Open AccessThinking and Acting Across Ponds: Glocalized Intersections of Trepidation, Neoliberalism, and Possibilities for 21st Century Teacher Education
Author(s) -
Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner,
Renee Desmarchelier,
David Gerlach,
Peter D. Wiens,
Peter Schräder,
Barry Down,
Lindsay M. Stewart,
Michaela Stone,
Nigel Bagnall,
Mareen Lüke
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international dialogues on education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2198-5944
DOI - 10.53308/ide.v7i1.7
Subject(s) - neoliberalism (international relations) , glocalization , xenophobia , sociology , global education , situated , marketization , globalization , nationalism , teacher education , democracy , accreditation , political science , pedagogy , public relations , political economy , politics , law , artificial intelligence , china , computer science
This article draws upon the cross-continental experiences of teacher educators in Australia, Germany, and the United States to contextualize and connect localized experiences in each country in the education and training of teachers as glocal phenomena. Through a glocal lens, the paper suggests that the dynamics working against the successful education and training of teachers are multifaceted, locally significant, and globally consistent. Two relevant areas are considered, resonating in both the local contexts of the authors and in their global reach, connectivity, and consistency: 1) internal university resistance and fighting over funding, status, and role and 2) over-reliance on market economies that depend on cheap labor fueled by nationalism, neoliberalism, and xenophobia. The authors address issues related to enrollment, reduction, and accreditation within university-based teacher education and training programs as particular areas of common complexity before yielding to discussion of the effects of those concerns situated within neoliberalism and neo-nationalism. The glocalized analysis and critical approach taken by the authors serve as foils to combat the negative scenario that encapsulates the education and training of teachers. Finally, questions are framed to help readers join in the broader discussion in their particularcontexts, extending the capacity for democratic dialogue.