culture and education essay

What you need to know about culture and arts education

Despite the obvious essential linkages between culture and education, they are still not sufficiently integrated into education policies and school curricula in many countries globally. These two fields are often considered as separate policy entities and trajectories. Culture and arts education, the result of the two complementary ecosystems, has the potential to bridge this gap.

UNESCO convened the World Conference on Culture and Arts Education in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 13 to 15 February 2024 where the first-ever global framework in this area was adopted. Here is what you need to know about this essential issue. 

Why is culture and arts education essential?

Learners engaged in culture and arts education have better academic and non-academic learning outcomes.  Engagement in various art forms , such as music, dance, and visual arts, can enhance academic achievements, reading skills, creative and critical thinking, agility and collaboration skills. Engagement in such education also correlates with improved attendance, stress reduction, resilience, perseverance, and classroom behaviours.

Culture and arts education expands the essence of learning and makes it fun by going beyond classrooms and traditional educational approaches from lifelong learning, to technical and vocational education and training (TVET).  The theatre stage can be a learning space, NFT art can be a promising career, and indigenous ways of knowing and being can, and should, find their way in the curriculum.

Culture and arts education makes learning meaningful by connecting rural with urban, local with global. It plays a crucial role in valorizing and preserving one’s own culture, heritage and traditions while at the same time reflecting on them in the modern world, in the digital era, understanding everyone’s contribution and uniqueness. 

What are the forms culture and arts education can take?

Culture and arts education encompasses learning about, in and through culture and the arts. Therefore, it can occur across subjects, at all levels of education and in various settings. For example, this process is no longer confined to classrooms: museums, art galleries, libraries and cultural heritage sites are considered equal places of learning, whereas artists, cultural professionals and practitioners play an essential role in transmitting knowledge. Culture and arts education engages learners with built and natural heritage, living expressions, and the cultural and creative industries, promoting intercultural dialogue and linguistic diversity, both online and offline.

By incorporating indigenous knowledge and practices, arts education validates and enlivens diverse cultural perspectives. In Indonesia, school students on Java Island can learn more about their heritage from arts education programmes that familiarize them with the traditional art of shadow puppet storytelling called  wayang kulit , from UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. 

How can culture and arts education build skills for the future?

Culture and arts education opens up new employment opportunities.  50 million jobs are created by cultural and creative industries worldwide, and more young people are now employed in the sector than in any other economic activity. While not its primary focus,  culture and arts education cultivates skills such as observation, collaboration, and reflection that are conducive to creativity and adaptability, which are increasingly valued in the modern job market. 

It also builds vital socio-emotional skills to thrive in the world of tomorrow. Research shows that such education fosters compassion for others and empathy. It allows learners to introspect, take different perspectives and develop different ways of understanding the world. Participation in arts activities has also been linked to higher civic engagement, social tolerance, and respectful behaviours towards diversity. 

How can culture and arts education contribute to peace and sustainability?

By connecting local with global and fostering dialogue among generations and cultures, culture and arts education can contribute to peaceful, just, inclusive and sustainable societies. It also offers transformative avenues for reimagining ways of living harmoniously with the earth and preserving social cohesion, which is paramount during times of interrelated global challenges, such as social isolation or environmental crises. For example, freely accessible digitized archives of the leading museums helped learners in different parts of the world connect with other cultures and enrich their learning experiences.

How does arts education address socioeconomic disparities in education?

Integrating culture and arts education into education systems  can help bridge the achievement gap between higher and lower-income students. Research indicates that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who engage in arts education demonstrate higher academic performance, graduation rates, and motivation to pursue further education.

Culture and arts education can unveil new opportunities and career paths for learners of all ages. For example, technical and vocational education and training in arts and crafts could be a critical social lift, opening new employment opportunities in the context of persisting social inequalities and crises. For example,  UNESCO’s Transcultura program me awards scholarships to young cultural professionals in 17 countries so that they can gain new skills and pursue careers in cultural and creative industries. 

What is the role of UNESCO?

Since its creation, UNESCO has been championing major forward-looking policy transformation processes in culture and education, reaffirming them as global public goods at the forefront of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Some of the key highlights include the UNESCO  MONDIACULT Conference, initiatives within the  Transforming Education Summit and the revision of  the Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.

As a logical next step after the adoption of the 2006 Lisbon Road Map on Arts Education and the 2010 Seoul Agenda, UNESCO convened the  World Conference on Culture and Arts Education to mobilize political commitment around culture and arts education as a powerful lever to transform learning and shape critical skills for future generations. 

As a result of the Conference, UNESCO Member States adopted the new UNESCO Framework on Culture and Arts Education . This guidance document provides a set of principles all stakeholders can follow for shaping and further institutionalizing culture and arts education. It outlines specific goals such education should pursue and concrete dimensions where synergetic links between culture and education should be fostered for the benefit of all learners.

• World Conference on Culture and Arts Education  
• UNESCO’s work on  Culture and Education  

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Culture and Education

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• Description
• Aims and Scope
• Editorial Board
• Abstracting / Indexing
• Submission Guidelines

Culture and Education (C&E) is a peer-reviewed journal publishing articles that explore the ways culture and education shape human development. With all respect to other theoretical approaches, C&E takes the cultural-historical approach originated (but not limited to) in works of Vygotsky, Luria and Leontiev as a theoretical stance. The cultural-historical approach taken in the journal views culture not only as the realm of human customs, values and beliefs, but also as a variety of historically rooted forms of being human; complex and dynamic forms of human production through different types of activity. Education is seen as including both formal and informal institutions and a variety of cultural practices and activity systems (school/preschool education, play pedagogy, indigenous education, health education, family education, professional education, special education, etc.). Education is both universal, and at the same time it is context-specific. Cultural practices involving creativity and social interactions are similarly both universal and specific. Educational practices are by definition cultural practices, and the journal particularly welcomes studies that link culture, education, and human development.

Cultura y Educación (C&E) es una revista de artículos revisados por pares que publica artículos que exploran las vías por las que la cultura y la educación dan forma al desarrollo humano. El enfoque histórico-cultural de la revista contempla la cultura no solo como el dominio de las costumbres, valores y creencias humanos, sino también como una variedad de formas de lo humano históricamente arraigadas; formas complejas y dinámicas de producciones humanas con base en distintos tipos de actividades. En esta visión, la educación incluye tanto instituciones formales e informales como una variedad de prácticas culturales y sistemas de actividad (educación escolar/preescolar, pedagogía del juego, educación indígena, educación para la salud, educación familiar, educación profesional, educación especial, etc.). La educación es al mismo tiempo universal y específica del contexto. Las prácticas culturales, incluyendo la creatividad y las interacciones sociales, son igualmente universales y específicas. Las prácticas educativas son por definición prácticas culturales, y la revista acogerá con particular interés aquellos estudios que vinculen cultura, educación, y desarrollo humano.

• Clarivate Analytics: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)

Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Culture and Education

Please note: the journal is undergoing a publisher transition, and the editorial team has made the decision to close its submission site ( https://www.editorialmanager.com/rcye ) to any new submissions until the transition process is finished (we estimate between 4-6 weeks). For updates regarding the opening of the new submission site, or for any queries related to new submissions, please send an email to  [email protected] .

This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://www.editorialmanager.com/rcye to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

Sage disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Culture and Education will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Culture and Education will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system.Authors should not post an updated version of their paper to a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the Journal. If your paper is accepted, you will need to contact the preprint server to ensure the final published article link is attached to your preprint. Learn more about our preprint policy here .

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.

• What do we publish? 1.1 Aims & Scope 1.2 Article types 1.3 Writing your paper
• Editorial policies 2.1 Peer review policy 2.2 Authorship 2.3 Acknowledgements 2.4 Funding 2.5  Declaration of conflicting interests 2.6  Research ethics and patient consent 2.7  Research data
• Publishing policies 3.1 Publication ethics 3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement 3.3 Open access and author archiving
• Preparing your manuscript 4.1 Formatting 4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics 4.3 Identifiable information 4.4 Supplemental material 4.5 Reference style 4.6 English language editing services
• Submitting your manuscript 5.1 ORCID 5.2 Information required for completing your submission 5.3 Permissions
• On acceptance and publication 6.1 SAGE Production 6.2 Online First publication 6.3 Access to your published article 6.4 Promoting your article
• Further information 7.1 Appealing the publication decision

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to Culture and Education, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope:

Culture and Education (C&E) is a peer-reviewed journal publishing articles that explore the ways culture and education shape human development. The cultural-historical approach taken in the journal views culture not only as the realm of human customs, values and beliefs, but also as a variety of historically rooted forms of being human; complex and dynamic forms of human production through different types of activity. Education is seen as including both formal and informal institutions and a variety of cultural practices and activity systems (school/preschool education, play pedagogy, indigenous education, health education, family education, professional education, special education, etc.). Education is both universal, and at the same time it is context-specific. Cultural practices involving creativity and social interactions are similarly both universal and specific. Educational practices are by definition cultural practices, and the journal particularly welcomes studies that link culture, education, and human development.

Types of articles admitted for consideration include research reports, position papers, accounts of teaching experiences, and descriptions of ground-breaking educational projects.

Both empirical and theoretical research papers are welcome, but all papers must demonstrate methodological rigor. High level qualitative and quantitative research papers are welcome. There will be no restrictions when it comes to age ranges or social settings. Data may come from ethnographies, experimental approaches, intervention studies, case studies, interviews, questionnaires, etc.

The Journal does not publish reliability and validity studies of assessment instruments.

Special issue proposals are welcome.

Authors can choose to publish gold open access in this journal.

C&E is primarily aimed at researchers and professionals working in schools and universities, but also those working in social, family, and community projects. We welcome contributions from workers in all educational and cultural fields, including psychology, anthropology, linguistics, sociology, communication, and all areas of educational research. The journal publishes all content in English and Spanish.

Important notice: as of 2021, only English-language manuscripts are accepted for review.

Los tipos de artículos admitidos para evaluación incluyen informes de investigación, artículos de posición, descripciones de experiencias didácticas, y descripciones de proyectos educativos innovadores.

Se aceptan artículos de investigación empírica y teórica, pero todos deben demostrar rigor metodológico. Serán bienvenidos aquellos artículos de investigación tanto cualitativa como cuantitativa que muestren alto nivel de calidad. No hay restricciones en cuanto a grupos de edad o contextos sociales. Los datos pueden provenir de etnografías, enfoques experimentales, estudios de intervención, estudios de caso, entrevistas, cuestionarios, etc.

La revista no publica estudios de validez y fiabilidad de instrumentos de evaluación.

Las propuestas de Números Monográficos serán bienvenidas.

Los autores pueden publicar sus artículos en Acceso Abierto Oro en esta revista.

Lea las Instrucciones para Autores para más información sobre cómo enviar su manuscrito.

Cultura y Educación va dirigida fundamentalmente a investigadores y profesionales del ámbito escolar y universitario, pero también para aquellos que trabajen en proyectos sociales, familiares y comunitarios. Las aportaciones de los profesionales de todos los ámbitos educativos y culturales serán bienvenidas, incluyendo psicología, antropología, lingüística, sociología, comunicación, y todas las áreas de la investigación educativa. La revista publica todos sus artículos en inglés y español.

Aviso importante: a partir de 2021 solo se aceptan a evaluación manuscritos en inglés.

1.2 Article types

Culture and Education publishes the following types of articles:

Original research article

Word Count: 8000

Word count includes abstract/references: Yes

Description:

Research Articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding. Research articles need to include an introduction, a well-reported methodology, results, and a discussion of the results in the context of the published literature. Presentation of empirical or educational intervention studies in formal and informal settings, including a description of the starting hypotheses, theoretical background, methods used and results obtained, discussing their potential implications.

Word Count: 2000

Word count includes abstract/references:

An introductory piece submitted by an Academic Editor providing insight into the topic of the thematic issue, otherwise written by the journal's editor as an introduction to any standard issue.

General Information

Word counts must include title, running head, abstract, keywords, tables, figures, annexes, references, captions, footnotes, and endnotes. Manuscripts that greatly exceed the word counts described above will be critically reviewed with respect to length. Authors should include a word count with their manuscript.

Abstracts of no more than 175 words are required for all manuscripts submitted, summarizing the whole article, not just its conclusions

        1.3 Writing your paper 

        Visit the Sage Author Gateway for general advice on how to get published , plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance your article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

                        1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

                       For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication.

Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

· The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors.

· The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper.

· The author has recommended the reviewer.

· The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution).

The journal’s policy is to have manuscripts reviewed by two expert reviewers. Culture and Education utilizes a double-anonymized peer review process in which the reviewer and authors’ names and information are withheld from the other. Reviewers may at their own discretion opt to reveal their names to the author in their review but our standard policy practice is for their identities to remain concealed. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, while maintaining rigor. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to the Editor who then makes the final decision.

Manuscripts are first screened by the Editor, who checks certain formal aspects and whether they fit the scope of the journal. Afterwards they are sent to an Associate Editor, who will send them for review to two or three representative referees. Authors will receive the comments of the reviewers, along with a letter from the Associate Editor and the Editor, informing them of the decision regarding their work.

Culture and Education is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Web of Science (previously Publons). Web of Science is a third-party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for Culture and Education can opt into Web of Science in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Web of Science website .

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

2.2 Authorship

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information, see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools .

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

Per ICMJE recommendations , it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.

       2.3.1 Third party submissions

      Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be            included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

      · Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input

      · Identify any entities that paid for this assistance

      · Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

Culture and Education requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

Culture and Education encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

It is the policy of Culture and Education to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please s ee the ICMJE recommendations here .

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

If applicable, authors are required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file. Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants .

2.7 Research data

The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages .

Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

· Share your research data in a relevant public data repository

· Include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, use the statement to confirm why it cannot be shared.

· Cite this data in your research

If you need to anonymize your research data for peer review, please refer to our Research Data Sharing FAQs for guidance .

3. Publishing policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway .

        3.1.1 Plagiarism

       Culture and Education and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

      3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information, please visit the Sage Author Gateway .

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Culture and Education offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage . For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access . For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies .

4. Preparing your manuscript

4.1 Formatting

The preferred format for your manuscript is Word.LaTeX files are also accepted. A LaTex template is available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines .

Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

4.3 Identifiable information

Where a journal uses double-anonymised peer review, authors are required to submit:

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Culture and the Arts in Education: A Review Essay

Related Papers

Journal of Aesthetic Education

Guillermo Marini

In memoriam of Elliot Eisner, I wish to commend his book Educating artistic vision for advancing a distinction between contextual and essential arguments that has become classical to justify the purposes of the arts in education. Contextual arguments typically focus on transferring artistic qualities to non-artistic school areas, and aim at achieving extrinsic outcomes such as higher academic results, a better school climate, an improved cognitive development and the like. Essential arguments, are those that deal with intrinsic artistic qualities like the development of aesthetic awareness, the exploration of feeling and emotion as ways of interpreting reality, the capacity to make good judgments in the absence of fixed rules, the opportunity to rejoice in the making of a work that renders the inexhaustible variety of human experience. Although it is difficult to deny the prevalence of contextual arguments in the public and political debate on the purposes of the arts in education, as of recent there has been a renewed development of essential-oriented proposals coming from the fields of art education and philosophy of education. To name four, we can consider John Baldacchino’s claim that artistic practice is a doing that constantly needs to unlearn itself, demanding a permanent revisitation of its purposes and expectations; Tyson Lewis’ rediscovery of Giorgio Agamben’s work as a means to emphasize rhythm and playfulness in education; Constantijn Koopman’s “art as fulfillment” as the crystallization of the most noble human traits that emerge through the arts; and Claudia Ruitenberg’s “art-that-is-other” as a warning of the pedagogical power that remains hidden in artworks that seem difficult to work with. Out of those positions, “art as fulfillment” and “art-that-is-other” show a conceptual complementarity that is worth developing further. The reason is twofold: First, although straightforward in their argumentation, I see the risk of simplifying both as contradictory arguments that would seek something like the benefits of “good art” and “bad art” respectively. Second, I find a rich opportunity in tracing some of the differences and convergences amongst these kinds of positions as a way of stimulating new relationships between the different kinds of arguments that advocate for the arts in education. Accordingly, this paper will begin by presenting Koopman’s “art as fulfillment” and Ruitenberg’s “art-that-is-other”. First, it will show the theoretical foundations that assist both authors in developing their arguments; then it will propose two art works as means to portray the central aspects of each position. Second, I will discuss a convergence and divergence between “art as fulfillment” and “art-that-is-other”: On the one hand, I will argue that both aim at insight although in an immediate and delayed manner respectively. While Koopman promotes intersubjective resemblances between viewer and work, Ruitenberg pursues the conscious awareness of the epistemic structures that condition how we know what we know about art. On the other hand, I will claim that they each assume a different perspective on art interpretation. While Koopman emphasizes the opportunity of meaning making through art, Ruitenberg criticizes the very possibility of identifying forms of knowledge in art.

Art, Artists and Pedagogy

Christopher Naughton

This volume has been brought together to generate new ideas and provoke discussion about what constitutes arts education in the 21st century, both within the institution and beyond. Art, Artists and Pedagogy is intended for educators who teach the arts from early childhood to tertiary level, artists working in the community, or those studying arts in education from undergraduate to Masters or PhD level. From the outset, this book is not only about arts in practice but also about what distinguishes the ‘arts’ in education. Exploring two different philosophies of education, the book asks what the purpose of the arts is in education in the 21st century. With specific reference to the work of Gert Biesta, questions are asked as to the relation of the arts to the world and what kind of society we may wish to envisage. The second philosophical set of ideas comes from Deleuze and Guattari, looking in more depth at how we configure art, the artist, and the role played by the state and global capital in deciding on what art education has become. This book provides educators with new ways to engage with arts, focusing specifically on art, music, dance, drama and film studies. At a time when many teachers are looking for a means to re-assert the role of the arts in education this text provides many answers with reference to case studies and in-depth arguments from some of the world’s leading academics in the arts, philosophy and education.

Bernard McMullan

Abbey J MacDonald

Harvard Educational Review

Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández

In this essay Rubén A. Gaztambide-Fernández uses a discursive approach to argue that mainstream arts in education scholarship and advocacy construes “the arts” as a definable naturalistic phenomenon that exists in the world and is available to be observed and measured. In the course of his analysis, he examines how this construction is employed through what he calls the rhetoric of effects as part of the mainstream discourses used in arts in education research today. He describes how this positivistic rhetoric masks the complexity of those practices and processes associated with the arts, limiting the possibilities for productively employing such practices in education. In addition, he explores how discourses of the arts both arise out of and continually reify hierarchical conceptions of artistic practices in education and broader society. He concludes by proposing an alternative rhetoric of cultural production, arguing that moving toward this new way of understanding practices and processes of symbolic creativity is critical for expanding our vision for the arts in education.

Dean Kenning

Carl Andre's opposition between an activating art and a pacifying culture becomes the impetus for wider reflections on artistic autonomy and agency with special reference to how fine art is taught at college. I propose that artistic agency might better be accounted for and enacted by conceiving of it not as something set against or at a distance from culture in general, but 'as' culture. Through an overview of various institutional and discursive accounts of artistic production which describe the ways in which art is itself influenced and determined by external factors, and an extended analysis of Raymond Williams theory of culture as 'collective advance', I propose that fine art education needs to confront the question of contemporary art's wider cultural embeddedness, and the political culture of art itself-a politics based in the nature of the social relationships art practice engenders.

The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning

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Art, Artists and Pedagogy: Philosophy and the Arts in Education invites readers into a lively discussion of cur- rent issues in arts education, offering a philosophical ground on which to consider, or re-consider, broad pol- icy questions concerning the nature and purpose of the arts to education and twenty-first century life.

Christopher Klopper

In this chapter three vignettes are presented that look at the various ways arts education knowledge has been embodied into practice. The vignettes are explored in a holistic way, providing consideration to a broad range of multidisciplinary aspects of arts education. Each of the vignettes uses old knowledge, new knowledge and borrowed knowledge to help inform the implementation of the arts. As we read these stories we are able to reflect on the future practice of arts education in school classrooms and be inspired to tap into the educational possibilities and potential.

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Traditionally, learning scientists have paid little attention to the discipline of the arts as the more prominent focus has been on science and mathematics. Despite this, the learning sciences could benefit from further understanding how the arts offer alternative methods of inquiry, representation, and understanding. At the same time, leaders in the field of arts education are calling for more research in areas that intersect with the learning sciences, pointing to the mutually synergistic ways that the two fields could inform one another. Guided by feminist communitarian methodology, this paper brings together a review of a wide body of research in the field of arts education, spanning affective, cognitive, social, and transformative effects of the arts. Insights are shared for how the arts as a discipline can inform the study of learning and, conversely, point to ways in which learning scientists can contribute to the field of arts education research.

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How Culture Impacts Education, Essay Example

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Introduction

Cultural tendencies influence the manner children get involved and take part in their education. The below essay will examine Bordieu’s thesis of social reproduction in the light of previous course readings and personal experiences.

Bordieu and Passerson (204-205) state that family habitus is influenced by culture and class. As culture and knowledge is distributed on an institutional scale. As Tzanakis summarizes the thesis: “cultural capital actively reproduces social inequalities”.

The reading of Gladwell’s (250) analysis of Marita’s situation and the bargain she enters, the thesis the authors would like to prove through the case and personal experience review, interviews with family members is that cultural and family legacy, as well as class creates a unique situation for every child related to their opportunities within the education system. Social and cultural inequalities exist in the society and they create unequal opportunities for children from various backgrounds.

Theories and Literature Related To Culture and Education

There are various theories related to “normal”school behavior for children from either collectivist or individualist cultures. The teaching staff who have little awareness about knowledge related to culture might understand the behavior of a student from a collectivist society and culture. Such kind of differences can be the basis of educators to imprecisely judge children from a number of cultures which are disappointingly disrespectful or behaved. Adding to this, since the cultural differences are quite firm to perceive, children may find out themselves admonished by their instructors who fail to recognize what they did that caused anxiety. This essay talks and discusses excerpts from different views on the cultural effect on education. As a case study for this essay will focus on the viewpoint of my Asian friends and American European friends, their inherited cultural impact on their children’s education using the social reproduction theory.

Social reproduction theory is one tool used by sociologists to describe the impact of  cultural, linguistic, and social class stereotyping in the educational system. It is suggested by proponents of this theory that public institutions automatically assign societal roles based on stereotypes that influence children’s choices. This social or cultural influence can impact children’s choices and self-image.

Several theories were introduced to explain the relationship between socialization and perceptions related to education. Levitan offers descriptions of common stereotypes about lower socioeconomic classes and minorities. He describes common perceptions as  being “related to age, race, household type, and educational attainment. According to stereotypes in education, the author (Levitan) finds that stereotypes are based on generalization of statistics. He states that  Blacks are  thrice as likely to be poor than Whites. Families headed by women are five and a half times as likely to be poor as all other families. Adults with less than 12 years of schooling experience are five times more likely to suffer from poverty than those with some college education” (Levitan 7). This implies that minority groups are conditioned to be disadvantaged by the society and educators believe they have lower chances to academic success.

Burciago suggests that public education today is successful in reaching a good deal of the population—the white, middle to upper socioeconomic classes . However, it is failing to provide an equal education to several overlapping groups: people in the lower socio economic strata in the United States and people who represent linguistic minorities (Bourdieu).

Another idea, introduced by Levitan concludes that “when children are told by well-meaning people that they cannot be expected to succeed like other children because of the deficiencies of their environment, then they fail” (Levitan 179). Often students mark their discontent with the institution’s lowered standards by refusing to attend classes or by dropping out altogether. Thus, children are pushed towards failing instead of getting encouragement from the educational institutions. Some children, however, decide to go against this social positioning  like Marita and strive to do better by looking for a school with better standards. Still, the influence of educators is needed to encourage children and give them self-belief.

Influence of Culture

I would like to discuss the influence of culture on education next. When determining the worth of getting education, participation styles cannot be overvalued. As an example, in the Asian countries the students are shy in the class. On occasions, these children – because of their unique cultural diversity – intend to keep quiet in the classroom.  For them, making an eye contact with the instructors teaching in the class is considered to be inappropriate. In distinction to this, in most European and American students are taught to give value to active classroom discussions. Also,looking directly in the teacher’s eye in western cultures is considered to demonstrate respect, while their teachers visualize students’ participation as a symbol of competence and engagement. Similarly, different cultures look at education strategies from a different perspective. Some parents believe that most of the things taught in school are not useful in real life situations, therefore, they do not encourage their children to learn them.

In the case outlined by Gladwell, the author states that “KIPP is, rather, an organization that has succeeded by taking the idea of cultural legacies seriously (252). The emphasis of the above statement is on “cultural legacies”. Acceptance of diversity and showing the way to succeed despite different chances and social inequalities, described by Bordieu and Passerson (204-205), is the key to improving education outcomes. Gladwell (255) also confirms that the attainment (mental capabilities) of children do not show a great difference based on low, middle and high social classes. However, their attainment level differences increase throughout the years spent in educational institutions. This phenomenon called “achievement gap” (Gladwell 256) certainly has cultural and social aspects alike. Children’s attainment is determined buy their home environment; whether or not they have the time, space, opportunity and motivation to study. Further, their parents’ attitude towards learning, achievements and school will influence their thinking. Still, the role of schools and educators is not negotiable: they need to work on understanding the socialization patterns of children, their perceptions, cultural and economic aspirations, attitudes towards learning to empower them. I have overcome the above “achievement gap” through my personal aspiration. However, the role of the librarian who supported me in the process, as well as the role of my teachers after discovering my interest in specific subject is also important.

Marita does not follow the path of her mother, who never went to college and is a single mom. She is determined. However, it is possible that her motivation is to “do better” than her mother and get out of the Bronx neighborhood. She simply understands that she has a serious chance to do so, through education provided by KIPP. She no longer belongs to the group of Korean minorities living in Bronx. She gave up a part of her identity. As the author puts it: “her community does not give her what she needs”. (Gladwell 266) Therefore, Gladwell states that Marita decides with another life because her circumstances and environment do not satisfy her.

Personal Perspective

I started school as a child who struggled with reading and writing. I attended a public school first and 80 percent of the children were from ethnic minority groups. Further, in my elementary school, over 60 percent of the children were receiving reduced or free meals, just like in the main school of Marita’s case. I did not feel like I was getting enough support from educators, and children in the neighborhood did not speak a lot of English; they did not care about school, either. I was, however, lucky to be motivated by my parents. They did realize the existence of inequalities and told me to grab every opportunity to get education, status and respect by the time I grow up.

After a discussion with my mother about a neighbor who had to give up her children because they caused trouble on the street and she could not provide them with the right support, she told me that I had a choice. She said: “I know you grew up with these kids. I know that they do not care about school. This does not mean that you have to be the same. There are two ways of dealing with inequality: accepting it and behaving accordingly or fighting it. You can have a chance and change your life.”

That was the time when I started to care about school. Like Marita, I had to enter a “bargain”. Instead of playing on the street after school, I went to the local library. We did not have many books at home, but there was a solution. I had to walk about 20 minutes each day, but my mother knew that I was safe there. I made friends with a Hispanic librarian who gave me advice on what to read and how to improve my language skills. Later, I saved up my pocket money I had for sweets to buy a computer access card. This was when I found educational resources that helped me. My grades went up. My teachers started to listen to me. They enrolled me to special classes. My journey paved with sacrifices towards college began.

If my mother’s attitude towards life, work and learning was different, I would have settled with the lifestyle, culture and neighborhood I was born into. But my mother wanted me to succeed. She did not want me to work hard for little money, like her. I was passed on the idea of my mother that education is power. While my mother could not help me at home with my homework, she encouraged me to seek help and educate myself.

Steele states that “deep in the psyche or American educators is a presumption that black students need academic remediation or extra time to overcome background deficits” (77). Such predetermined notions alleged by educators and administrators concerning the rational abilities of people of color or latest immigrants comprise a variety of cultural prejudice or stereotyping or expected learner behavior. Negative expectations by the instructors are murmured by the students who, in turn, take on the expected attributes. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy chat the instructor impose on the students.

