The impact of globalization on the Ethiopian higher education: Classroom instruction in focus

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Markos Tezera Taye (First Author)

Department of Educational Planning and Management, College of Education, University of Gondar,

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Gondar, Ethiopia

Email: markostezera73@gmail.com or markos.tezera@uog.edu.et

Samuel Zinabu Desta (Corresponding author)

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Department of Adult Education and Community Development, College of Education, University of
Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

Email: samuel.zinabu@uog.edu.et or samineby19@gmail.com

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3385-5027

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This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 Abstract

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This systematic literature review specifically describes the level to which global discourses and
expectations set by organizations at the global level including the United Nations, Organization of
Economic Cooperation and Development, and the World Bank influence classroom instruction, and

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how it is important to consider the local context in the process of implementing globally imposed
instructional changes in higher education classrooms with the Ethiopian case in focus. In the
literature search, the authors used different electronic databases. We put the digital object identifier
of each article on a search engine to facilitate the downloading of articles and some books for free.

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The study revealed that global discourse and expectations were reflected in the classrooms of the
Ethiopian higher education though it is equally important to consider the local context to facilitate
the adoption of globally imposed changes.

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Keywords: Globalization, globalization in education, Ethiopia, higher education, classroom
instruction
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1. Introduction
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In the current knowledge economy, it is believed that the skills obtained through higher
education could contribute to productivity and income (Craig & Gunn, 2010). Craig and Gunn,
however, claim that universities in the era of globalization should emphasize economic development
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at national and international levels. In this regard, Marginson (2010) argued that universities in most
cases have a cooperative relationship rather than a trade relationship, which in turn encourages them
to consider education as a global public good that serves to solve common global problems. Othman,
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Othman, and Ismail (2012) found that globalization contributed to the increased demand for
entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial skills among university graduates.
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Organizations at the global level, which include the United Nations (UN), Organization of
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank (WB) promote global
education policies, human capital ideology, and consumerism as well (Spring, 2010). However,
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Spring claimed that there should be an alternative to a human capital ideology which assumes that

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 school policies shall be evaluated based on their contribution to the improvement of social

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conditions, which can be expressed in terms of human happiness and longevity. Similarly, Dale
(2010) proposed the importance of shifting from the traditional conception of a curriculum to a
conception that encourages its contribution to the economic and social development of the global

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society in general and nation states in particular. To implement initiatives in higher education
institutions, stakeholders’ support is of great importance (Chan, 2021) though the nature of the
initiatives at hand determines the type of stakeholders to be involved and their associated
responsibilities (Wagner, Hassanein & Head, 2008). Stakeholders at all levels expect higher learning

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institutions to promote innovative practices in the teaching and learning, and support services that
would help to have quality graduates (White & Glickman, 2007). However, there is a claim that the
African higher learning institutions are not yet in the position to support the continent to be in a

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competitive position in the current knowledge economy (Evoh, Mugimu & Chavula, 2014).
Whatsoever, it is worth considering the potential effect of global discourses and expectations in
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setting goals for the higher education sector. This paper specifically describes the level to which
global discourse and expectations influence classroom instruction, and how it is important to
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consider the local context in the process of implementing globally imposed instructional changes in
higher education classrooms with the Ethiopian case in focus. To this end, the following two basic
research questions were answered:
 To what extent do global education discourse and expectations influence teaching and
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learning approaches in the classrooms of the Ethiopian higher learning institutions?

 What is the relevance of considering a local context to fully adopt globally imposed
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educational changes in the Ethiopian higher education classroom?

To answer these questions, a review of previous studies and policy documents has been made. The
study reports and policy documents were freely accessible in different web sources. Issues related to
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the literature search strategies and specific sources of literature have been elaborated in the upcoming
section.
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2. Literature Search strategy

This literature search strategy would ease our task of reviewing the literature to answer the
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basic research questions. In the literature search, the authors used different electronic databases.
Beijing Normal University (BNU) library databases were the key sources for our literature search.

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 Although there are many electronic databases at the BNU library, we used those which are key

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sources to find articles on education. These electronic databases include Elsevier Science Direct,
ProQuest-Education Journals, JSTOR, and SAGE Journals. Besides these electronic databases, we
used Mendeley reference manager which researchers can use free of charge. The corresponding

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author came to know how to use Mendeley with other search engines after getting a short
introduction from the first author. Mendeley helped us to locate literature. Mendeley organizes
references though we rework on every article manually to make sure that it is in line with the 6th
edition APA manual. Once we sorted out potential references by using Mendeley, a search engine

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assisted us in freely accessing most references.

