Problems in Defining the Direction and Content of International Education for the 21st Century.

Overview & Synopsis

A discussion of international education in the 21st century begins with the premise that international education is an extension of domestic education adapted to emerging global interdependence. Prevailing public and academic debates on the issue are reviewed, focusing on the relationship between education and training. A broad picture of the functions of international education in the coming century is drawn, and some factors affecting the effectiveness and efficiency of international education are discussed. Aspects of the history and current state of international education are examined, and some programs are described. It is concluded that: (1) the desired universality of international education is truer in principle than in practice; (2) a variety of world images should be incorporated into international education; (3) greater articulation of goals and purposes is needed; (4) the relationship of education and training should be kept in perspective; (5) goals and objectives should be clearly distinguished according to the institution's mission; (6) history should be treated not as a record of events but as a perspective; (7) international education is an institutional commitment; (8) planning will be most efficient if undertaken in one of the emerging orientations: ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, or geocentric; and (9) internationalization plans should be flexible, economical, and timely. A 100-item bibliography is included. (MSE)