Available From UC Press

Globalization defines our era. While it has created a great deal of debate in economic, policy, and grassroots circles, many aspects of the phenomenon remain virtual terra incognita. Education is at the heart of this continent of the unknown. This pathbreaking book examines how globalization and large-scale immigration are affecting children and youth, both in and out of schools. Taking into consideration broad historical, cultural, technological, and demographic changes, the contributors—all leading social scientists in their fields—suggest that these global transformations will require youth to develop new skills, sensibilities, and habits of mind that are far ahead of what most educational systems can now deliver.

Drawing from comparative and interdisciplinary materials, the authors examine the complex psychological, sociocultural, and historical implications of globalization for children and youth growing up today. The book explores why new and broader global visions are needed to educate children and youth to be informed, engaged, and critical citizens in the new millennium.

Published in association with the Ross Institute

Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco is Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education at Harvard University and coeditor of Latinos: Remaking America (California, 2002) and the six-volume Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the New Immigration (2001); he is coauthor of Children of Immigration (2001). Desirée Baolian Qin-Hilliard is a doctoral candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education and coeditor of Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the New Immigration (2001).

"This book not only recognizes the impact globalization has on the education and development of our children, but will facilitate much needed discussion between parents and educators. In today's global culture, it will prove to be an invaluable tool for understanding and promoting tolerance around the world."—Steven Spielberg

"Not a week goes past without a new book on globalization; diminishing returns have long set in. But this collection, bringing together perspectives from anthropology, and marrying them beautifully with history and economics, offers unique and invaluable insights. No serious student of globalization can afford to ignore it."—Jagdish Bhagwati, author of Free Trade Today

"This is a serious and significant contribution to the study of a critical issue: How the globalization of economics and media is affecting the education of the world's children. The thoughtful essays also offer ideas on how we should deal with these changes. The result is a provocative and important book."—Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

"At last a book on globalization which assesses its impact on the neglected but crucial topic of culture and education. What does it mean to be young in a world which is increasingly connected through technology, trade and population movements but where the gulfs, between rich and poor, between good schools and bad, or between cultures are apparently growing? The product of collaboration among distinguished scholars, this impressive collection provides much-needed insights, analysis and answers."—Dr. Margaret MacMillan, Provost, Trinity College, Toronto, Ontario

"This a is a marvelous book. It defines a new domain of basic scholarship: the complex relationships between globalization, culture and the education of the world's children. It is a must read for anyone interested in education and culture in the global millennium."—Barry Munitz, President and CEO, The J. Paul Getty Trust

"This book comprehensively explores the challenges that globalization poses to educators. The fate and future of the planet's children rests on the ability of education to meet those challenges. The contributors, experienced educators themselves, have thought freshly and deeply on the cultural implications of the globalizing process."—Arthur Schlesinger

"This is a book about globalisation unlike any other, because it marries what we know and think about globalisation to a fascinating account of the development of young people. The message which most of the authors proclaim is that globalisation is a powerful tool for enlarging human capacity, but that this potential can be realised only if our techniques and systems of education change drastically. It's a message which all those who care about the future of our species should heed."—Lord Skidelsky, founder and Chairman, Centre for Global Studies, Warwick University

"This is a brilliant collection of essays about the urgency of rethinking educational change, both its challenges and opportunities. In a world of increasingly coordinated markets and rising populations of migrants, state educational policies strain to develop the philosophical and material resources that can address cultural and economic differences without, one hopes, confusing equality with homogeneity. This book is a major contribution toward wresting democratic futures from an uneven present."—Doris Sommer, author of Proceed with Caution, When Engaged by Minority Writing in the Americas

"Brings clarity to the complex issue of globalization and its immediate interaction with culture and education. It represents an important contribution for educators, researchers, policy makers, NGOs and activists as well as for each and every member of our global community who has a desire to better understand life in the 21st century. This book provides the tools necessary to shape the 21st century into one of prosperity and tolerance. I highly recommend reading this book."—Dr. Rita Sussmuth, Former President of the German Parliament

"This is a book of serious scholarship written by leading authorities in their fields. Although each chapter stands on its own, the whole book adds up to an account of the impact of globalization on education, which is much greater than the sum of its parts."—George Walker, Director General, International Baccalaureate Organization