextual relevance such as ensuring culturally inclusive teaching and learning practices.

The world became more characterized by experiences and issues concerning student and scholar diaspora, academic cooperation and joint academic pursuits between institutions. As a consequence, this has become an integral component to the discussion among nations to participate in the global movement and the changes that educational systems must adhere to. In this regard, transnational education has been introduced. Sometimes called offshore or cross-border education, this system needs to be integrated in the each of the country’s policies and processes. As a result, more and more universities have integrated transnational education to their core of their educational missions.

Consuming transnational education has been largely nuanced by the opportunity to gain and international degrees which is particularly known for its reputation. Some countries have patronized the system because they believed in the quality of the academic activities that promote global competitiveness and access to more modern and outsourced information technology. Hence, the observable benefits to the recipient countries include the importing of knowledge brought about by the export of the educational programs. To legitimize these benefits, countries have seen this as a matter of national education policy by recognizing their governments to have regulated and controlled the mechanisms that govern them.

Because of the plethora of people who have participated in these global movements, this sparked interest and fascination to the nature, experiences and policy outlooks of transnational education. Research regarding transnational education has been conducted to check students’ satisfaction, relationship management, perceived reputation and trust and identification.

Jhudde Romar P. Berame

International Studies student, USJ-R