Transforming Learning Environments

It is now common-place to say that globalization is changing the face of American education. Recently, however, attention to the ways education is responding to the influence of globalization has taken on a special urgency. For not only is globalization challenging traditional practices and methodologies, it is effecting the very direction in which our educational system is heading in order to accommodate the rapidly changing economic realities of our times. Educational systems are at a crossroads. And, what therefore becomes important to systems of education is how they might preserve their identity as places of knowledge generation and production while at the same time responding to the push to have students leave institutions ready to enter the workforce or compete within a global context. This book will present chapters written from a variety of perspectives to address the question "what is needed within systems of education to prepare the next generation of leaders for a competitive global environment?"The authors focus on such topics as online learning, technology, leadership, and English Language Learners to show the challenges to traditional educational practices and the ways in which learning environments are responding to the new reality of globalization.