Research has justified that the self-fulfilling foresight also sometimes works in the reverse way. In other words, “superior expectations have led to superior performance” (Levitan 179). In fact, “when they are told that their intellectual abilities are no different from anyone else’s, that they are expected to succeed and encouraged to do so, then they do succeed” (Levitan 179). However, positive stereotypes are often as harmful as negative stereotypes.

Tatum suggests that preconceived ideas like, “Orientals will do well in math, and, “women are good in languages, while men are good in math and science, have “negative effects because they deny a person’s individuality” (3). These misconceptions are more prevalent than is expected and are infinitely more harmful to the student than is believed. For instance, when African-Americans enter the classroom (especially in the inner-city), both the teacher and the students expect them to be intellectually slower and a great deal more violent and dangerous than other students (Rist). In fact, “society is preconditioned to see the worst in them” (Steele 74). This focus on racial preconceptions leads African-American students to act defensively.

To conclude with I would like to state that the theory of Bordieu about social reproduction is confirmed on the large scale. Students like Marita and me have to reject the impact of peer pressure and they need more determination. Students from a well-off upper middle class family would not have to wake up early; their parents would drop them off at school or have a babysitter. If my mother could afford books and a personal computer, I would not have had to walk to the library every day after school. However, the ability of overcoming these difficulties is based on one’s values, perception and parental influence, support. When support from schools (KIPP) and parental motivation meet, students’ pre-determined learning outcome inequalities can be overcome.

Works Cited

Bourdieu, Pierre. “Cultural Production and Social Reproduction.” Bourdieu, Pierre. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. 56-68.

Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J. C. “Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture”  1977. Print.

Burciago, J. A. “Forty-five Percent of Latinos Don’t Complete School” In: S. Farkas (eds) Changes and Challenges: City Schools in America . 1983. Print.

Levitan, S. “Programs in Aid of the Poor” 6 th Ed. 1990. Print.

Rist, Ray C. “Student Social Class and Teacher Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Ghetto Education” Harvard Education Review. 1970. Print.

Roger, Carl R. “Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory” 2003. Print.

Steele, C. “Race and the Schooling of Black Americans” n.d. Web.

Tzanakis, M. “Bourdieu’s Social Reproduction Thesis and The Role of Cultural Capital in Educational Attainment: A Critical Review of Key Empirical Studies” Educate 2011. Print.

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Essay on Relationship Between Education and Culture

Relationship between education and culture.

In following few paragraphs we will discuss and relationship between education and culture. Both the education and culture and closely related and have its impact and our lives

Teachers take the responsibility of educating the youth of a nation. They have to look after their all-round development. Teachers are the ultimate builders of a nation. While a nation without a culture cannot be differentiated from other nations, hence, it is proved that the process of teaching, learning is a much strong way/mean of the culture to flourish. The teachers are also supposed to translate and to practice a country’s educational theories and policies by implementing them in a real and practical situation.

Above all, as in the process of education, History is being studied which is the main and basic record of culture, hence it cannot be denied that it is being nourished by education. Similarly, the purposeful and befitting education helps in the strength and spread of culture. The needs of the society, whether religious, social, cultural or psychological, all are fulfilled only by education. Mrs. Tanveer Khalid while narrating the interdependence of education and Culture says that one of the important functions of education is the conservation of culture. Continuity in man’s social life is possible through this process. The valuable cultural heritage, which has accumulated a vast store of human knowledge and experience, is transmitted to the coming generations through education, otherwise each generation would have to go over them again. Culture includes arts, sciences, religions and the social customs developed gradually by many people contributing to it. It has to be conserved and transmitted to the youth for their own benefits because past benefits are useful in learning the new ones.

It is the oriental type of education which is, simply, aimed at the recapitulation on the past. In the education system of the primitives, the educational aims were identical to those of their parents. The youth aimed to learn what they expected to do as adults. What they expected to do as adults was exactly the same that their parents have been doing. Thus the aim of education was to conserve their culture or to enhance further the amount of their social experiences. In fact group survival was not only the group aim but the individual aim as well.

It is generally believed that even those early civilizations which had advanced far beyond the primitive level were distinctly conservative in their educational aims. So far the ancient Chinese is concerned, it had an educational system which aimed at the perpetuation of a static social order. The early Occidental civilization of Greece also reflected some of the conservative perceptions of the Orient. The aim of Spartan education, for example, was conservative. In Sparta, social survival depended largely upon the military ability of the Spartans. Consequently the chief aim of their education was identical with the military virtues, such as courage, respect and obedience for superiors, patriotism and loyalty to the state etc.

To conclude, it is advisable to say that whether it was the education of the old or New Greek period or Homeric or Spartan period, it has been a main instrument of conserving as well as nurturing human culture. Similarly, may it be a very barbarian culture and civilization but still the process of education is visible there. All activities, according to the prevailing conditions have been seen throughout all these ages, which supported education. Neither culture nor education can survive in isolation. They will have to go along with each other for so many years to come. All the discussion shows a strong relationship between education and culture.

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Globalization and education.

• Liz Jackson Liz Jackson University of Hong Kong
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.52
• Published online: 26 October 2016

Few would deny that processes of globalization have impacted education around the world in many important ways. Yet the term “globalization” is relatively new, and its meaning or nature, conceptualization, and impact remain essentially contested within the educational research community. There is no global consensus on the exact time period of its occurrence or its most significant shaping processes, from those who focus on its social and cultural framings to those that hold global political-economic systems or transnational social actors as most influential. Intersecting questions also arise regarding whether its influence on human communities and the world should be conceived of as mostly good or mostly bad, which have significant implications for debates regarding the relationship between globalization and education. Competing understandings of globalization also undergird diverse methodologies and perspectives in expanding fields of research into the relationship between education and globalization.

There are many ways to frame the relationship of globalization and education. Scholars often pursue the topic by examining globalization’s perceived impact on education, as in many cases global convergence around educational policies, practices, and values has been observed in the early 21st century. Yet educational borrowing and transferal remains unstraightforward in practice, as educational and cultural differences across social contexts remain, while ultimate ends of education (such as math competencies versus moral cultivation) are essentially contested. Clearly, specificity is important to understand globalization in relation to education. As with globalization generally, globalization in education cannot be merely described as harmful or beneficial, but depends on one’s position, perspective, values, and priorities.

Education and educators’ impacts on globalization also remain a worthwhile focus of exploration in research and theorization. Educators do not merely react to globalization and related processes, but purposefully interact with them, as they prepare their students to respond to challenges and opportunities posed by processes associated with globalization. As cultural and political-economic considerations remain crucial in understanding globalization and education, positionality and research ethics and reflexivity remain important research concerns, to understand globalization not just as homogeneity or oppressive top-down features, but as complex and dynamic local and global intersections of people, ideas, and goods, with unclear impacts in the future.

• globalization
• economic integration
• education borrowing
• global studies in education
• comparative education
• education development

Few would deny that processes of globalization have impacted education around the world in many important ways. Yet the term “globalization” is relatively new, and its meaning or nature, conceptualization, and impact remain essentially contested within the educational research community. Competing understandings of globalization undergird diverse methodologies and perspectives in the expanding web of fields researching the relationship between education and globalization examined below. The area of educational research which exploded at the turn of the 21st century requires a holistic view. Rather than take sides within this contentious field, it is useful to examine major debates and trends, and indicate where readers can learn more about particular specialist areas within the field and other relevant strands of research.

The first part below considers the development of the theorization and conceptualization of globalization and debates about its impact that are relevant to education. The next section examines the relationship between education and globalization as explored by the educational research community. There are many ways to frame the relationship between globalization and education. First explored here is the way that globalization can be seen to impact education, as global processes and practices have been observed to influence many educational systems’ policies and structures; values and ideals; pedagogy; curriculum and assessment; as well as broader conceptualizations of teacher and learner, and the good life. However, there is also a push in the other direction—through global citizenship education, education for sustainable development, and related trends—to understand education and educators as shapers of globalization, so these views are also explored here. The last section highlights relevant research directions.

The Emergence of Globalization(s)

At the broadest level, globalization can be defined as a process or condition of the cultural, political, economic, and technological meeting and mixing of people, ideas, and resources, across local, national, and regional borders, which has been largely perceived to have increased in intensity and scale during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. However, there is no global consensus on the exact time period of its occurrence, or its most significant shaping processes, from social and cultural framings to those that hold global political-economic systems or transnational social actors as most influential. Intersecting questions also arise regarding whether its influence on human communities and the world should be conceived as mostly good or mostly bad, which have clear and significant implications for understanding debates regarding the relationship between globalization and education.

Conceptualizing Globalization

Globalization is a relatively recent concept in scholarly research, becoming popular in public, academic, and educational discourse only in the 1980s. However, many leading scholars of globalization have argued that the major causes or shapers of globalization, particularly the movement and mixing of elements beyond a local or national level, is at least many centuries old; others frame globalization as representing processes inherent to the human experience, within a 5,000–10,000-year time frame. 1 Conceptualizations of globalization have typically highlighted cultural, political-economic, and/or technological aspects of these processes, with different researchers emphasizing and framing the relationships among these different aspects in diverse ways in their theories.

Cultural framings: Emphasizing the cultural rather than economic or political aspects of globalization, Roland Robertson pinpointed the occurrence of globalization as part of the process of modernity in Europe (though clearly similar processes were occurring in many parts of the world), particularly a growing mutual recognition among nationality-based communities. 2 As people began identifying with larger groups, beyond their family, clan, or tribe, “relativization” took place, as people saw others in respective outside communities similarly developing national or national-like identities. 3 Through identifying their own societies as akin to those of outsiders, people began measuring their cultural and political orders according to a broader, international schema, and opening their eyes to transnational inspirations for internal social change.

Upon mutual recognition of nations, kingdoms, and the like as larger communities that do not include all of humanity, “emulation” stemming from comparison of the local to the external was often a next step. 4 While most people and communities resisted, dismissed, or denied the possibility of a global human collectivity, they nonetheless compared their own cultures and lives with those beyond their borders. Many world leaders across Eurasia looked at other “civilizations” with curiosity, and began increasing intercultural and international interactions to benefit from cultural mixing, through trade, translation of knowledge, and more. With emulation and relativization also came a sense of a global standard of values, for goods and resources, and for the behavior and organization of individuals and groups in societies, though ethnocentrism and xenophobia was also often a part of such “global” comparison. 5

Political-economic framings: In political theory and popular understanding, nationalism has been a universalizing discourse in the modern era, wherein individuals around the world have been understood to belong to and identify primarily with largely mutually exclusive national or nation-state “imagined communities.” 6 In this context, appreciation for and extensive investigation of extranational and international politics and globalization were precluded for a long time in part due to the power of nationalistic approaches. However, along with the rise historically of nationalist and patriotic political discourse, theories of cosmopolitanism also emerged. Modern cosmopolitanism as a concept unfolded particularly in the liberalism of Immanuel Kant, who argued for a spirit of “world citizenship” toward “perpetual peace,” wherein people recognize themselves as citizens of the world. 7 Martha Nussbaum locates cosmopolitanism’s roots in the more distant past, however, observing Diogenes the Cynic (ca. 404–323 bce ) in Ancient Greece famously identifying as “a citizen of the world.” 8 This suggests that realization of commonality, common humanity, and the risks of patriotism and nationalism as responses to relativization and emulation have enabled at least a “thin” kind of global consciousness for a very long time, as a precursor to today’s popular awareness of globalization, even if such a global consciousness was in ancient history framed within regional rather than planetary discourse.

In the same way as culturally oriented globalization scholars, those theorizing from an economic and/or political perspective conceive the processes of globalization emerging most substantively in the 15th and 16th centuries, through the development of the capitalist world economic system and the growth of British- and European-based empires holding vast regions of land in Africa, Asia, and the Americas as colonies to enhance trade and consumption within empire capitals. According to Immanuel Wallerstein’s world system theory, which emerged before globalization theory, in the 1970s, the capitalist world economic system is one of the most essential framing elements of the human experience around the world in the modern (or postmodern) era. 9 Interaction across societies primarily for economic purposes, “ not bounded by a unitary political structure,” characterizes the world economy, as well as a capitalist order, which conceives the main purpose of international economic exchange as being the endless generation and accumulation of capital. 10 A kind of global logic was therein introduced, which has expanded around the globe as we now see ourselves as located within an international financial system.

Though some identify world system theory as an alternative or precursor to globalization theories (given Wallerstein’s own writing, which distinguished his view from globalization views 11 ), its focus on a kind of planetary global logic interrelates with globalization theories emerging in the 1980s and 1990s. 12 Additionally, its own force and popularity in public and academic discussions enabled the kind of global consciousness and sense of global interrelation of people which we can regard as major assumptions underpinning the major political-economic theories of globalization and the social imaginary of globalization 13 that came after.

Globalization emerged within common discourse as the process of international economic and political integration and interdependency was seen to deepen and intensify during and after the Cold War era of international relations. At that time, global ideologies were perceived which spanned diverse cultures and nation-states, while global economic and military interdependency became undeniable facts of the human condition. Thus, taking world systems theory as a starting point, global capitalism models have theorized the contemporary economic system, recognizing aspects of world society not well suited to the previously popular nationalistic ways of thinking about international affairs. Leslie Sklair 14 and William Robinson 15 highlighted the transnational layer of capitalistic economic activity, including practices, actors and social classes, and ideologies of international production and trade, elaborated by Robinson as “an emergent transnational state apparatus,” a postnational or extranational ideological, political, and practical system for societies, individuals, and groups to interact in the global space beyond political borders. 16 Globalization is thus basically understood as a process or condition of contemporary human life, at the broadest level, rather than a single event or activity.

Technological framings: In the 1980s and 1990s, the impact of technology on many people’s lives, beliefs, and activities rose tremendously, altering the global political economy by adding an intensity of transnational communication and (financial and information) trading capabilities. Manuel Castells argued that technological advancements forever altered the economy by creating networks of synchronous or near-synchronous communication and trade of information. 17 Anthony Giddens likewise observed globalization’s essence as “time-space distanciation”: “the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.” 18 As information became present at hand with the widespread use of the Internet, a postindustrial society has also been recognized as a feature of globalization, wherein skills and knowledge to manipulate data and networks become more valuable than producing goods or trading material resources.

