American education systems in a global context

This paper discusses the co-evolution of global and national knowledge networks. Particular attention is given to policy implications for American education; international competitiveness in math, science, and technology; and the shortcomings of American performance in these fields. The education and science policy decisions of the United States, India, and China are major determinants of each country’s ability to advance knowledge and enhance the well-being of major portions of the world’s population, with outcomes affecting not just residents in these countries but those beyond their borders as well. Each of these countries has its own historical and cultural education policy framework, yet there is considerable overlap among their knowledge production systems, as students and scholars increasingly participate in global knowledge networks. In turn, these interwoven networks help to shape national knowledge production systems. The education and knowledge production decisions of China, India, and the United States will be major determinants of each country’s ability to advance world knowledge and enhance the well-being of major portions of the world’s populations. The combined populations of China, India, and the United States total roughly 2.75 billion people, about 40% of Earth’s total population, and if these three largest nations can design and implement educational systems that educate their populations in the realms of science, technology, global awareness, and critical creative thought, not only will quality of life in each of these population centers likely improve, but the well-being of many of the world’s peoples beyond the borders of China, India, and the United States is likely to be enhanced significantly as well. China, India, and the United States have each made major, though different, policy commitments for enhancing the quality of education and quantity of educated residents within their borders. At the same time, many of the educational institutions and the education policy makers in these countries are engaging proactively beyond their borders and becoming part of transnational education networks of prolific cooperation and intense competition that inform, and can even transform, national education policies and practices. We know from work in science studies and the sociology of science both that science is advanced largely through networks of practice, and that the context of these networks matters [1–4]. Thus, we must consider the ongoing development of national knowledge production networks in a global context and consider global knowledge networks in national and local contexts. In this paper, we argue that the co-development of national and global knowledge networks should be examined explicitly as we consider our national educational policies [5]. We acknowledge, however, that these networks are not all of a piece, that each area of knowledge production has its own subculture, and that each local subculture (e.g., Silicon Valley Contents lists available at ScienceDirect