Reforming Education toward the Global Century

During the 1990s, we will observe continuing trends of increased “interconnectedness” among regions, nations, and people. These trends will generate dynamic forces leading the human race to a global society. The coming twenty-first century may well be termed as “the global century”. A successful transformation towards the global century, however, will require a new leadership and democratic process. Institutions of higher education will play a crucial role in this transformation.

In this paper the author proposes reform strategies for higher education to meet the new challenge of the global century. To be more specific, the following three items are examined. First, major trends toward the global century are highlighted. Second, the current situation of educational institutions is described. Third, with the above analyses, strategies of reform are discussed. Five key ideas in this paper are: (1) the global integration of knowledge and practice, (2) the development of long-term strategies at the levels of university administration and the departments, (3) the creation of stronger incentives and rewards for faculty and students, (4) the strengthening of the cultural foundation of learning and life, and (5) a major reorientation of funding practices toward a longer-term endowment approach.