Mendeley provided us with details about the articles and books, including their digital object

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identifier. We put the digital object identifier of each article on a search engine to facilitate the
downloading of articles and some books for free. However, we couldn’t find the digital object

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identifier of some articles. In such cases, we wrote the title of articles on the Google search engine
and look for these articles. While doing this, we came across other related articles which we did not
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access through other search strategies.

To find available literature in the Ethiopian context, we sought them through web searches
rather than specific databases. Different keywords and phrases were used in searching for relevant
literature. These words and phrases were: globalization and localization, globalization, globalization
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in education, globalization in higher education, globalization and localization, globalization and

localization in education, globalization and localization in higher education, the conflict between
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local and global, the interplay between local and global, globalization and higher education,
globalization and school curriculum, and teaching in the 21st century. The authors finally
documented the electronic version of all articles, books, and policy documents.
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3. Globalization vs change in higher education

The growing influence of globalization demands changes in the higher education sector in
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different corners of the world (Mok, 2010). The effect of globalization can be witnessed at the
national, institutional, and classroom levels, and it leads to the convergence of education practices
and promotes global education standards (Cornali & Tirocchi, 2012). In the study conducted in the
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context of Malaysian private and public higher education institutions, thirty study participants were

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 involved, which showed that higher education demands, internationalization, lifelong learning,

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information, and communication technology, and generic skills became more important after 1995
when Malaysia started to participate as a member country in the World Trade Organization (Othman
et al., 2011). The study conducted in the same context asserted that private higher education went

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through reform and restructure as a result of globalization and the reforms are evidenced in different
government policies (Arokiasamy & Nagappan, 2012). Similarly, a study conducted to examine the
perception of faculty members about the impact of globalization on higher education policies of
Turkish foundation universities disclosed that globalization resulted in changes in the goals of

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universities, the policy of marketing, and professional development opportunities for academics
(Bakioglu & Dalgic, 2012). In the same vein, Durib (2013) pointed out that globalization influences
training methods and school curricula in general as perceived by a faculty member in one college. In

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general, it is common to find a claim that globalization has a great potential in influencing school
curriculum through promoting global discourses such as human capital ideology, multiculturalism,
and economic development (Spring, 2010). er
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The effect of globalization is not limited to some parts of the world. A case study conducted in
a higher learning institution in South Africa reveals that higher education responds to globalization to
produce quality graduates, research, and services to survive in the world of competition (Popescu,
2015). This is in line with the assertion that globalization laid global criteria for the institutions found
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globally to actively react to the changing world by producing quality graduates (Durib, 2013).
Innovation in higher education is a prerequisite for producing competent graduates who will join the
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knowledge society (Zhu & Engels, 2014). Innovation is adapting and applying novel thoughts, tools,
or strategies to tackle problems or generate new opportunities (Setser & Morris, 2015; Callaway,
2012). Generating innovative and productive strategies will also help to improve the satisfaction and
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performance of students (Callaway, 2012). Besides some country-specific literature addressed above,
the Ethiopian case, the author is acquainted, can be taken as a good example to support the
aforementioned claims, in other contexts, that globalization has been influencing the higher
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education system with a special focus on classroom instruction.

4. Globalization and classroom instruction

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In the case of Ethiopia, following demands at the global level and to produce competent
graduates, different reforms have been made in the higher education sector. These reforms could be

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 witnessed by the revision made to legacies inherited in the previous education system. The Ethiopian

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higher education proclamation approved by parliament in 2003, has allowed the implementation of
innovative reforms (World Bank, 2003). A student-centered approach is one of the innovative
reforms adopted in the Ethiopian higher learning institution (Education Sector Development Plan

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(ESDP) V, 2015).

It is common to see a student-centered approach backed by the current global discourses which
promote the assumption that skills required in today’s world are impossible to be realized with the
traditional ways of teaching and learning which are teacher-centered and passive learning strategies

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where the focuses are individual achievement and transmission of knowledge (Thanh, 2010).
Similarly, the wide promotion of a student-centered learning approach to different stakeholders has

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been justified by its relevance to equipping students with the deep knowledge, skills, and attitudes
required in the current knowledge society (Sawyer, 2014). Sawyer also argued that in the current

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knowledge economy, it is not enough to memorize facts and procedures, rather graduates are
expected to work creatively with these facts and procedures by having a well-established
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understanding of the concepts thought to come up with new ideas and theories. This implies that the
student-centered approach is being urged as a resolution to the weaknesses of the teacher-centered
approach.

