Coming Home

Globalization is a trend that developed during the modern era, when wars and colonization were over. In my opinion, it was born as a positive sign that reflected the peace-making spirits shared across nations Germov & Poole (2015, pp.372-373) refer to globalization as the increasing interdependence between countries world-wide with three aspects: economic, political, and cultural. This is where education comes to play. Knowledge drawn from tourism or public media perhaps only informs us at the surface about intercultural knowledge. Beyond that, education provides us tools and materials to understand all three aspects of globalization in depth. This is my viewpoint -- that to achieve globalization needs education. At the same time, to understand and teach globalization, education needs to be globalized.

 In the next few paragraphs, I am going to discuss some aspects of globalized education and study abroad experiences. Education is essential because it not only teaches students what they want to learn, but also what they need to learn, regardless of their awareness of how important the provided lessons could be. This is the crucial vision of education, of which globalization is an example. 

Living in either a small town or a big city centers our comfort zone around the familiar notion of home in those terms. It is education that challenges us to step out of those comfort zones, and that gives us tools (i.e. the knowledge) to do so. Furthermore, even when one has been already inspired through media or others' storytelling about a dream place, which s/he wants to visit one day; it is education that gives more accurate information about the place, and allows one to think realistically before making the decision. The duty of education is to develop a useful vision of the future, and transfer that to its learners. In my opinions, a good education is one that assists and shows students what steps are needed to achieve a better future. Therefore, the fact that American higher education (as well as other countries' education) tend to provide a global education can be explained by the fact that countries now have to work together to tackle common challenges and build a shared future.

According to Australia's education, beaches and parks are local heritage.
The Great Reef Barrier and natural landscape are national and world heritage

From the preceding argument, what are the small steps that American colleges and universities hope that we learn to develop this collaborative vision? There are so many to list, and some of the lessons have been mentioned in previous blog entries. In term of politics, a college education at home could educate one to understand relationships at a global scale between countries, and study abroad could provide one more insights about the political views and system of the host county with historical background. In term of economics, there is always the interconnectedness between countries and their trade and financial systems that determines financial power.  In term of cultures, this is an interesting one, because study-abroad marketing uses this aspect and sometimes even overuses it to attract applications from interested students. But it is widely used, because it works well. Students tend to apply for a study-abroad program because of the curiosity regarding what is waiting for them at their destination. Hence, a good globalized education needs to strike a balance between attracting students and providing them with skills and knowledge that can help them when they graduate. I also suggest that good study abroad marketing in an educational institution should tend to focus on the content, which is on the specific materials that study away programs in each country offer to students case-by-case.

A closer look at the Australian coins. They reflect
some of the Australian historical, political and cultural values

So what are the pros to studying abroad? The benefit is that one would learn and absorb a lot of new things. One could get to take subjects or courses that home school could not provide. One could hear from a perspective or a narrative voice that he or she could not find from home country. For example, I have understood the Australian cultures from both non-indigenous and indigenous people in dept and could get to hear the Australian national identity from its education. One's identity could potentially expand as through experiences while abroad. For instance, I now find myself an Westernized Asian who can fit well in both America and Australia and is able to make a lot of international friends with this experience base and cosmopolitan identity. I have also developed intercultural communication skills and the ability to deal with unforeseen situations so that I have developed throughout my study-abroad experience. Also, studying abroad has made me more flexible and creative in thinking.

No pain, no gain. There are some cons that one should keep in mind when they decide to study away from home. Some foreseen ones would be the financial burden and language barriers. Additionally, cultural differences can create cultural shocks that one would not expect until they are actually experiencing them. Homesickness can have a tremendous impact on one's mental health, because it creeps up in slow and subtle ways. Beyond that, being away from home could reduce bonding and closeness on relationships as home with family members and friends, especially in the long-term . Then there is the fact that although you have invested a lot of your money in your education abroad, there is no promise that it will be fruitful later on. Not to mention, there can be a lot of expectations from your parents since they have invested so much on your education.

In short, American higher education has prioritized globalization and decided to steer its students toward this path. However, taking into account that American institutions are not the only ones that find globalization important, it is safe to say that globalization and its significance are internationally weighted. In addition, before deciding to study abroad, one must do a cost-benefit calculation. Besides that, students must know themselves and the conditions they are into before and during studying-away process. And the last take home message that I have for students who are about to make this decision is that while you are abroad, involving in local activities are the great way to learn new things, to get much out of this investment and to benefit from unexpected knowledge. In other words, the spirit of getting out of your comfort zone and taking up challenges as promising opportunities is the key to real personal growth.

"...taken into account that American institutions 
are not only ones which find globalization important, it is safe to say 
that globalization and its significance are internationally weighted"

References:

Germov, J. & Poole, M. (2015) Public Sociology: An Introduction to Australian Society. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. (3^rd edition).