Globalization, Technological Change, and Public Education

New information technologies combined with the restructuring of school districts has led to dramatic changes in public education. Technologies are intended to help students compete in the global marketplace, and organizational restructuring has been a way to increase productivity and accountability. Yet, a closer look at the interplay of these two phenomena suggests the emergence of new, less promising power relations. While decision-making authority is becoming increasingly centralized, accountability for centrally made decisions is increasingly becoming distributed to those along the periphery - students and teachers. Through detailed ethnographic research and interviews in a large urban school system, this book reports on the first extensive study of globalization and technology in education, describing examples of 'globalization on the ground'. With few exceptions, information technologies are used to demand greater flexibility of students and workers to adapt to systems that are evermore rigid and controlling. This is the latest addition to the popular "Social Theory, Education and Cultural Change" series.