Today, globalization is increasingly understood as having interrelating cultural, political-economic, and technological dimensions, and theorists have thus developed conceptualizations and articulations of globalization that work to emphasize the ways that these aspects intersect in human experience. Arjun Appadurai’s conception of global flows frames globalization as taking place as interactive movements or waves of interlinked practices, people, resources, and ideologies: ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, finanscapes, and ideoscapes. 19 Ethnoscapes are waves of people moving across cultures and borders, while mediascapes are moving local, national, and international constructions of information and images. Technoscapes enable (and limit) interactions of peoples, cultures, and resources through technology, while finanscapes reflect intersection values and valuations; human, capital, and national resources; and more. Ideoscapes reflect competing, interacting, reconstructing ideologies, cultures, belief systems, and understandings of the world and humanity. Through these interactive processes, people, things, and ideas move and move each other, around the world. 20

Evaluating Globalization

While the explanatory function of Appadurai’s vision of globalization’s intersecting dimensions is highlighted above, many theories of globalization emphasize normative positions in relation to the perceived impact of global and transnational processes and practices on humanity and the planet. Normative views of globalization may be framed as skeptical , globalist , or transformationalist . As Fazal Rizvi and Bob Lingard note, these are ideal types, rather than clearly demarcated practical parties or camps of theorists, though they have become familiar and themselves a part of the social imaginary of globalization (that is, the way globalization is perceived in normative and empirical ways by ordinary people rather than researchers). 21 The positions are also reflected in the many educational discourses relating to globalization, despite their ideological rather than simply empirical content.

Skeptical views: Approaches to globalization in research that are described as skeptical may question or problematize globalization discourse in one of two different ways. The first type of skepticism questions the significance of globalization. The second kind of skepticism tends to embrace the idea of globalization, but regards its impact on people, communities, and/or the planet as negative or risky, overall.

As discussed here, global or international processes are hardly new, while globalization became a buzzword only in the last decades of the 20th century. Thus a first type of skeptic may charge that proponents of globalization or globalization theory are emphasizing the newness of global processes for ulterior motives, as a manner of gaining attention for their work, celebrating that which should instead be seen as problematic capitalist economic relations, for example. Alternatively, some argue that the focus on globalization in research, theorization, and popular discourse fails to recognize the agency of people and communities as actors in the world today, and for this reason should be avoided and replaced by a focus on the “transnational.” As Michael Peter Smith articulates, ordinary individual people, nation-states, and their practices remain important within the so-called global system; a theory of faceless, ahistorical globalization naturalizes global processes and precludes substantive elaboration of how human (and national) actors have played and continue to play primary roles in the world through processes of knowledge and value construction, and through interpersonal and transnational activities. 22

The second strand of globalization skepticism might be referred to as antiglobalist or antiglobalization positions. Thinkers in this vein regard globalization as a mark of our times, but highlight the perceived negative impacts of globalization on people and communities. Culturally, this can include homogenization and loss of indigenous knowledge, and ways of life, or cultural clashes that are seen to arise out of the processes of relativization and emulation in some cases. George Ritzer coined the term “McDonaldization” to refer to the problematic elements of the rise of a so-called global culture. 23 More than simply the proliferation of McDonalds fast-food restaurants around the world, McDonaldization, according to Ritzer, includes a valuation of efficiency over humanity in production and consumption practices, a focus on quantity over quality, and control and technology over creativity and culture. Global culture is seen as a negative by others who conceive it as mainly the product of a naïve cultural elite of international scholars and business people, in contrast with “low-end globalization,” which is the harsher realities faced by the vast majority of people not involved in international finance, diplomacy, or academic research. 24

Alternatively, Benjamin Barber 25 and Samuel Huntington 26 have focused on “Jihad versus McWorld” and the “clash of civilizations,” respectively, as cultures can be seen to mix in negative and unfriendly ways in the context of globalization. Although Francis Fukuyama and other hopeful globalists perceived a globalization of Western liberal democracy at the turn of the 21st century, 27 unforeseen global challenges such as terrorism have fueled popular claims by Barber and Huntington that cultural differences across major “civilizations” (international ideological groupings), particularly of liberal Western civilization and fundamentalist Islam, preclude their peaceful relativization, homogenization, and/or hybridization, and instead function to increase violent interactions of terrorism and war.

Similarly, but moving away from cultural aspects of globalization, Ulrich Beck highlighted risk as essential to understanding globalization, as societies face new problems that may be related to economy or even public health, and as their interdependencies with others deepen and increase. 28 Beck gave the example of Mad Cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) as one instance where much greater and more broadly distributed risks have been created through global economic and political processes. Skeptical economic theories of globalization likewise highlight how new forms of inequality emerge as global classes and labor markets are created. For instance, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri argue that a faceless power impersonally oppresses grassroots people despite the so-called productivity of globalization (that is, the growth of capital it enables) from a capitalist economic orientation. 29 It is this faceless but perceived inhumane power that has fueled globalization protests, particularly of the meetings of the World Trade Organization in the 1990s and 2000s, in the United States and Europe.

In light of such concerns, Walden Bello argued for “deglobalization,” a reaction and response by people that aims to fight against globalization and reorient communities to local places and local lifestyles. Bello endorsed a radical shift to a decentralized, pluralistic system of governance from a political-economic perspective. 30 Similarly, Colin Hines argues for localization, reclaiming control over local economies that should become as diverse as possible to rebuild stability within communities. 31 Such ideas have found a broad audience, as movements to “buy local” and “support local workers” have spread around the world rapidly in the 2000s.

Globalist views: Globalists include researchers and advocates who highlight the benefits of globalization to different communities and in various areas of life, often regarding it as necessary or natural. Capitalist theories of globalization regard it as ideal for production and consumption, as greater specialism around the world increases efficiency. 32 The productive power of globalization is also highlighted by Giddens, who sees the potential for global inclusivity and enhanced creative dialogue arising (at least in part) from global processes. 33 In contrast with neoliberal (pro-capitalism) policies, Giddens propagated the mixture of the market and state interventions (socialism and Keynesian economy), and believed that economic policies with socially inclusive ideas would influence social and educational policies and thus promote enhanced social development.

The rise of global culture enhances the means for people to connect with one another to improve life and give it greater meaning, and can increase mutual understanding. As democracy becomes popular around the world as a result of global communication processes, Scott Burchill has argued that universal human rights can be achieved to enhance global freedom in the near future. 34 Joseph Stiglitz likewise envisioned a democratizing globalization that can include developing countries on an equal basis and transform “economic beings” to “human beings” with values of community and social justice. 35 Relatedly, some globalists contend against skeptics that cultural and economic-political or ideological hybridity and “glocalization,” as well as homogenization or cultural clashes, often can and do take place. Under glocalization , understood as local-level globalization processes (rather than top-down intervention), local actors interact dynamically with, and are not merely oppressed by, ideas, products, things, and practices from outside and beyond. Thus, while we can find instances of “Jihad” and “McWorld,” so too can we find Muslims enjoying fast food, Westerners enjoying insights and activities from Muslim and Eastern communities, and a variety of related intercultural dialogues and a dynamic reorganization of cultural and social life harmoniously taking place.

Transformationalist views: Globalization is increasingly seen by educators (among others) around the globe to have both positive and negative impacts on communities and individuals. Thus, most scholars today hold nuanced, middle positions between skepticism and globalism, such as David Held and Anthony McGrew’s transformationalist stance. 36 As Rizvi and Lingard note, globalization processes have material consequences in the world that few would flatly deny, while people increasingly do see themselves as interconnected around the globe, by technology, trade, and more. 37 On the other hand, glocalization is often a mixed blessing, from a comparative standpoint. Global processes do not happen outside of political and economic contexts, and while some people clearly benefit from them, others may not appear to benefit from or desire processes and conditions related to globalization.

Thus, Rizvi and Lingard identify globalization “as an empirical fact that describes the profound shifts that are taking place in the world; as an ideology that masks various expression of power and a range of political interests; and as a social imaginary that expresses the sense people have of their own identity and how it relates to the rest of the world, and … their aspirations and expectations.” 38 Such an understanding of globalization enables its continuous evaluation in terms of dynamic interrelated practices, processes, and ideas, as experienced and engaged with by people and groups within complex transnational webs of organization. Understandings of globalization thus link to education in normative and empirical ways within research. It is to the relationship of globalization to education that we now turn.

Historical Background

Globalization and education are highly interrelated from a historical view. At the most basic level, historical processes that many identify as essential precursors to political-economic globalization during the late modern colonial and imperialist eras influenced the development and rise of mass education. Thus, what we commonly see around the world today as education, mass schooling of children, could be regarded as a first instance of globalization’s impact on education, as in many non-Western contexts traditional education had been conceived as small-scale, local community-based, and as vocational or apprenticeship education, and/or religious training. 39 In much of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the indigenous Americas and Australasia, institutionalized formal schools emerged for the first time within colonial or (often intersecting) missionary projects, for local elite youth and children of expatriate officials.

The first educational scholarship with a global character from a historical point of view would thus be research related to colonial educational projects, such as in India, Africa, and East Asia, which served to create elite local communities to serve colonial officials, train local people to work in economic industries benefiting the colony, and for preservation of the status quo. Most today would describe this education as not part of an overall development project belonging to local communities, but as a foreign intervention for global empire maintenance or social control. As postcolonial educational theorists such as Paulo Freire have seen it, this education sought to remove and dismiss local culture as inferior, and deny local community needs for the sake of power consolidation of elites, and it ultimately served as a system of oppression on psychological, cultural, and material levels. 40 It has been associated by diverse cultural theorists within and outside the educational field with the loss of indigenous language and knowledge production, with moral and political inculcation, and with the spread of English as an elite language of communication across the globe. 41

Massification of education in the service of local communities in most developing regions roughly intersected with the period after the Second World War and in the context of national independence movements, wherein nationally based communities reorganized as politically autonomous nation-states (possibly in collaboration with former colonial parties). In 1945 , the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) emerged, as the United Nations recognized education as critical for future global peace and prosperity, preservation of cultural diversity, and global progress toward stability, economic flourishing, and human rights. UNESCO has advocated for enhancement of quality and access to education around the world through facilitating the transnational distribution of educational resources, establishing (the discourse of) a global human right to education, promoting international transferability of educational and teaching credentials, developing mechanisms for measuring educational achievement across countries and regions, and supporting national and regional scientific and cultural developments. 42 The World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have engaged in similar work.

Thus, the first modern global educational research was that conducted by bodies affiliated with or housed under UNESCO, such as the International Bureau of Education, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and the International Institute of Educational Planning, which are regarded as foundational bodies sponsoring international and comparative research. In research universities, educational borrowing across international borders became one significant topic of research for an emerging field of scholars identified as comparative educational researchers. Comparative education became a major field of educational inquiry in the first half of the 20th century, and expanded in the 1950s and 1960s. 43 Comparative educational research then focused on aiding developing countries’ education and improving domestic education through cross-national examinations of educational models and achievement. Today, comparative education remains one major field among others that focuses on globalization and education, including international education and global studies in education.

Globalization as a contemporary condition or process clearly shapes education around the globe, in terms of policies and values; curriculum and assessment; pedagogy; educational organization and leadership; conceptions of the learner, the teacher, and the good life; and more. Though, following the legacy of the primacy of a nation-state and systems-theory levels of analysis, it is traditionally conceived that educational ideas and changes move from the top, such as from UNESCO and related bodies and leading societies, to the developing world, we find that often glocalization and hybridity, rather than simple borrowing, are taking place. On the other hand, education is also held by scholars and political leaders to be a key to enhancing the modern (or postmodern) human condition, as a symbol of progress of the global human community, realized as global citizenship education, education for sustainable development, and related initiatives. 44 The next subsections consider how globalization processes have been explored in educational research as shapers of education, and how education and educators can also be seen to influence globalization.

Research on Globalization’s Impact on Education

Global and transnational processes and practices have been observed to influence and impact various aspects of contemporary education within many geographical contexts, and thus the fields of research related to education and globalization are vast: they are not contained simply within one field or subfield, but can be seen to cross subdisciplinary borders, in policy studies, curriculum, pedagogy, higher education studies, assessment, and more. As mentioned previously, modern education can itself be seen as one most basic instance of globalization, connected to increased interdependency of communities around the world in economic and political affairs first associated with imperialism and colonialism, and more recently with the capitalist world economy. And as the modern educational system cannot be seen as removed or sealed off from cultural and political-economic processes involved in most conceptualizations of globalization, the impacts of globalization processes upon education are often considered wide-ranging, though many are also controversial.

Major trends: From a functionalist perspective, the globalization of educational systems has been influenced by new demands and desires for educational transferability, of students and educators. In place of dichotomous systems in terms of academic levels and credentialing, curriculum, and assessment, increasing convergence can be observed today, as it is recognized that standardization makes movement of people in education across societies more readily feasible, and that such movement of people can enhance education in a number of ways (to achieve diversity, to increase specialization and the promotion of dedicated research centers, to enhance global employability, and so on). 45 Thus, the mobility and paths of movement of students and academics, for education and better life opportunities, have been a rapidly expanding area of research. A related phenomenon is that of offshore university and school campuses—the mobility of educational institutions to attract and recruit new students (and collect fees), such as New York University in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. By implication, education is often perceived as becoming more standardized around the globe, though hybridity can also be observed at the micro level.

How economic integration under globalization impacts local educational systems has been traced by Rizvi and Lingard. 46 As they note, from a broad view, the promotion of neoliberal values in the context of financial adjustment and restructuring of poorer countries under trade and debt agreements led by intergovernmental organizations, most notably the OECD, encouraged, first, fiscal discipline in educational funding (particularly impacting the payment of educators in many regions) and, second, the redistribution of funds to areas of education seen as more economically productive, namely primary education, and to efforts at privatization and deregulation of education. While the educational values of countries can and do vary, from democracy and peace, to social justice and equity, and so on, Rizvi and Lingard also observed that social and economic efficiency views have become dominant within governments and their educational policy units. 47 Though human capital theory has always supported the view that individuals gain proportionately according to the investment in their education and training, this view has become globalized in recent decades to emphasize how whole societies can flourish under economic interdependency via enhanced education.

