Introduction

The term globalisation is used in a variety of ways. These include the emergence of supranational institutions which threaten the powers of the nation state, the impact of economic change on a world wide scale and changes in technology and communication which impact on the culture of nation states. At a fundamental level globalisation is concerned with change. Increasingly individuals and their culture cannot be disconnected from the world in general. Changes in many cultural practices and beliefs have been induced by improved technologies and in the context of the world as a whole rather than within separate nation states that in the past enjoyed considerable autonomy. The changes created by the forces of globalisation impact on individuals and groups and can be assimilated, modified or rejected by them. The changes are not in one direction, for example from the West to the rest of the world, and they are not only concerned with the present but also the future. A clash of cultural values is inevitable where new ideas and values are introduced in some form whether it is at an organisational or institutional level or in the individual's own psyche. The changes may be induced by powerful groups who exercise control over large organisations or by individuals or groups who have some form of political power base even though they command limited resources. It is not that change is new but the extent and the speed of change which gives globalisation its distinguishing characteristics. Inevitably culture and therefore education is influenced. The processes of globalisation have produced a reconsideration of the aims of education, the content of education, the processes or methods by which it is delivered and the ways in which the outcomes are assessed.