Broad-based national education in globalisation: Conceptualisation, multiple functions and management

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the worldwide discussion of conceptualization, multiple functions and management of national education in an era of globalisation by proposing a new comprehensive framework for research, policy analysis and practical implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a review of the diversity in definitions of national education, the controversies in policy and implementation of national education are discussed. The different interpretations of national education stem from different assumptions and perspectives. Each of them seems too confining in globalisation. To overcome the controversies, this paper calls for a re-conceptualisation of national education from a broader perspective.

Findings

The conceptualisation of broad-based national education is premised on two fundamental principles. First, national education which is meant for development is a process by which humankind moves forward at multiple levels including the personal, local, national and global levels. Second, national education nowadays must be understood against a globalised context, in which there are multiple, complex and dynamic developments at play including technological, economic, social, political, cultural and learning developments of not only individuals and local communities within the nation but also the global world beyond the nation. In brief, broad-based education serves multiple functions at multiple levels. With national identity understood in a broader perspective, the multiplicity and complexity of national education may be better addressed. Identifying with one’s own nation is a dynamic and complicated process in which interaction and integration between the different levels and different functions of civic identities are involved. The approaches to management, implementation and pedagogy of broad-based national education are also discussed.

Research limitations/implications

The new framework of conceptualisation and the comparison between the characteristic profiles of broad-based and narrow-based national education provide new implications and possibilities not only for policy and implementation but also for research involving multiple functions and multiple levels.

Originality/value

The new perspectives associated with the broad-based national education will contribute to future research worldwide in this area.

Citation

Cheng, Y.C. and Yuen, T.W.W. (2017), "Broad-based national education in globalisation: Conceptualisation, multiple functions and management", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 265-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-05-2016-0127