These policy-level perspectives have had serious implications for how knowledge and thus curriculum are increasingly perceived. As mentioned previously, skills for gaining knowledge have taken precedent over knowledge accumulation, with the rise of technology and postindustrial economies. In relation, “lifelong learning,” learning to be adaptive to challenges outside the classroom and not merely to gain academic disciplinary knowledge, has become a focal point for education systems around the globe in the era of globalization. 48 Along with privatization of education, as markets are seen as more efficient than government systems of provision, models of educational choice and educational consumption have become normalized as alternatives to the historical status quo of traditional academic or intellectual, teacher-centered models. Meanwhile, the globalization of educational testing—that is, the use of the same tests across societies around the world—has had a tremendous impact on local pedagogies, assessment, and curricula the world over. Though in each country decision-making structures are not exactly the same, many societies face pressure to focus on math, science, and languages over other subjects, as a result of the primacy of standardized testing to measure and evaluate educational achievement and the effectiveness of educational systems. 49

However, there remains controversy over what education is the best in the context of relativization and emulation of educational practices and students, and therefore the 2010s have seen extraordinary transfers of educational approaches, not just from core societies to peripheral or developing areas, but significant horizontal movements of educational philosophies and practices from West to East and East to West. With the rise of global standardized tests such as the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), educational discourse in Western societies has increasingly emphasized the need to reorient education to East Asian models (such as Singapore or Shanghai), seen as victors of the tests. 50 On the other hand, many see Finland’s educational system as ideal in relation to its economic integration in society and focus on equity in structure and orientation, and thus educators in the Middle East, East Asia, and the United States have also been seen to consider emulating Finnish education in the 2010s. 51

Evaluations: From a normative point of view, some regard changes to local education in many contexts brought about by globalization as harmful and risky. Freire’s postcolonial view remains salient to those who remain concerned that local languages and indigenous cultural preservation are being sacrificed for elite national and international interests. 52 There can be no doubt that language diversity has been decreasing over time, while indigenous knowledge is being reframed within globalist culture as irrelevant to individual youths’ material needs. 53 Many are additionally skeptical of the sometimes uncritical adoption of educational practices, policies, and discourse from one region of the globe to another. In many countries in Africa and the Middle East, ideas and curricula are borrowed from the United Kingdom, the United States, or Finland in an apparently hasty manner, only to be discarded for the next reform, when it is not found to fit neatly and efficiently within the local educational context (for instance, given local educational values, structures and organizations, and educator and student views). 54 Others argue, in parallel to globalization skeptics, that globalization’s major impact on education has actually been the promotion of a thin layer of aspirational, cosmopolitan values among global cultural elites, who largely overlook the realities, problems, and challenges many face. 55

On the other hand, the case for globalization as a general enhancer of education worldwide has compelling evidence as well. Due to the work of UNESCO, the OECD, and related organizations, educational attainment has become more equitable globally, by nation, race, gender, class, and other markers of social inequality; and educational access has been recognized as positively aligned with personal and national economic improvement, according to quantitative educational researchers. 56 (David Hill, Nigel Greaves, and Alpesh Maisuria argue from a Marxist viewpoint that education in conjunction with global capitalism reinforces rather than decreases inequality and inequity; yet they also note that capitalism can be and often has been successfully regulated to diminish rather than increase inequality generally across countries. 57 ) As education has been effectively conceived as a human right in the era of globalization, societies with historically uneven access to education are on track to systematically enhance educational quality and access.

Changes to the way knowledge and the learner have been conceived, particularly with the rise of ubiquitous technology, are also often regarded as positive overall. People around the world have more access to information than ever before with the mass use of the Internet, and students of all ages can access massive open online courses (MOOCs); dynamic, data-rich online encyclopedias; and communities of like-minded scholars through social networks and forums. 58 In brick-and-mortar classrooms, educators and students are more diverse than ever due to enhanced educational mobility, and both are exposed to a greater variety of ideas and perspectives that can enhance learning for all participants. Credentials can be earned from reputable universities online, with supervision systems organized by leading scholars in global studies in education in many cases. Students have more choices when it comes to learning independently or alongside peers, mentors, or experts, in a range of disciplines, vocations, and fields.

The truth regarding how globalization processes and practices are impacting contemporary education no doubt lies in focusing somewhere in between the promises and the risks, depending on the context in question: the society, the educational level, the particular community, and so on. Particularly with regard to the proposed benefits of interconnectivity and networked ubiquitous knowledge spurred by technology, critics contend that the promise of globalization for enhancing education has been severely overrated. Elites remain most able to utilize online courses and use technologies due to remaining inequalities in material and human resources. 59 At local levels, globalization in education (more typically discussed as internationalization) remains contentious in many societies, as local values, local students and educators, and local educational trends can at times be positioned as at odds with the priorities of globalization, of internationalizing curricula, faculty, and student bodies. As part of the social imaginary of globalization, international diversity can become a buzzword, while cultural differences across communities can result in international students and faculty members becoming ghettoized on campus. 60 International exchanges of youth and educators for global citizenship education can reflect political and economic differences between communities, not merely harmonious interconnection and mutual appreciation. 61 In this context of growing ambivalence, education and educators are seen increasingly as part of the solution to the problems and challenges of the contemporary world that are associated with globalization, as educators can respond to such issues in a proactive rather than a passive way, to ensure globalization’s challenges do not exceed its benefits to individuals and communities.

Education’s Potential Impact on Globalization

As globalization is increasingly regarded with ambivalence in relation to the perceived impact of global and transnational actors and processes on local educational systems, educators are increasingly asked not to respond passively to globalization, through enacting internationalization and global economic agendas or echoing simplistic conceptualizations or evaluations of globalization via their curriculum. Instead, education has been reframed in the global era as something youth needs, not just to accept globalization but to interact with it in a critical and autonomous fashion. Two major trends have occurred in curriculum and pedagogy research, wherein education is identified as an important potential shaper of globalization. These are global citizenship education (also intersecting with what are called 21st-century learning and competencies) and education for sustainable development.

Global citizenship education: Global citizenship education has been conceived by political theorists and educational philosophers as a way to speak back to globalization processes seen as harmful to individuals and communities. As Martha Nussbaum has argued, educators should work to develop in students feelings of compassion, altruism, and empathy that extend beyond national borders. 62 Kathy Hytten has likewise written that students need to learn today as part of global citizenship education not just feelings of sympathy for people around the world, but critical skills to identify root causes of problems that intersect the distinction of local and global, as local problems can be recognized as interconnected with globalization processes. 63 In relation to this, UNESCO and nongovernmental organizations and foundations such as Oxfam and the Asia Society have focused on exploring current practices and elaborating best practices from a global comparative standpoint for the dissemination of noncognitive, affective, “transversal” 21st-century competencies, to extend civic education in the future in the service of social justice and peace, locally and globally. 64

Questions remain in this area in connection with implementation within curriculum and pedagogy. A first question is whether concepts of altruism, empathy, and even harmony, peace, and justice, are translatable, with equivalent meanings across cultural contexts. There is evidence that global citizenship education aimed at educating for values to face the potential harms of globalization is converging around the world on such aims as instilling empathy and compassion, respect and appreciation of diversity, and personal habits or virtues of open-mindedness, curiosity, and creativity. However, what these values, virtues, and dispositions look like, how they are demonstrated, and their appropriate expressions remain divergent as regards Western versus Eastern and African societies (for example). 65 By implication, pedagogical or curriculum borrowing or transferral in this area may be problematic, even if some basic concepts are shared and even when best practices can be established within a cultural context.

Additionally, how these skills, competencies, and dispositions intersect with the cognitive skills and political views of education across societies with different cultures of teaching and learning also remains contentious. In line with the controversies over normative views of globalization, whether the curriculum should echo globalist or skeptical positions remains contested by educators and researchers in the field. Some argue that a focus on feelings can be overrated or even harmful in such education, given the immediacy and evidence of global social justice issues that can be approached rationally and constructively. 66 Thus, token expressions of cultural appreciation can be seen to preclude a deeper engagement with social justice issues if the former becomes a goal in itself. On the other hand, the appropriate focus on the local versus the global, and on the goods versus the harms of globalization, weighs differently across and within societies, from one individual educator to the next. Thus, a lack of evidence of best practices in relation to the contestation over ultimate goals creates ambivalence at the local level among many educators about what and how to teach global citizenship or 21st-century skills, apart from standardized knowledge in math, science, and language.

Education for sustainable development: Education for sustainable development is a second strand of curriculum and pedagogy that speaks back to globalization and that is broadly promoted by UNESCO and related intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. Education for sustainable development is, like global citizenship education, rooted in globalization’s impact upon individuals in terms of global consciousness. Like global citizenship, education for sustainable development also emphasizes global interconnection in relation to development and sustainability challenges. It is also a broad umbrella term that reflects an increasingly wide array of practices, policies, and programs, formal and informal, for instilling virtues and knowledge and skills seen to enable effective responses to challenges brought about by globalization. 67 In particular, education for sustainable development has seen global progress, like globalization, as enmeshed in intersecting cultural, social, and economic and political values and priorities. Education for All is an interrelated complementary thread of UNESCO work, which sees access to education as a key to social justice and development, and the improvement of human quality of life broadly. In developed societies, environmental sustainability has come to be seen as a pressing global issue worth curricular focus, as behaviors with regard to consumption of natural resources impact others around the world, as well as future generations. 68

A diversity of practices and views also marks this area of education, resulting in general ambiguity about overall aims and best means. Controversies over which attitudes of sustainability are most important to inculcate, and whether it is important to inculcate them, intertwine with debates over what crises are most pertinent and what skills and competencies students should develop. Measures are in place for standardizing sustainability knowledge in higher education worldwide, as well as for comparing the development of prosustainability attitudes. 69 However, some scholars argue that both emphases miss the point, and that education for sustainable development should first be about changing cultures to become more democratic, creative, and critical, developing interpersonal and prosocial capabilities first, as the challenges of environmental sustainability and global development are highly complex and dynamic. 70 Thus, as globalization remains contested in its impacts, challenges, and promise at local levels, so too does the best education that connects positively with globalization to enhance local and global life. In this rich and diverse field, as processes of convergence and hybridity of glocalization continue to occur, the promise of globalization and the significance of education in relation to it will no doubt remain lively areas of debate in the future, as globalization continues to impact communities in diverse ways.

Research Considerations

There is no shortage of normative and explanatory theories about globalization, each of which points to particular instances and evidence about domains and contexts of globalization. However, when it comes to understanding the interconnections of globalization and education, some consensus regarding best practices for research has emerged. In fields of comparative and international education and global studies in education, scholars are increasingly calling today for theories and empirical investigations that are oriented toward specificity, particularity, and locality, in contrast with the grand theories of globalization elaborated by political scholars. However, a challenge is that such scholarship should not be reduced artificially to one local level in such a way as to exclude understanding of international interactions, in what has been called in the research community “methodological nationalism.” 71 Such reductive localism or nationalism can arise particularly in comparative education research, as nation-states have been traditional units for comparative analysis, but are today recognized as being too diverse from one to the next to be presumed similar (while global processes impact them in disparate ways). 72 Thus, Rizvi has articulated global ethnography as a focused approach to the analysis of international educational projects that traces interconnections and interactions of local and global actors. 73 In comparative educational research, units of analysis must be critically pondered and selected, and it is also possible to make comparisons across levels within one context (for instance, from local educational interactions to higher-level policy-making processes in one society). 74

Qualitative and quantitative analyses can be undertaken to measure global educational achievements, values, policy statements, and more; yet researcher reflexivity and positionality, what is traditionally conceived of as research ethics, is increasingly seen as vital for researchers in this politically and ethically contentious field. Although quantitative research remains important for highlighting convergences in data in global educational studies, such research cannot tell us what we should do, as it does not systematically express peoples’ values and beliefs about the aims of education, or their experiences of globalization, and so on, particularly effectively. On the other hand, normative questions about how people’s values intersect with globalization and related educational processes can give an in-depth view of one location or case, but should be complemented by consideration of generalizable trends. 75

In either case, cultural assumptions can interfere or interact in problematic or unintentional ways with methodologies of data gathering and analysis, for instance, when questions or codes (related to race, ethnicity, or class, for example) are applied across diverse sites by researchers, who may not be very familiar and experienced across divergent cultural contexts. 76 Thus, beyond positionality, the use of collaborative research teams has become popular in global and comparative educational research, to ensure inevitable cultural and related differences across research domains are sufficiently addressed in the research process. 77 In this context, researchers must also contend with the challenges of collaborating across educational settings, as new methods of engaging, saving, and sharing data at distance through technology continue to unfold in response to ongoing challenges with data storage, data security, and privacy.

Among recent strands of educational research fueled by appreciation for globalization is the exploration of the global economy of knowledge. Such research may consider the practices and patterns of movement, collaboration, research production and publication, and authorship of researchers, and examine data from cultural, political, and economic perspectives, asking whose knowledge is regarded as valid and most prized, and what voices dominate in conversations and discourse around globalization and education, such as in classrooms studying global studies in education, or in leading research journals. 78 Related research emerging includes questions such as who produces knowledge, who is the subject of knowledge, and where are data gathered, as recurring historical patterns may appear to be reproduced in contemporary scholarship, wherein those from the global North are more active in investigating and elaborating knowledge in the field, while those from the global South appear most often as subjects of research. As globalization of education entails the globalization of knowledge itself, such inquiries can be directed to various sites and disciplines outside of education, in considering how communication, values, and knowledge are being dynamically revised today on a global scale through processes of globalization.

Research that focuses on globalization and education uses a wide array of approaches and methods, topics, and orientations, as well as diverse theoretical perspectives and normative assumptions. The foregoing sections have explored this general field, major debates, and topics; the relationships have been traced between globalization and education; and there have been brief comments on considerations for research. One key point of the analysis has been that the way globalization is conceived has implications for how its relationship with education is understood. This is important, for as is illustrated here, the ways of conceptualizing globalization are diverse, in terms of how the era of globalization is framed chronologically (as essential to the human condition, to modernity, or as a late 20th-century phenomena), what its chief characteristics are from cultural, political-economic, and technological views, and whether its impact on human life and history is seen as good or bad. A broad consideration of viewpoints has highlighted the emergence of a middle position within research literature: there is most certainly an intertwined meeting and movement of peoples, things, and ideas around the globe; and clearly, processes associated with globalization have good and bad aspects. However, these processes are uneven, and they can be seen to impact different communities in various ways, which are clearly not, on the whole, simply all good or all bad.