5. The importance of considering local contexts before imposing globally imposed changes
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The effect of globalization on pedagogy/education development will continue, but the

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development of pedagogy theories would be towards national and local contexts (Chigisheva, 2015).
In the Malaysian context, it is predicted that globalization would continue to influence higher
education as there is a government’s interest to make the country an education hub of the region
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(Arokiasamy & Nagappan, 2012). However, globalization of higher education doesn’t only mean
Americanization or Europeanization. The higher education system in Asia attempts to integrate local
and national values; western prescriptions should not be taken for granted and adapting to the local
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reality will help to further improve the contribution of universities to development efforts at the
global level (Cheung, 2012). While having its benefits, innovation “requires a significant shift in
mindset and approach as one left the comfort of what is known and heads into new grounds and
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experiences that have not been traveled” (Setser & Morris, 2015, p. 9). Zhu and Engels (2014) also
asserted that even though social, economical, and technological changes keep demanding the

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 adoption of innovation at universities and colleges, not all stakeholders of higher education consider

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it inevitably essential and useful. These necessitate concerned bodies including university leaders and
faculty members to encourage innovation within higher learning institutions and acceptance of
innovative technologies and new business approaches which may demand additional resources to

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implement. According to McMahan and Loyola (2011), “if innovation is stifled through restrictive
regulations …, discouraged through funding that fails to reward quality and outcomes, or simply
thwarted by complacency within traditional intuitions, then …. it is likely to lose … edge to faster-
moving international competitors” (p.3). This implies that the availability of regulations and policies

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at national and institutional levels which could encourage innovation are requirements in addition to
the allocation of adequate funds to promote it. Hence, considering different local contexts is
important before hastening to adopt the educational changes proposed and demanded at the global

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level. Otherwise, the proposed change may face different obstacles to being fully adopted.

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The study conducted in the Ethiopian context by Alemu (2010) attempted to examine the
implementation of active learning approaches in mathematics education in some universities. The
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study revealed that the traditional lecture method still dominates the active learning approach, while
the active learning approach is well emphasized in different education policy documents of the
country following the notion of knowledge economy in the world. The study also found that among
different active learning methods, only a few are in use by mathematics teachers. Moreover, the
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study identifies factors hindering the implementation of active learning methods. These factors
include but are not limited to, lack of instructional material resources; administrative support;
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inflexible timetables, and a substantial amount of content. Similarly, a study conducted by Teshome
(2012) on the active learning method in a public university in Ethiopia investigated instructors’
perceptions and practice of active learning, and factors affecting its implementation. The study found
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that although instructors had positive perceptions of the active learning method, they did not practice
it well. The study also revealed that lack of material resources; shortage of time and large class size
are among the major factors which hold back the implementation of active learning methods.
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Moreover, the study conducted by Woldeamanuel, Atagana & Engida (2013) examined the attitude
of lecturers in Ethiopian higher learning institutions toward an active learning approach. This study
involved one hundred sixty lecturers in three public universities in Ethiopia wherein participants
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were selected by random sampling technique. This study disclosed that there is a difference in
teachers’ attitudes in six domains, which served to measure the attitude of instructors toward the

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 active learning approach itself. This provides a clue to consider various institutional and personal

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level factors which will deter or encourage globally initiated change. Institutional culture is the other
potential factor recognized in different studies conducted globally on educational change.

A study conducted in two medical schools in the Netherlands and Jamaica to examine how

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culture and social structure influence the successful adaptation of problem-based learning reported
that culture and social structure were very crucial for the effective adaptation of globally imposed
education practices including problem-based learning (Stevens & Goulbourne, 2012). During
initiating and implementing organizational changes, investigating and understanding organizational

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culture, beyond material and financial factors, has paramount importance for leaders of higher
learning institutions to effectively lead the change (Dale, 2012). The research of Zhu and Engels

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(2014), conducted in the Chinese higher education context, confirmed that organizational culture is a
major factor that affects instructional innovation. In the Ethiopian setting, Gebremeskel (2015)

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studied how management innovation could be influenced by organizational culture. The author
disclosed that organizational culture is very crucial to support attempts made by management bodies
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to successfully implement organizational changes in the higher education context. Selvaraja and
Pihie (2015) also argued that school culture is vital to smoothly progress in creating a conducive
work setting which in turn facilitates school innovativeness. They also asserted that the type of
culture that schools assume affects school innovativeness.
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Conclusion
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Globalization has the potential in guiding the teaching and learning approach that prevails in
higher learning institutions, which in turn implies the educational outcome expected from higher
learning institutions in terms of producing competent and quality graduates in the current knowledge
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economy. However, before embracing a globally imposed change, it is wise to investigate and
understand the current local context to identify potential opportunities and challenges during
adapting to change in higher education classrooms.
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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this
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paper.

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
 Funding Statement

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The authors confirmed that no institution/organization funded this research project.

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This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112128
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