The purpose of this research is to examine the potential for education to be experienced democratically in a global setting. According to Green (1997), the role of the nation state is changing and with it education. Global unions like the European Union as well as global financial unions have great potential to become powerful supranational actors in a world where nations have been stripped of their individual sovereignty by either the corrupt principals and their agents, by a sluggish citizenry, or a combination of both. The place that education has traditionally held in the culture is literally up for grabs. Therefore, a critical question to ask is: How far can nation states control their education systems in a world of global markets and supranational political organization? (Green, 1997). As governments face pressure from their own constituents and the international community to conform their education systems to the Standards, it remains to be seen if nations can preserve their national culture in the schools. What must be examined is the possibility of having a "liberal education" in a world of converging educational standards.
Jones (1998) appears to agree with Green (1997) on the threat of standards-based education in a world of global interdependence. Jones's main critique is on the types of language that surround the terms "globalization" and "internationalism." He says "internationalism has an inherent democratic foundation, looks to a world ordered by structures supportive of that fundamentalism which is embedded in accountability" (Jones, 1998). Both models imply different social functions of education. The tough choice here is whether or not to embrace pragmatism or favor tradition. The decision will vary by individual nations' economic predicaments, which may grow dire as more nations become insolvent and seek World Bank loans having highly conditional terms on what the money can be spent on ...