That the processes associated with globalization are interrelated with the history and future of education is undeniable. In many ways global convergence around educational policies, practices, and values can be observed in the early 21st century. Yet educational borrowing and transferral remain unstraightforward in practice, as educational and cultural differences across social contexts remain, while the ultimate ends of education (such as math competencies versus moral cultivation) are essentially contested. Thus, specificity is important to understand globalization in relation to education. As with globalization generally, globalization in education cannot be merely described as harmful or beneficial, but depends on one’s position in power relations, and on one’s values and priorities for local and global well-being.

Education and educators’ impact on globalization also remains an important area of research and theorization. Educators are no longer expected merely to react to globalization, they must purposefully interact with it, preparing students around the world to respond to globalization’s challenges. As cultural and political-economic considerations remain crucial in understanding major aspects of both globalization and education, positionality and research ethics and reflexivity remain important research concerns, to understand globalization not just as homogeneity or oppressive top-down features, but as complex and dynamic local, global, and transnational intersections of people, ideas, and goods, with unclear impacts in the future.

• Besley, T. , & Peters, M. A. (Eds.). (2012). Interculturalism: Education and dialogue . New York: Peter Lang.
• Bray, M. , Adamson, R. , & Mason, M. (2015). Comparative education research: Approaches and methods . Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong.
• Held, D. , & McGrew, A. (Eds.). (2000). The global transformation reader: An introduction to the globalization debate . Cambridge, U.K.: Polity.
• Ritzer, G. (Ed.). (2007). The Blackwell companion to globalization . Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Rizvi, F. , & Lingard, R. (2010). Globalizing educational policy . London: Routledge.
• Robinson, W. I. (2003). Transnational conflicts: Central America, social change, and globalization . London: Verso.
• Sklair, L. (2002). Globalization: Capitalism and its alternatives . New York: Oxford University Press.
• Stiglitz, J. (2006). Making globalization work . New York: W. W. Norton.
• Walby, S. (2009). Globalization and inequalities . London: SAGE.
• Wallerstein, I. (1974). The modern world system . New York: Academic.

1. W. I. Robinson (2007), Theories of globalization, in G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Globalization (pp. 125–143) (Malden, MA: Blackwell).

2. R. Robertson (1992), Globalization: Social theory and global culture (Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1992).

3. Robertson, Globalization .

4. Robertson, Globalization.

5. For an historical example of how negative cultural comparison has interconnected with international political relations, see H. Kotef (2015), Little Chinese feet encased in iron shoes: Freedom, movement, gender, and empire in Western political thought, Political Theory, 43 , 334–355.

6. B. Anderson (1983), Imagined communities (London: Verso).

7. Anderson, Imagined communities.

8. M. Nussbaum (1996), For love of country? (Boston: Boston Press).

9. I. Wallerstein (1974), The modern world system (New York: Academic Press).

10. I. Wallerstein (2000), Globalization or the age of transition? International Sociology, 15 , 249–265.

11. Wallerstein, Globalization.

12. Robinson, Theories.

13. F. Rizvi and B. Lingard (2010), Globalizing educational policy (London: Routledge).

14. L. Sklair (2002), Globalization: Capitalism and its alternatives (New York: Oxford University Press).

15. W. I. Robinson (2003), Transnational conflicts: Central America, social change, and globalization (London: Verso)

16. Robinson, Theories.

17. M. Castells (1996), The rise of the network society (Oxford: Blackwell).

18. A. Giddens (1990), The consequences of modernity (Cambridge, U.K.: Polity), 64 ; see also D. Harvey (1990), The condition of post-modernity (London: Blackwell).

19. A. Appadurai (1997), Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press).

20. See also D. Held , A. G. McGrew , D. Goldblatt , and J. Perraton (1999), Global transformations: Politics, economics, and culture (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press) ; M. Waters (1995), Globalization (London: Routledge).

21. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing.

22. M. P. Smith (2001), Transnational urbanism: Locating globalization (Oxford: Blackwell).

23. G. Ritzer (1993), The McDonaldization of society (Boston: Pine Forge).

24. G. Mathews (2011), Ghetto at the center of the world (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press).

25. B. Barber (1995), Jihad versus McWorld (New York: Random House).

26. S. Huntington (1993), The clash of civilizations? Foreign Affairs, 72 (3), 22–49.

27. F. Fukuyama (1992), The end of history and the last man (London: Free Press).

28. U. Beck (1992), The risk society: Toward a new modernity (Cambridge, U.K.: Polity).

29. M. Hardt and A. Negri (2000), Empire (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) ; Hardt and Negri (2004), Multitude: War and democracy in the age of empire (New York: Penguin).

30. W. Bello (2004), Deglobalization: Ideas for a new world economy (London: New York University Press) ; Bello (2013), Capitalism’s last stand? Deglobalization in the age of austerity (London: Zed Books).

31. C. Hines (2000), Localization: A global manifesto (New York: Routledge).

32. See D. Harvey (1989), The condition of post-modernity: An enquiry into the conditions of cultural change (Oxford: Blackwell).

33. A. Giddens (1990), The consequences of modernity (Cambridge, U.K.: Polity).

34. S. Burchill (2009), Liberalism, in S. Burchill , A. Linklater , R. Devetak , J. Donnelly , T. Nardin , M. Paterson , C. Reus-Smit , and J. True (Eds.) (pp. 57–85), Theories of international relations (New York: Palgrave Macmillan).

35. See, for instance, J. Stiglitz (2006), Making globalization work (New York: W. W. Norton).

36. D. Held and A. McGrew (Eds.) (2000), The global transformation reader: An introduction to the globalization debate (Cambridge, U.K.: Polity).

37. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing.

38. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing , 24.

39. T. Reagan (2000), Non-Western educational traditions: Alternative approaches to educational thought (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum). Of course, scholars such as Michael P. Smith would reject describing these processes as belonging to globalization, as people, nations, and communities played significant roles.

40. P. Freire (1972), Pedagogy of the oppressed (Victoria: Penguin).

41. B. Ashcroft , G. Griffiths , and H. Tiffin (Eds.) (1995), The post-colonial studies reader (London: Routledge).

42. R. E. Wanner (2015), UNESCO’s origins, achievements, problems and promise: An inside/outside perspective from the US (Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre/University of Hong Kong).

43. M. Manzon (2011), Comparative education: The construction of a field (Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre/University of Hong Kong).

44. S. Walby (2009), Globalization and inequalities (London: SAGE).

45. See for instance J. Stier (2004), Taking a critical stance toward internationalization ideologies in higher education: idealism, instrumentalism and educationalism, Globalisation, Societies and Education, 2 , 1–28.

46. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing .

47. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing .

48. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing .

49. Rizvi and Lingard, Globalizing .

50. See for instance M. S. Tucker and L. Darling-Hammond (2011), Surpassing Shanghai: An agenda for American education built on the world’s leading systems (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).

51. See for instance P. Sahlberg (2014), Finnish lessons 2.0: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? (New York: Teachers College Press).

52. A. Darder (2015), Paulo Freire and the continuing struggle to decolonize education, in M. A Peters and T. Besley (Eds.), Paulo Freire: The global legacy (pp. 55–78) (New York: Peter Lang).

53. S. J. Shin (2009), Bilingualism in schools and society (London: Routledge) ; H. Norberg-Hodge (2009), Ancient futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a globalizing world (San Francisco: Sierra Club).

54. L. Jackson (2015), Challenges to the global concept of student-centered learning with special reference to the United Arab Emirates: “Never Fail a Nahayan,” Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47 , 760–773.

55. T. Besley (2012), Narratives of intercultural and international education: Aspirational values and economic imperatives, in T. Besley and M. A. Peters (Eds.), Interculturalism: Education and dialogue (pp. 87–112) (New York: Peter Lang).

56. W. J. Jacob and D. B. Holsinger (2008), Inequality in education: A critical analysis, in D. B. Holsinger and W. J. Jacob (Eds.), Inequality in education: Comparative and international perspectives (pp. 1–33) (Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre/University of Hong Kong).

57. D. Hill , N. M. Greaves , and A. Maisuria (2008), Does capitalism inevitably increase inequality? in D. B. Holsinger and W. J. Jacob (Eds.), Inequality in education: Comparative and international perspectives (pp. 59–85) (Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre/University of Hong Kong).

58. D. M. West (2013), Digital schools : How technology can transform education (Washington, DC: Brookings Institute Press) ; N. Burbules and T. Callister (2000), Watch IT: The risks and promises of technologies for education (Boulder, CO: Westview).

59. Burbules and Callister, Watch IT.

60. Stier, Critical Stance.

61. See for example, S. K. Gallwey and G. Wilgus (2014), Equitable partnerships for mutual learning or perpetuator of North-South power imbalances? Ireland–South Africa school links, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 44 , 522–544.

62. M. C. Nussbaum (2001), Upheavals of thought: The intelligence of emotions (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press).

63. K. Hytten (2009), Education for critical democracy and compassionate globalization, in R. Glass (Ed.), Philosophy of Education 2008 (pp. 330–332) (Urbana, IL: Philosophy of Education Society).

64. See for example, Report to the UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century (1996), Learning: The treasure within (Paris: UNESCO) ; Asia Society (2015), A Rosetta Stone for noncognitive skills: Understanding, assessing, and enhancing noncognitive skills in primary and secondary education (New York: Asia Society).

65. See S. Y. Kang (2006), Identity-centered multicultural care theory: White, Black, and Korean caring, Educational Foundations, 20 (3–4), 35–49 ; L. Jackson (2016), Altruism, non-relational caring, and global citizenship education, in M. Moses (Ed.), Philosophy of Education 2014 (Urbana, IL: Philosophy of Education).

66. Jackson, Altruism.

67. L. Jackson (2016), Education for sustainable development: From environmental education to broader view, in E. Railean , G. Walker , A. Elçi , and L. Jackson (Eds.), Handbook of research on applied learning theory and design in modern education (pp. 41–64) (Hershey, PA: IGI Press).

68. Jackson, Education for Sustainable Development.

69. Jackson, Education for Sustainable Development.

70. P. Vare and W. Scott (2007), Learning for change: Exploring the relationship between education and sustainable development, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 1 , 191–198.

71. P. Kennedy (2011), Local lives and global transformations: Towards a world society (London: Palgrave).

72. M. Manzon (2015), Comparing places, in M. Bray , B. Adamson , and M. Mason (Eds.), Comparative education research: Approaches and methods (pp. 85–121) (Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre/University of Hong Kong).

73. F. Rizvi (2009), Global mobility and the challenges of educational policy and research, in T. S. Popkewitz and F. Rizvi (Eds.), Globalization and the study of education (pp. 268–289) (Oxford: Blackwell).

74. Manzon, Comparing places.

75. G. P. Fairbrother , Qualitative and quantitative approaches to comparative education, in Bray , Adamson , and Mason (Eds.), Comparative education research (pp. 39–62).

76. L. Jackson (2015), Comparing race, class, and gender, in Bray , Adamson , and Mason (Eds.), Comparative education research (pp. 195–220).

77. M. Bray , B. Adamson , and M. Mason (2015), Different models, different emphases, different insights, in Bray , Adamson , and Mason (Eds.), Comparative education research , 421.

78. See, for instance, H. Tange and S. Miller (2015), Opening the mind? Geographies of knowledge and curricular practices, Higher Education , 1–15.

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Education, culture, and society, master of science in education (m.s.ed.), you are here, our master’s program prepares you to be an educator or scholar with a critical understanding of school in society, using approaches from anthropology, history, and philosophy..

Under the supervision and mentorship of a faculty advisor, students in the Education, Culture, and Society master’s program undertake individualized and interdisciplinary programs of study in the social foundations of education. The program provides students with a nuanced understanding of education as a social, cultural, and historical phenomenon in the U.S. and around the world. 

What Sets Us Apart

About the program.

The M.S. Ed. in Education, Culture, and Society (ECS) blends theory and practice to explore the role education plays in reproducing and potentially transforming racialized, classed, and gendered relations and structures of inequality—in the U.S. and around the world.

Under the supervision and mentorship of a faculty advisor, students undertake individualized and interdisciplinary programs of study in the social foundations of education. Working in small cohorts, students explore and build a unique vision for the program through collaborative dialogue, intensive writing, and critical inquiry. The program prepares students for careers in school administration, educational non-profits, higher education, community advocacy work, and educational consultancy, as well as for doctoral study.

Fall: 3.5 to 4.5 courses; Spring: 3.5 to 4.5 courses; Summer: 2.0 courses

Culminating experience Master’s research paper

Duration of program 12 to 15 months full-time; 2 years part-time

Dual degree options Master of Social Work (MSW) M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Concentration options Community Action and Social Change

The master's program in Education, Culture, and Society (ECS) is committed to fostering meaningful community engagement, activism, dialogue about the state of our world, and participatory research. Students will critically examine education as a profoundly social, cultural, political, and moral endeavor. Faculty members challenge students to reflect on the fundamental structures and purposes of education in society while also empowering them to actively participate in shaping educational practices through meaningful engagement.   This program cultivates and values diverse interests, perspectives, life paths, and goals in its students.

The program design allows students to individualize their studies around topics and disciplines for which they have an intellectual passion. Students may take their electives in ECS, across other education programs at Penn GSE, or in other departments across the University of Pennsylvania. Students are encouraged to explore diverse domains and gain a broader perspective through courses in Sociology, Law, Anthropology, Public Administration, Political Science, Social Work, Non-Profit Leadership, History, and many others. 

ECS takes pride in its individualized and flexible approach, offering students a range of joint programs and options to tailor their academic journey to their specific interests and career goals. For those on a more academic path, a rigorous academic paper serves as the culminating capstone for students, demonstrating students' critical thinking, potential for scholarly contributions to the field, and deep understanding of their chosen area of focus. For those dedicated to Community Action and Social Change concentration, a community-based digital portfolio highlights their impactful community projects and fosters connections with diverse stakeholders in the field. Others may consider joint programs with our partners, including Non-Profit Leadership, Social Work, and Public Administration. 

