IMPACT GLOBALISATION IN EDUCATION: SMART SCHOOL We are now living in the year 2012. You even can think for yourself, how many changes occur since then. To make it short, we are now live in a globalisation era. Where technology become major factor of everything. People around the globe are more connected to each other than ever before. Information and money flow more quickly than ever. Goods and services produced in one part of the world are increasingly available in all parts of the world. International travel is more frequent. International communication is commonplace. This phenomenon has been titled "globalisation." "The Era of Globalisation" is fast becoming the preferred term for describing the current times. But what is globalisation? Globalisation is something that develop or operate worldwide. It can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. Globalisation happens to be the modern stage of civilization maturing. It means expanding of international relations, economic co-operation of countries, implementation of new technologies, common standards of life, homogeneous mass culture and ideologies. One of the major impact of globalisation is on education. Globalisation has changed the size, nature and quality of that environment. The challenge for higher education, therefore, is to reform, create and develop systems that prepare the individual to work in a borderless economy and live in a global society. In other words, our educational institutions need to produce global citizens. To produce a global citizens is not an easy task to do. That is why globalisation influence is needed in order to succeed. When globalisation occurs in society, there is no border between members of the world. They are up to date about the surrounding. One of the globalisation reformation in education that implemented right now is smart school. Smart school is somehow one of the global trends around the world. Smart school is an education system which learning institution that recostruct systematically teaching-learning
and
for Information Age.
school
management
in
order
to
prepared
children
Technology as an important component in Smart School. Smart
school focus more to technology based learning and also thinking creatively and crtitically among the students. That is why only chosen students manage to get into the smart school. Country such as Malaysia and South Korea have already start working on the smart school project. But in South Korea they focus more to technology based learning rather than Malaysia which picking up chosen product and give chance in smart school. We start off with Malaysia‟s Smart School concept. When Malaysia launched her Multimedia Super Corridor(MSC) project, Sekolah Bestari (Malaysian Smart School) is on the top priority of one of its flagships. Since then, the Bestari concept in education is one of the most talk-about topic among educators and trainers in Malaysia. The first phase of Sekolah Bestari will begin operation in 1999 academic year. The conceptualised document entitled "The Malaysian
Smart School: A Conceptual Blueprint" (SSPT, 1997a) explains that the Malaysian Smart School concept is derived from best practices from around the world, as well as from the best home-grown practices of teachers and educators in Malaysia. One of the reasons for this project is to transform the Malaysian educational system so that it is parallel with, and in support of, the nation‟s drive to realise Vision 2020. These smart schools are technological supported and entails changing school culture and pedagogical practices. The memorybased learning designed for average students is replaced by education that “stimulates thinking, creativity, and caring in all students; caters to individual abilities and learning styles; and is based on more equitable access. It will require students to exercise greater responsibility for their own learning, while seeking more active participation by parents and the wider community. Malaysia‟s smart school concept is focusing more to creative and critical thinking among students rather than technological aid learning. Different from South Korean smart school concepts,
they are focusing more to
technological aid learning and also learning environment. A lot of research in technology has been made to support the concepts. By 2015, Korea would have moved from uniform standardized education to diversified, creative-based learning, while at the same time bridging the education divide by making access available to all to response to the 21st century education challenges. South Korea has gone a step further and unveiled a 'smart' high school where roll calling is a thing of the past and tablet computers or 'smart pads' have replaced bags burdened with notebooks. The prototype school has technology at its core where students are experiencing the ultimate high-tech education. The government believes that a digital economy will require a technology-savvy workforce, and the new school seems to fit into their motto: Today's pupils are tomorrow's pioneers." It is like a “digital revolution for the classroom.” First, students don‟t need to carry their heavy backpacks that once were packed with book-type textbooks or reference books. When they get to school, they will be getting ready for lessons by turning on a PC or tablet PC and opening up their digital textbooks. They will also change the National Student Assessment, which is in the form of paper-based
written
test
little
by
little
to
Internet
Based
Testing
from
2012,
like TOEFL Internet Based Testing, which is the officially recognized test for English. Examinations as well will be changed to the assessment method through PC or internet, making them no longer paper-based. In conclusion, The effects of globalisation on education bring rapid developments in technology and communications are expected to change within learning systems across the world as ideas, values and knowledge, changing the roles of students and teachers, and producing a change in society from industrialisation towards an information-based society. The role of education globalisation such as smart school is to shape children, the future
citizens of the world into „global citizens‟, intelligent people with a broad range of skills and knowledge to apply to a competitive, information based society. Globalisation and technological advancements are delivering and increasing access to the world and subsequently subjects should reflect this global outlook.
