Comparison Between National and International Education

Abstract

The compatibility of national and international education by seeking to define and distinguish some of the terms used , including “national education”, “international” and “global”. It proposes a framework for looking in detail at the substance of specific national and international programmes. Finally, it explores five different answers to the question “Are national and international education in conflict?” and proposes an approach involving a dynamic relationship between the two approaches, in which each can inform and improve the other. Many countries state the purposes of education in law and these can be spelled out in White Papers, Blueprints and the like. There may also be national curricula, at least for the years of compulsory schooling, and these may be assessed by national examinations or tests. The curricula or tests can be required by law and/or can be mandatory in practice by being made a condition for national funding. Another motivation for emphasis on “national education” can be fear of young people developing loyalties to militant radical causes overseas. Similar concerns of international comparability apply to the use of economic data, which are used to calculate education finance statistics.