The master’s program includes four core courses as well as six electives. The core program provides a common, academic foundation, while electives allow students to individualize the program of study. For example, in conversation with a faculty advisor, ECS students identify elective coursework not only in education, but also in other fields across the university such as social work, political science, sociology, public policy, and so on. All course selections should be reviewed in consultation with a faculty advisor. The program culminates in a robust academic master’s paper.

For information on courses and requirements, visit the  Education, Culture, and Society M.S.Ed. program in the University Catalog . 

Sample Courses

Core courses.

• School and Society in America
• Master’s Seminar in Education, Culture, and Society

Diciplinary Courses

Disciplinary Foundations courses critically bring to bear a disciplinary perspective on the understanding or practice of education.  Students should select any one of the following:

• Philosophical Aspects of Education Policy
• Anthropology and Education
• American Education Reform: History, Policy, Practice
• History of American Education

Research Methods Courses

Methods courses prepare students in both the practical and theoretical implications of collecting, interpreting, analyzing, and presenting data on the human condition broadly—and education/learning in particular. Options include (but are not limited to) courses such as:

• Qualitative Methods: Principles and Techniques Ethnographic Filmmaking
• Advanced Qualitative and Case Study Research 
• Ethnographic Research Methods

Elective Courses

In conference with a faculty advisor, students are encouraged to identify graduate level courses that align with their planned program of study from across the university. As such, electives may be taken in Education, Culture, and Society, other programs in the Graduate School of Education, or from programs across the University of Pennsylvania. Options include (but are not limited to) courses such as:

• Politics and Education
• Basic Education in Developing Countries
• Global Citizenship
• Merit and America
• Education and the American Metropolis
• The Social and Political Philosophy of Education
• Examining the School to Prison Pipeline
• Culture Wars and American Education

Program of Study

Our recommended course of study is to complete the program in 1.5 years (fall, spring, summer, fall). This allows students to build relationships with faculty and make the most of their time at Penn. We also offer an expedited option (fall, spring, summer), which is very intensive, or a part-time option across two years. Students are expected to work closely with their advisor in planning their course of study.

Concentrations and Dual Degrees

Although many students find that the one-year master’s program is well-suited to achieving their goals, others feel that a second year of focused study can powerfully shape their career path. For such students, a second year in one of our dual-degree programs can solidly ground students in two communities of practice.

Or, for students who do not want to add a second year, the concentration in Community Action and Social Change is an option. This concentration focuses on community advocacy, activism, educational non-profits, or other forms of community engagement.

Learn more about Dual and Joint Degrees at Penn GSE.

Our Faculty

The program faculty oversee and are responsible for the curricular and intellectual integrity of the academic program. Please contact our program for information on selecting a faculty advisor. 

Affiliated Faculty

Our affiliated faculty members are valued as part of our intellectual community, and students are encouraged to take their courses and to connect on research matters and for mentorship.

Asif Agha Professor of Anthropology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of Chicago

Nikhil Anand Associate Professor of Anthropology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., Stanford University

Mia Bay Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., Yale University

Camille Z. Charles Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Amitanshu Das Senior Fellow and Director M.A., New York University

Karen Detlefsen Vice Provost for Education Ph.D., University of Toronto

Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher Senior Lecturer Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University

Mauro F. Guillén William H. Wurster Professor of Multinational Management, The Wharton School Ph.D., Yale University

Amy Gutmann Former President and Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., Harvard University

Emily Hannum Professor of Sociology and Education, School of Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of Michigan 

Jessie Harper Lecturer, MSW Program, Penn Social Policy & Practice Ed.D., University of Pennsylvania

Jasmine Harris Professor of Law, Penn Carey Law J.D., Yale Law School

Nancy H. Hornberger Professor Emerita of Education Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Richard M. Ingersoll Professor of Education and Sociology Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

John L. Jackson, Jr. Provost Ph.D., Columbia University

Jerry A. Jacobs Professor of Sociology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., Harvard University

Michael C. Johanek Senior Fellow Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University

Annette Lareau Professor of Sociology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Kristina Lyons Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Ranah McKay Associate Professor of History and Sociology of Science, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., Stanford University

Jennifer Morton Presidential Penn Compact Associate Professor of Philosophy Ph.D., Stanford University

Hyunjoon Park Korea Foundation Professor of Sociology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison

John L. Puckett Professor Emeritus of Education Ph.D., University of North Carolina

Rogers Smith Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., Harvard University

Deborah Thomas R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., New York University

Greg Urban Arthur Hobson Quinn Professor of Anthropology, Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D., University of Chicago

Daniel A. Wagner UNESCO Chair in Learning and Literacy Ph.D., University of Michigan

"While at Penn GSE, I was exposed to the debates that are defining education today, and the complex history of these issues. This deep analysis helped me develop distinct positions on key issues like philanthropy in education, which I continue to explore in my research."

ArCasia James

Our graduates.

The M.S.Ed. program in Education, Culture, and Society is particularly well suited for students interested in educational research and doctoral study.  Other students aim for careers in consulting, teaching, community advocacy, educational non-profits, practitioner-orientated inquiry, higher education, evaluation groups, community work, or broad leadership roles in education.

Alumni Careers

• Director of College and Career Counseling, YSC Academy
• Assistant Director of Enrichment, Mastery Charter Schools
• Associate Director of College Counseling, Horace Mann School
• Civics and U.S. Government Teacher, New Orleans Charter School
• Director, Community Action Development Corporation of Bethlehem
• Ph.D. Student, Harvard University
• Ph.D. Student, Oxford University
• Ph.D. Student, University of Pennsylvania
• Ph.D. Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Ph.D. Student, Vanderbilt University
• Social Worker, Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (dual degree program with social work)
• Student Involvement Coordinator, University of Colorado, Boulder

Admissions & Financial Aid

Please visit our Admissions and Financial Aid pages for specific information on the application requirements , as well as information on tuition, fees, financial aid, scholarships, and fellowships.

Contact us if you have any questions about the program.

Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania 3700 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 898-6415 [email protected] [email protected]

Alex Posecznick, Ph.D. Program Manager and Associated Faculty (215) 573-3947 [email protected]

Paula Rogers Program Assistant (215) 898-5023 [email protected]

Please view information from our Admissions and Financial Aid Office for specific information on the cost of this program.

Penn GSE is committed to making your graduate education affordable, and we offer generous scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships.

Related News & Research

As teacher shortages rise, experts share tailored solutions

New books by Penn GSE faculty tackle burnout immunity, fostering community-based research

Jobs for the Future leader discusses education–workforce pathways with Penn GSE community

Penn GSE affordability expert offers takeaways on the new FAFSA

Ethnography in Education Research Forum

Convened by the Center for Urban Ethnography at Penn GSE since 1980, the Ethnography in Education Research Forum is the largest annual meeting of qualitative researchers in education.

Urban Education Journal

The Penn GSE Perspectives on Urban Education journal is an electronic, student-run publication and interactive forum to investigate critical issues in urban education.

Good Morning America features ECS student Sanah Jivani’s story of overcoming bullying and finding herself

November 12, 2019

You May Be Interested In

Related programs.

• Education, Culture, and Society Ph.D.
• Literacy Studies Ph.D.
• Literacy Studies Ed.D.
• Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development Ph.D.
• Education Policy Ph.D.
• International Educational Development M.S.Ed.

Related Topics

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• Essay on Influence

Culture And Education Essay Example

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Influence , Education , Middle East , Politics , Culture , Students , Family , Tribe

Published: 12/18/2019

ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS

Culture and education

Culture is one of the basic units that dictate a person’s way of living and approach to certain situations in life. It usually incorporates norms and taboos which outline the way the people of a certain community live as a unit and as an individual. This makes culture to have great influence on education of people from a community (Ralph, 1969). Therefore, we are to explore the influence of culture on education in one African tribe, the Zulus from South Africa.

The Zulus is a tribe from South Africa which can be further classified as a Bantu tribe. The tribe has some cultural aspects that still persist even to today. One of the persistent aspects is polygamy and female circumcision. The traditions of this community generally make females appear less important compared to their male counterparts (www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html).

On the traditions and customs of the community, the people of Zulu are farmers by nature who believe in making sure that all ladies are married and the marriage arrangements are made without consideration of the female’s opinion. The males are supposed to kill a lion so as to pass from childhood to adulthood. The king or leader of the tribe who is assisted by a council of elders who serve as advisers is the law of the tribe and has the power to be with any lady regardless to whether she is married or not. This kind of treatment on leaders is still present in the tribe (www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html). This is the reason why the South African president has of late married another wife presumed to be younger than the first born of the president.

One of the taboos in the tribe is involvement of a woman with many men. The cultural law considers this a very serious crime that may call for a lethal sentence. This makes the females even more fearful than men (www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html). This male chauvinism has greatly influenced education in the tribe. The males are given a prior consideration compared to their female counterparts. This has led to lower numbers of female experts in any field resulting in male dominated institutions. The boys schools are also more compared to girls schools within the tribe‘s area of residence (Shell, 2009).

The educational perspectives in the tribe allow males to dominate the lead positions in many educational institutions. This is due to the fact that males are given a higher priority in education by denying the girl child higher education. This is done by inconsiderate selection without looking at the difference in psychology between the males and females (Shell, 2009).

United States is one of the countries that have diversified cultural backgrounds. T has cultural influence from United Kingdom, Sweden,

France and Germany. This is due to the fact that the US was a home for the Immigrants. This makes the different cultures to have different influences on the education of USA (Kroeber, 1939).

One of the predominant cultural influences on education in the US is the difference in school for the whites and the blacks. Though the educational content is similar, the different schools stress on different contents. This makes the education in US to be inadequate on some issues and overstressed on others (Kroeber, 2009).

Though the education is influenced by culture, the federal government tries to harmonize it. The different cultures cause children to attend public schools, private schools or home schools. Some cultures prefer home schools while others prefer public schools. In most cases, the black Americans attend public schools while the white counterparts attend private and home schools. In class performance, there is no great disparity though most African learners tend to have an upper hand (peter, 2011).

In conclusion, cultural influence on education is felt mainly due to the preconceived perceptions that the people hold in their minds. Therefore, so as to reduce cultural influence on education, it would be advisable for the government to create a virtual uniform culture which addresses all the cultures in the country. By this, the government would have increased the control on education. It would also lead to reduced rejection of education by some culture due to neglect of some cultural aspects. The government should also enlighten the population on the need from equal education rights of children from both sexes.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html.

Kroeber, L. 1939. Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America. University of California Press.

Ralph L. 1969. Current Anthropology "Culture: A Human domain” Princeton Press Inc. Shell, E. 2009. Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. Penguin Press. Peter, S. 2011. American Utopia and Social Engineering in Literature, Social Thought, and Political History. Princeton Inc.

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“Staring at the Sky” is available for purchase via Biblio. Learn more here .

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Essay on Diversity in India: A Tapestry of Cultural and Traditions 

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• Apr 23, 2024

Essay on Diversity in India: “Unity in diversity is India’s strength. There is simplicity in every Indian. There is unity in every corner of India.” As India celebrates 77 years of independence, it’s crucial to explore the vast diversity that defines this nation. Despite the colonial past, which attempted to diminish the rich tapestry of Indian culture, the country today is a vibrant mosaic of languages, religions, and traditions. 

Table of Contents

• 0.1 Cultural Diversity
• 0.2 Social Diversity
• 0.3 Religious Diversity
• 0.4 Linguistic Diversity
• 0.5 Geographical Diversity
• 0.6 Conclusion

Cultural Diversity

India’s cultural landscape is as varied as its geography. Each region boasts its unique festivals, arts, and culinary traditions. For instance, classical dance forms like Kathak in the north and Bharatanatyam in the south highlight regional narratives and myths. The popularity of Western dance forms has not overshadowed these traditional dances, reflecting a resurgence in interest in and pride in indigenous arts. Similarly, festivals like Diwali and Eid are celebrated with fervor across the country, showcasing unity in diversity.

India is the home of numerous different religious traditions. Hindus (82.41%), Muslims (11.6%), Christians (2.32%), Sikhs (1.99%), Buddhists (0.77%), Jains (0.41%), and tribal cultures (many of whom still engage in animism and magic) comprise the population of India.

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Social Diversity

India’s social fabric is woven with threads from numerous ethnic groups and castes. This diversity is a double-edged sword, presenting challenges in terms of social equality while also enriching the societal structure with a variety of perspectives and practices. Urban areas, in particular, display a melting pot of cultures, with people from various backgrounds living and working together, which promotes a broader understanding and acceptance of diverse social norms.

Religious Diversity

Home to major religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, India’s religious diversity is a testament to its pluralistic society. This multiplicity of belief systems coexisting is one of India’s greatest strengths, fostering a culture of mutual respect and tolerance. The peaceful cohabitation of diverse religious communities, however, is occasionally challenged by conflicts, underscoring the need for continuous dialogue and reconciliation.

Linguistic Diversity

With over 1,600 languages and dialects spoken, the linguistic diversity in India is staggering. Hindi and English are widely used, but state-specific languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali hold equal importance. The Indian constitution’s recognition of 22 official languages is a clear indicator of the country’s commitment to embracing its linguistic heritage. This diversity is also evident in literature, with works ranging from the ancient epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata to modern writings in various vernaculars.

Every language embodies the history and customs of its people and reflects a unique legacy. The Indian Constitution, which affirms India’s commitment to inclusivity and cultural preservation, recognises and defends this diversity by defending the rights of linguistic minorities and fighting for the preservation of endangered languages.

Geographical Diversity

From the snowy peaks of the Himalayas in the north to the tropical beaches of the south, India’s geographical diversity influences its climate, agriculture, and lifestyle. This diversity not only dictates the economic activities of different regions but also shapes the cultural identities of the people, from the attire they wear to the food they eat.

India has breathtaking geographical diversity, with the sun-kissed beaches of the south and the towering Himalayas of the north, as well as the lush forests of Kerala and Rajasthan. In addition to influencing regional traditions and means of subsistence, this geographic diversity has given India an unmatched biodiversity. India is a large country with a diverse range of natural environments, including deserts, evergreen forests, steep mountains, perennial and non-perennial river systems, long coastlines, and fertile plains. Its total land area is 3.28 million square kilometres.

