Globalisation and culture: Tension in educational policy reform

Trends towards the globalisation and internationalisation of educational reform are characterised by the export of ideas and policies from some countries, such as Britain, the United States and Australia, and their importation into other societies, such as Hong Kong and Singapore. This phenomenon raises issues regarding the appropriateness and synchrony of the policy reforms for the host societies importing them. In the clamour to recognise the phenomenon of globalisation in education, relatively little attention has so far been given to the extent to which the policy-exporting and policy-importing societies differ, especially in their cultural contexts. This paper argues that while policy reforms in the international arena become more convergent, and while policy makers at the same time ignore the specific conditions of local cultural contexts, the likelihood of securing successful transformation of school systems becomes more remote. Our arguments are explicated using the educational policy arena of Hong Kong. Copyright © 1999 Sydney University of Sydney, Faculty of Education and Social Work.