From globalist to cosmopolitan learning: on the reflexive modernization of teacher education

Abstract

In this article, I discuss teacher education reform and the work of teachers in light of globalization and reflexive modernization. Increasing globalization has meant changed conditions for national education traditionally geared toward nation building and to the nationalizing of lifeworlds. It is assumed that the global economy has made knowledge and lifelong learning essential to economic growth, and governments have considered their citizens, teachers, and schools to be poorly trained for the demands of knowledge economies. Consequently, nation-states have invested massively in teacher education because of the vital role effective high-quality teachers are expected to play in preparation for working on global markets and for the competitive edge of nations. However, recent teacher education reform can be criticized for a one-sided orientation toward principles of economic growth, effectiveness, and competitiveness at the expense of other important educational aims, such as the development of reflective and communicative capacities and education for cosmopolitan citizenship. Moreover, recent teacher education reform in various nation-states seems to neglect how processes of reflexive modernization profoundly change schools, society, and the teaching situation, and undermine the principles that marked earlier phases of nation-centered modernization. I discuss teacher education and the work of teachers as reflexive modern practices and phenomena within the framework of critical social theory, and I mainly use Ulrich Beck's theory of reflexive modernization. I argue that increased reflexivity, institutionalized individualization, and cosmopolitization constitute reasons for the re-contextualization of teacher education away from the uncritical influence of the primacy of the economy, instrumental rationalization, and other principles of modernization that are now running dry. In the final part, I discuss the importance of moving from a mainly economically oriented, globalist view of learning to a multidimensional, cosmopolitan view of learning in teacher education and education in general.

Los desaf�os de la educaci�n ciudadana en Chile. Una aproximaci�n comprensiva desde las significaci

“…En general, los docentes que se hacen cargo de ella son especialistas en historia o ciencias so-ciales y no en ciudadanía. Por tanto, no han desarrollado suficientemente las competencias necesarias para asumir el enfoque pedagógico que la educación ciudadana para la democracia requiere (Coleman, 2014;Isaac, Maslowski y Van der Werf, 2011;Oulton, Day, Dillon y Grace, 2004;Rönstrom, 2012;Torney Purta et al, 2005;Tudball y Forsyth, 2009).…”

Cosmopolitanism: Educational, Philosophical and Historical Perspectives

“…There is another view of citizenship linked to the globalist imaginary and the uncoupling of states from their nations that seems to shape the realities of education globally today (Rönnström 2012 ). This view is also connected with the idea that participation in the economy is mandatory and political participation optional.…”

“…This GSAE thesis refl ects a strong relationship between imaginaries of globalization, needs for economic growth, and the necessity of educational change. The citizenship dimension is remarkably narrow because of the primacy of economic concerns with regard to the aims of education, the norms governing it, and the quality standards for measuring success in it, as I have argued elsewhere (Rönnström 2012 ). Responding to globalization is not about transforming a national outlook into a cosmopolitan outlook in education because most or all aspects of education are linked to strengthening a nation's ability to stand up to global competition (Nussbaum 2010 , 14).…”

Internationalization and Teacher Education: What Dispositions Do Teachers Need for Global Engagement?

“…However, this process can appear to be deceptively simple and may cause teachers to view global engagement as merely a matter of carrying out the task of teaching while integrating a global perspective, which may or may not lend itself to meaningful understanding or learning (Rönnström, 2012). Just as teacher education has long relied on dispositions to shape the way in which teachers are prepared, this same attention must also be given to the dispositions required for the internationalization of teacher education and preparing teachers for global engagement.…”