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While significant achievements have marked India’s journey since independence, the shadow of colonial influence still lingers, impacting perceptions and values. Yet, the resurgence of pride in one’s heritage and the continuous celebration of its diversity are signs of a maturing nation that values its past while forging a new identity. India’s diversity is not just a fact of life but the very fabric that makes it unique on the global stage. As India moves forward, it is the recognition and preservation of this diversity that will empower it to overcome its colonial hangovers and redefine what it means to be modern and Indian on its terms. The path ahead lies in embracing the richness of its diverse heritage, thus truly fulfilling the dreams that fueled its struggle for freedom 77 years ago. 

Ans: India is a multicultural nation home to all of the world’s main religions. The number of languages spoken in India is over 1600. India’s terrain is diverse, with mountains, plains, plateaus, deserts, and islands among its features. Aside from this, migration from all over the world has given rise to a variety of ethnic groups in India.

Ans: The acceptance of a range of individual characteristics within a society or group is referred to as diversity. Aspects including color, ethnicity, gender, age, financial situation, sexual orientation, religious views, abilities, and more can all be considered in these differences.

Ans: India is referred to as the “land of diversity” for a variety of reasons, including its diverse culinary options, language usage, holiday celebrations, and religious and cultural practices.

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Aayushi Vardhan

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Guest Essay

The Troubling Trend in Teenage Sex

By Peggy Orenstein

Ms. Orenstein is the author of “Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity” and “Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape.”

Debby Herbenick is one of the foremost researchers on American sexual behavior. The director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University and the author of the pointedly titled book “Yes, Your Kid,” she usually shares her data, no matter how explicit, without judgment. So I was surprised by how concerned she seemed when we checked in on Zoom recently: “I haven’t often felt so strongly about getting research out there,” she told me. “But this is lifesaving.”

For the past four years, Dr. Herbenick has been tracking the rapid rise of “rough sex” among college students, particularly sexual strangulation, or what is colloquially referred to as choking. Nearly two-thirds of women in her most recent campus-representative survey of 5,000 students at an anonymized “major Midwestern university” said a partner had choked them during sex (one-third in their most recent encounter). The rate of those women who said they were between the ages 12 and 17 the first time that happened had shot up to 40 percent from one in four.

As someone who’s been writing for well over a decade about young people’s attitudes and early experience with sex in all its forms, I’d also begun clocking this phenomenon. I was initially startled in early 2020 when, during a post-talk Q. and A. at an independent high school, a 16-year-old girl asked, “How come boys all want to choke you?” In a different class, a 15-year-old boy wanted to know, “Why do girls all want to be choked?” They do? Not long after, a college sophomore (and longtime interview subject) contacted me after her roommate came home in tears because a hookup partner, without warning, had put both hands on her throat and squeezed.

I started to ask more, and the stories piled up. Another sophomore confided that she enjoyed being choked by her boyfriend, though it was important for a partner to be “properly educated” — pressing on the sides of the neck, for example, rather than the trachea. (Note: There is no safe way to strangle someone.) A male freshman said “girls expected” to be choked and, even though he didn’t want to do it, refusing would make him seem like a “simp.” And a senior in high school was angry that her friends called her “vanilla” when she complained that her boyfriend had choked her.

Sexual strangulation, nearly always of women in heterosexual pornography, has long been a staple on free sites, those default sources of sex ed for teens . As with anything else, repeat exposure can render the once appalling appealing. It’s not uncommon for behaviors to be normalized in porn, move within a few years to mainstream media, then, in what may become a feedback loop, be adopted in the bedroom or the dorm room.

Choking, Dr. Herbenick said, seems to have made that first leap in a 2008 episode of Showtime’s “Californication,” where it was still depicted as outré, then accelerated after the success of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” By 2019, when a high school girl was choked in the pilot of HBO’s “Euphoria,” it was standard fare. A young woman was choked in the opener of “The Idol” (again on HBO and also, like “Euphoria,” created by Sam Levinson; what’s with him ?). Ali Wong plays the proclivity for laughs in a Netflix special, and it’s a punchline in Tina Fey’s new “Mean Girls.” The chorus of Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me,” which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for six nonconsecutive weeks this winter and has been viewed over 99 million times on YouTube, starts with, “I’m vanilla, baby, I’ll choke you, but I ain’t no killer, baby.” How-to articles abound on the internet, and social media algorithms feed young people (but typically not their unsuspecting parents) hundreds of #chokemedaddy memes along with memes that mock — even celebrate — the potential for hurting or killing female partners.

I’m not here to kink-shame (or anything-shame). And, anyway, many experienced BDSM practitioners discourage choking, believing it to be too dangerous. There are still relatively few studies on the subject, and most have been done by Dr. Herbenick and her colleagues. Reports among adolescents are now trickling out from the United Kingdom , Australia , Iceland , New Zealand and Italy .

Twenty years ago, sexual asphyxiation appears to have been unusual among any demographic, let alone young people who were new to sex and iffy at communication. That’s changed radically in a short time, with health consequences that parents, educators, medical professionals, sexual consent advocates and teens themselves urgently need to understand.

Sexual trends can spread quickly on campus and, to an extent, in every direction. But, at least among straight kids, I’ve sometimes noticed a pattern: Those that involve basic physical gratification — like receiving oral sex in hookups — tend to favor men. Those that might entail pain or submission, like choking, are generally more for women.

So, while undergrads of all genders and sexualities in Dr. Herbenick’s surveys report both choking and being choked, straight and bisexual young women are far more likely to have been the subjects of the behavior; the gap widens with greater occurrences. (In a separate study , Dr. Herbenick and her colleagues found the behavior repeated across the United States, particularly for adults under 40, and not just among college students.) Alcohol may well be involved, and while the act is often engaged in with a steady partner, a quarter of young women said partners they’d had sex with on the day they’d met also choked them.

Either way, most say that their partners never or only sometimes asked before grabbing their necks. For many, there had been moments when they couldn’t breathe or speak, compromising the ability to withdraw consent, if they’d given it. No wonder that, in a separate study by Dr. Herbenick, choking was among the most frequently listed sex acts young women said had scared them, reporting that it sometimes made them worry whether they’d survive.

Among girls and women I’ve spoken with, many did not want or like to be sexually strangled, though in an otherwise desired encounter they didn’t name it as assault . Still, a sizable number were enthusiastic; they requested it. It is exciting to feel so vulnerable, a college junior explained. The power dynamic turns her on; oxygen deprivation to the brain can trigger euphoria.

That same young woman, incidentally, had never climaxed with a partner: While the prevalence of choking has skyrocketed, rates of orgasm among young women have not increased, nor has the “orgasm gap” disappeared among heterosexual couples. “It indicates they’re not doing other things to enhance female arousal or pleasure,” Dr. Herbenick said.

When, for instance, she asked one male student who said he choked his partner whether he’d ever tried using a vibrator instead, he recoiled. “Why would I do that?” he asked.

Perhaps, she responded, because it would be more likely to produce orgasm without risking, you know, death.

In my interviews, college students have seen male orgasm as a given; women’s is nice if it happens, but certainly not expected or necessarily prioritized (by either partner). It makes sense, then, that fulfillment would be less the motivator for choking than appearing adventurous or kinky. Such performances don’t always feel good.

“Personally, my hypothesis is that this is one of the reasons young people are delaying or having less sex,” Dr. Herbenick said. “Because it’s uncomfortable and weird and scary. At times some of them literally think someone is assaulting them but they don’t know. Those are the only sexual experiences for some people. And it’s not just once they’ve gotten naked. They’ll say things like, ‘I’ve only tried to make out with someone once because he started choking and hitting me.’”

Keisuke Kawata, a neuroscientist at Indiana University’s School of Public Health, was one of the first researchers to sound the alarm on how the cumulative, seemingly inconsequential, sub-concussive hits football players sustain (as opposed to the occasional hard blow) were key to triggering C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease. He’s a good judge of serious threats to the brain. In response to Dr. Herbenick’s work, he’s turning his attention to sexual strangulation. “I see a similarity” to C.T.E., he told me, “though the mechanism of injury is very different.” In this case, it is oxygen-blocking pressure to the throat, frequently in light, repeated bursts of a few seconds each.

Strangulation — sexual or otherwise — often leaves few visible marks and can be easily overlooked as a cause of death. Those whose experiences are nonlethal rarely seek medical attention, because any injuries seem minor: Young women Dr. Herbenick studied mostly reported lightheadedness, headaches, neck pain, temporary loss of coordination and ear ringing. The symptoms resolve, and all seems well. But, as with those N.F.L. players, the true effects are silent, potentially not showing up for days, weeks, even years.

According to the American Academy of Neurology, restricting blood flow to the brain, even briefly, can cause permanent injury, including stroke and cognitive impairment. In M.R.I.s conducted by Dr. Kawata and his colleagues (including Dr. Herbenick, who is a co-author of his papers on strangulation), undergraduate women who have been repeatedly choked show a reduction in cortical folding in the brain compared with a never-choked control group. They also showed widespread cortical thickening, an inflammation response that is associated with elevated risk of later-onset mental illness. In completing simple memory tasks, their brains had to work far harder than the control group, recruiting from more regions to achieve the same level of accuracy.

The hemispheres in the choked group’s brains, too, were badly skewed, with the right side hyperactive and the left underperforming. A similar imbalance is associated with mood disorders — and indeed in Dr. Herbenick’s surveys girls and women who had been choked were more likely than others (or choked men) to have experienced overwhelming anxiety, as well as sadness and loneliness, with the effect more pronounced as the incidence rose: Women who had experienced more than five instances of choking were two and a half times as likely as those who had never been choked to say they had been so depressed within the previous 30 days they couldn’t function. Whether girls and women with mental health challenges are more likely to seek out (or be subjected to) choking, choking causes mood disorders, or some combination of the two is still unclear. But hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation — judging by what research has shown about other types of traumatic brain injury — could be a contributing factor. Given the soaring rates of depression and anxiety among young women, that warrants concern.

Now consider that every year Dr. Herbenick has done her survey, the number of females reporting extreme effects from strangulation (neck swelling, loss of consciousness, losing control of urinary function) has crept up. Among those who’ve been choked, the rate of becoming what students call “cloudy” — close to passing out, but not crossing the line — is now one in five, a huge proportion. All of this indicates partners are pressing on necks longer and harder.

The physical, cognitive and psychological impacts of sexual choking are disturbing. So is the idea that at a time when women’s social, economic, educational and political power are in ascent (even if some of those rights may be in jeopardy), when #MeToo has made progress against harassment and assault, there has been the popularization of a sex act that can damage our brains, impair intellectual functioning, undermine mental health, even kill us. Nonfatal strangulation, one of the most significant indicators that a man will murder his female partner (strangulation is also one of the most common methods used for doing so), has somehow been eroticized and made consensual, at least consensual enough. Yet, the outcomes are largely the same: Women’s brains and bodies don’t distinguish whether they are being harmed out of hate or out of love.

By now I’m guessing that parents are curled under their chairs in a fetal position. Or perhaps thinking, “No, not my kid!” (see: title of Dr. Herbenick’s book above, which, by the way, contains an entire chapter on how to talk to your teen about “rough sex”).

I get it. It’s scary stuff. Dr. Herbenick is worried; I am, too. And we are hardly some anti-sex, wait-till-marriage crusaders. But I don’t think our only option is to wring our hands over what young people are doing.

Parents should take a beat and consider how they might give their children relevant information in a way that they can hear it. Maybe reiterate that they want them to have a pleasurable sex life — you have already said that, right? — and also want them to be safe. Tell them that misinformation about certain practices, including choking, is rampant, that in reality it has grave health consequences. Plus, whether or not a partner initially requested it, if things go wrong, you’re generally criminally on the hook.

Dr. Herbenick suggests reminding them that there are other, lower-risk ways to be exploratory or adventurous if that is what they are after, but it would be wisest to delay any “rough sex” until they are older and more skilled at communicating. She offers language when negotiating with a new partner, such as, “By the way, I’m not comfortable with” — choking, or other escalating behaviors such as name-calling, spitting and genital slapping — “so please don’t do it/don’t ask me to do it to you.” They could also add what they are into and want to do together.

I’d like to point high school health teachers to evidence-based porn literacy curricula, but I realize that incorporating such lessons into their classrooms could cost them their jobs. Shafia Zaloom, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, recommends, if that’s the case, grounding discussions in mainstream and social media. There are plenty of opportunities. “You can use it to deconstruct gender norms, power dynamics in relationships, ‘performative’ trends that don’t represent most people’s healthy behaviors,” she said, “especially depictions of people putting pressure on someone’s neck or chest.”

I also know that pediatricians, like other adults, struggle when talking to adolescents about sex (the typical conversation, if it happens, lasts 40 seconds). Then again, they already caution younger children to use a helmet when they ride a bike (because heads and necks are delicate!); they can mention that teens might hear about things people do in sexual situations, including choking, then explain the impact on brain health and why such behavior is best avoided. They should emphasize that if, for any reason — a fall, a sports mishap or anything else — a young person develops symptoms of head trauma, they should come in immediately, no judgment, for help in healing.

The role and responsibility of the entertainment industry is a tangled knot: Media reflects behavior but also drives it, either expanding possibilities or increasing risks. There is precedent for accountability. The European Union now requires age verification on the world’s largest porn sites (in ways that preserve user privacy, whatever that means on the internet); that discussion, unsurprisingly, had been politicized here. Social media platforms have already been pushed to ban content promoting eating disorders, self-harm and suicide — they should likewise be pressured to ban content promoting choking. Traditional formats can stop glamorizing strangulation, making light of it, spreading false information, using it to signal female characters’ complexity or sexual awakening. Young people’s sexual scripts are shaped by what they watch, scroll by and listen to — unprecedentedly so. They deserve, and desperately need, models of interactions that are respectful, communicative, mutual and, at the very least, safe.

Peggy Orenstein is the author of “Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity” and “Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape.”

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An earlier version of this article misstated the network on which “Californication” first appeared. It is Showtime, not HBO. The article also misspelled a book and film title. It is “Fifty Shades of Grey,” not “Fifty Shades of Gray.”

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