At the beginning of the 21st century people of the world face the question of how to protect the global future. This question is becoming important in educational sciences because the global developments increasingly concern the different educational fields and national educational policies. The latter is challenged by the varied dimensions, ambivalences and risks of globalisation processes. The development of new education and learning cultures, which (are able to) react to the global challenges, is therefore an important task.
The focus point of educational discourses is at the present mainly on protecting people against rising globalisation risks as well as acquiring adequate qualifications for the international market. Which issues and topics in the educational area must be taken up in the future? How could strategies for global learning be expressed and new cultures of learning be conceived so that a fair and peaceful development of the world society can be promoted and protected? A differentiated survey and reflexion of globalisation processes and their conflict dimensions, the development of alternative educational schemes as well as a critical educational theory will be indispensable from now on.
Even though globalisation is often being described as a process of alignment, homogenization and assimilation of tendencies, the exchange between various local processes triggers the formation of new differences in fields that are related to cultural globalisation processes. A visualisation for this phenomenon is the so-called “multi-localisation of the biography”. Individuals nowadays live post-traditional lives as nomads which are reflected in the development of multiple identities, new views of the world and new forms of identity-building. According to these developments, it can be assumed that the dramatic loss of certainty and safety will result in an increasing relevance of identity-formation questions.
Considering the complexity of globalisation processes, it seems that the feelings of people towards these occurrences are varied and extremely contradicting. As many people understand the progressive developments as a possibility of participation and inclusion, realms of other people experience the globalisation phenomena as exclusion, fragmenting, delimitation and, as already described in more detail, in identity loss. In particular employees with lower qualifications and persons who are less mobile, older, jobless or disadvantaged on another level often develop a mixture of insecurity, misunderstanding, uneasiness, resignation and aggression, resulting from globalisation effects. These (may) lead to the refusal of things they are not familiar with and over all to (unfounded) fears. Due to the dramatic loss of security in the age of globalisation, it can be supposed that issues such as social justice and sustainable intercultural and global education will increasingly gain in meaning.
The analysis shows that the prevailing social and educational trends still refer to competition and individualisation, which is derived from the requirements of globalisation. The picture of a “flexible, mobile, and quick individual” is still being honoured while the demand for “developing, forming personalities” seems to be low. The observable phenomena, developments and challenges which appear in the course of globalisation lead to the following questions: Is there still space for (education) concepts like emancipation, self-determination, equal opportunities, justice in distribution, intercultural and global learning, democracy or common sense? How do we behave as to globalisation processes when aiming at a fair world order and an education, which strives for good living conditions for all people in the world? A differentiated reflection of globalisation phenomena and consequences, an intensive analysis and disclosure of conflict lines, the development of a critical educational philosophy as well as an up-to-date concept of education are indispensable for a peaceful development of a world society in the future.
Method
METHODOLOGIE - METHODS
Field: Social Science
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework: Adult education and globalization and development theories including post-colonial theory and postmodernism.
The enquiry includes a set of investigation methods:
- Analytical investigation which is based on interdisciplinary literature analyses concerning the fields of adult education and life long learning; peace, globalization and development studies; intercultural studies; anthropological, sociological and political science;
- Qualitative research methods: Qualitative expert-interviews as well as informal debates with different levels of formality (with experts and people concerned)
SELECTED SOURCES USED FOR THE RESEARCH
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References
AWARDS
- KARDINAL-INNITZER-AWARD: Award for scientific work of social and cultural importance, which promotes the connection of knowledge and understanding of the individual and society received for doctoral thesis in Education, Vienna/Austria, December 2006.
- DR. MARIA SCHAUMAYER AWARD: Award for the support of careers for women in economics and science received for doctoral thesis in Education, Vienna/Austria, December 2005.
- LEOPOLD KUNSCHAK AWARD: Award for the understanding of democracy and the peaceful leaving together of peoples received for MA thesis in Peace and Development Studies, Vienna/Austria, March 2005.
- DR. ALMA MOTZKO AWARD: Award for scientific work received for MA thesis in Peace and Development Studies from the Austrian Women’s Academic Society, Graz/Austria January 2005.
- HERTA PAMMER AWARD: Award for scientific work about women and development received for Master thesis in Education from the Catholic Women’s Movement of Austria, Vienna/Austria, June 2001.
SCHOLARSHIPS
- SCHOLARSHIP FOR EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED SCHOLARS: Government of Styria, Department for Science and Research, Graz. Three scholarships: 2001, 2002 and 2003.
- SCHOLARSHIP FOR SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University Graz. Three scholarships: 1999, 2000 and 2005.
- PROMOTION SCHOLARSHIP: Faculty of Humanities, University Graz. One scholarship: 2001.
- SCHOLARSHIP FOR SCIENTIFIC WORK ABROAD (for India and Spain): Faculty of Humanities, University Graz. Three scholarships: 1999, 2001 and 2004.
- RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP (for India and Spain): Government of Styria, Department for Science and Research, Graz. Three scholarships: 2001, 2003 and 2004.
OWN PUBLICATIONS
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2007): Creation of the Third Space. Imaginary Boundaries and Symbolic Connections, Lit-Publishing house, Vienna and Munich. (232 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2007): “Midnight’s Children”, In: Journal on Peace and Conflicts, Institute of Peace and Conflicts of the University of Granada, Granada/Spain, Granada/Spain, http://cicode-gcubo.ugr.es/revpaz/resenas/midnight2019s-children-rushdie-salman-1995-london-random-house/, (4 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2007): Weiterbildung im Zeitalter der Globalisierung, Report, Peripherie - The Institute for Practical Gender Research, Graz/Austria. (99 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2005): Indien - Das andere Gesicht westlicher Postmoderne, Yearbook 2005 of the Austrian Federation of University, Linz. (4 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2005): The Creation of the Third Space. Imaginary Boundaries and Symbolic Connections, Doctoral Thesis, Graz. (325 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2004): The Peaceful DeConstruction of Thoughts and ReConstruction of Spaces for Women in India through the Concepts of Empowerment and Participation, Master Thesis, Castellòn. (155 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2004): „Feminism goes ‘Cyber’“, In: LENZ, W. und A. SPRUNG (ed.): Kritische Bildung? Zugänge und Vorgänge, Münster, Lit-Verlag. (20 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. und A. SPRUNG (2003): Integration von MigrantInnen in der Steiermark: Interkulturelle Öffnung-Weiterbildung-Selbstorganisation, Report, Peripherie - The Institute for Practical Gender Research, Graz. (57 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. und A. SPRUNG (2003): Integration von MigrantInnen in der Steiermark: Interkulturelle Öffnung-Weiterbildung-Selbstorganisation, Project-Report for the Styrian Government/ Department of Social Services, Graz. (252 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2000): „Leben in Unterdrückung? Frauenbildung in Indien“, In: LENZ, W. (ed.): Brücken ins Morgen. Bildung im Übergang, Innsbruck, Wien, München. (33 pages)
- SCHRÖTTNER, B. (2000): Ein Leben in Unterdrückung? Frauen in Indien zwischen Anpassung und Widerstand, Masterthesis, Graz. (187 pages)