Critical theory, globalization and teacher education in a technocratic era

In this paper we explore how the concept and practice of globalization impacts teacher education in the United States, and our roles as faculty in preparing educators for globalization. We begin by locating the nature of globalization within modernity, and modernity's characteristic as that of constant change. We examine the sources, results, and implications of change within the international scene (First World/ Second World, and, Third World), and their (changes) implications for educators. We also problematize globalization by critiquing the link between progress and development. Because common nomenclature associates globalization with Westernization and the use of technologies to transform the world, we explore the role of technologies that make world-wide communication possible, and whether they (technologies) can be used to better the human condition as the Western and non-Western worlds converge and sometimes collide. Our perspective is that of educators who view the current world as one that is highly internationalized and intensely global, rendering nationalistic orientations obsolete. We also view education and educators as involved agents in the construction of a just social world, and contend that this implies infusing the curriculum and teacher education with cosmopolitan sensibilities, frequently, through critical theory and critical pedagogy.