Globalization Of Education As A Factor In The Formation Of Human Capital

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the problem of the human capital. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the process of globalization of education as a factor in the formation of human capital. Various approaches to understanding the category of the human capital are considered, and attention is focused on the changes that occurred in the understanding of this category due to the transition to the information society. The authors distinguish the qualities of highly qualified specialists in demand in a constantly changing world. The paper studies the potential of globalization of education as a platform for the creation of a system of lifelong learning for the formation of a single world educational space, for the formation of personality qualities of a modern specialist in the conditions of modern society. The authors note the main asset of human capital – time and determine the substantial potential of globalization in the formation of this asset. They conclude that the process of globalization of education cannot only be seen as a positive phenomenon; it is a dual process with both positive and negative aspects. The formation of personality as an element of the world space leads to the leveling of its uniqueness; the universality typical for the globalization of education overshadowed the social and cultural characteristics of certain countries; the globalization of education is a factor in negative migration, etc.

Keywords: information society; human capital; intellectual capital; globalization, education

Introduction

Modern society requires a radical transformation of views on the formation of human capital, which, by right, may be considered as the main resource of social progress. Issues related to the formation of human capital are the subject of research not only by economic theorists, but also by practitioners. A striking example of this is the personnel policy of organizations aimed at creating a comfortable microclimate in a team, continuously improving the qualifications of workers and encouraging them to achieve high results. The main vectors of human capital development in Russia are determined by the state policy and the challenges of the modern world space. The world economy is also focused on the formation of innovative human capital, which has the potential necessary to build relations at a fundamentally new global level.

Problem Statement

Modern society presents new requirements for the formation of human capital. Today, approaches to the definition of this concept are being actively developed, and the range of factors that determine the main trends of the process under consideration is expanding. One of the most important factors is the globalization of education. It is a multifaceted phenomenon and requires an integrated approach to its study.

Research Questions

Trends in the development of society (especially globalization and informatization) entail a new image of a person – a specialist, and the category of the human capital is understood by modern scientists on a larger scale than a few decades ago (Sokolova and Zakharova, 2019; Khokonov, 2015; Tsapenko and Mironova, 2012; Avlasovich, Gefner, Vasyukova and Kuznetsova, 2019). Thus, the authors of the basic theory of human capital, G. Becker, an American economist, Nobel laureate, and T. Schultz, defining the concept of human capital, focus on the health reserve, a complex of knowledge, skills, motivation, which are formed as a result of investments and lead to an increase in the qualifications of employees and, as a result, to an increase in their earnings. Here, human capital is considered, first of all, as a set of investments in education, health care, social sphere, which in the future will allow receiving income. Today, one of the trends of world development is the formation of a new economy – the knowledge-based economy economy, in which human capital is considered as the central category (Dzhandar, 2013). In this regard, modern researchers focus on knowledge and personal qualities of a person, his abilities and opportunities, which, if properly invested in, will allow generating income. For example, O.A. Grishnova understands human capital as an economic category that is characterized by the combination of productive abilities, personal traits and motivations developed as a result of investments used in economic activities and determining the growth of a person’s income in particular and national income in general (Sokolova and Zakharova, 2020; Nenasheva, 2012).

Tsapenko I.V. and Mironova D.D. propose to identify the following elements in the structure of human capital: education capital, which includes the totality of all human knowledge; health and healthy lifestyle capital; training capital, including professional knowledge and professional experience; scientific capital, including human research activities; culture capital, the concept of which includes education, self-improvement, self-development of a person, a set of his beliefs and views; availability of economically relevant information; migration capital, which includes human mobility, both general and professional; motivation of economic activity.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this publication is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the process of globalization of education as a factor in the formation of human capital.

Research Methods

The methodological basis of the study includes key approaches and principles of modern science: a systemic approach and the principle of interdisciplinarity. The systemic approach made it possible to consider the phenomena under study from different perspectives, as a whole, consisting of interconnected components.

The principle of interdisciplinarity made it possible to use the achievements of modern social sciences, which is necessary for such studies.

Findings

Based on the structure of human capital it may be concluded that its formation and development are influenced by a set of factors that can be conditionally divided into objective and subjective. The objective factors include the type of society, the type of economic system, the level of social development, issues of demography, trends in world development, and the state policy.

Subjective factors are primarily caused by the specificity of human capital: the factor of value production is a living person with his inner world, worldview, a system of views and attitudes. Considering the subjective factors of human capital formation special attention should be paid to the sustained positive motivation of a person.

The globalization of education is a particular factor in the formation of human capital. It may be considered both as an objective and a subjective factor. The main task that education sets itself is to transfer to a person the knowledge he needs for a comfortable existence in the society. The purpose of higher education is to develop a highly qualified specialist that contributes to the growth of the national economy in particular and the world economy in general. It is worth noting that the experience of countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong confirms that the policy of investing in education is one of the effective strategies for economic development (Khokonov, 2015).

At the same time, the concept of a highly qualified specialist is undergoing a significant transformation today. In order to be competitive and in demand in the labor market, a person, as a specialist, needs to be constantly trained and be in the system of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning may be carried out not only through obtaining new specialties, mastering professional retraining and advanced training programs, but also through self-education. This is actively facilitated by the globalization of education. It opens up new opportunities for a person, involving him in global processes.

Following Z.I. Ivanova, by the globalization of education we propose to understand the process of folding the market for global educational services, which, in the end, will lead to a new pedagogical system (Ivanova, 2007). Despite the fact that each state implements its own line in the education system taking into account its own traditions, history, socio-economic situation, the service market and the labor market, world-class interaction is clearly traced today. The purpose of this interaction is to train a specialist of a new generation who meets the needs of not only the national, but also the world economy. Y.V. Ershova in her research concludes that the result of globalization is the formation of a single global educational space, which requires characteristics from national higher education systems such as flexibility and the ability to adapt to the conditions of an ever-changing world (Ershova, 2010). Yu.V. Blokhina argues that the concept of globalization of education cannot be reduced to the integration of educational systems. Its distinctive feature is the unification of the world based on information technologies, the need to unite in the face of the threat of global problems, as well as the need for rapprochement of peoples and cultures (Blokhina, 2008).

As noted above, the information society presents new requirements to the specialist: proactivity, creativity, stress tolerance, willingness to learn, knowledge of languages, fluency in a number of computer programs, mobility, and activity. The knowledge paradigm is replaced by a personally oriented one, i.e. a modern specialist must not only have the necessary knowledge, possess a certain range of skills and abilities, but also apply them in non-standard situations of the ever-changing world. The result of this is the emergence of a new concept – intellectual capital (Zhernova, 2010). For the first time T. Stewart begins to consider the problems of the nature of intellectual capital in the work. According to him, the concept of intellectual capital includes all knowledge of workers that give a competitive advantage to the company in the market. The views of the domestic researcher V.S. Efremov are close to this position. By intellectual capital he understands the complex of knowledge that the organization has and which are easily transmitted and expressed in a clear, understandable form.

Intellectual capital today is particularly interesting in the world market. In our opinion this is caused by two circumstances: the demographic problem, which is now one of the global problems of mankind, and the orientation of the world towards knowledge-intensive production. In the face of declining populations, many countries face a shortage of intellectual professionals. This becomes one of the reasons for migration and the formation of competitive demand for specialists – intelligent thinkers. At the same time, the opportunities that are now offered to highly qualified specialists may provide a kind of incentive for children and young people around the world and, thereby, lay the foundation for the formation of intellectual capital in the near future. The globalization of education here is especially relevant and important (Egorychev and Rostovskaya, 2021).

, the globalization of education is a platform for lifelong learning. Ensuring inclusive and quality education, including vocational and higher education, throughout life for all categories of the population is one of the goals of sustainable development enshrined in the UN Resolution “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (Transforming our world, 2015).

Everyone today has the opportunity to self-education through participation in open intellectual schools, online courses, conferences and seminars. Information technologies, which today are an integral part of the educational process, allow a person organically combining professional activities and training.

Supranational goals are set and supranational research vectors are determined in the framework of the globalization of education. Taking these goals and vectors into account, each state builds its own educational system, is included in the world space through processes (for example, the Bologna process, the Copenhagen process) and programs (for example, the academic mobility of students and teachers) (Beizerov, 2020). The process of globalization of education is characterized by an active exchange between countries: Russia presents its own achievements in the field of science and education to the world community, while indicating national interests and priorities; however, it takes into account global trends, which allows it becoming part of the world educational space (Seliverstova, 2012).

, the globalization of education contributes to the creation of a single world educational space. Today, every student has the right to choose an educational institution for training and obtaining a profession that is close and interesting to him. The competency approach, which is key in the educational system, is focused on the formation of a stable positive motivation of a future specialist, takes into account the personal characteristics of each graduate and creates conditions for the maximum realization of the personality both as a member of civil society and as a highly qualified specialist (Esetova, Atembaeva, 2021).

, the globalization of education contributes to the development of personality qualities necessary for a modern specialist in a modern society. Due to the creation of a single world space it becomes possible to timely get acquainted with innovations in the field of science and production, join professional associations, express personal position, analyze markets and adapt to continuous changes.

, the globalization of education gives a person such a crucial resource as time. L. Thurow notes that each person has a certain margin of time – the main asset of human capital – which allows him acquiring new knowledge, professional competencies and, therefore, improving himself as a person and as a professional. In the context of the globalization of education the issues of leisure time are becoming particularly relevant. Opening up new opportunities the information society today requires a person to possess certain skills of time management: he must be able to navigate the daily flow of new information, filter it and select the necessary materials, including for professional development.

But we cannot consider the globalization of education only as a positive process. Like any reality, the globalization of education is multidimensional and diverse. This is confirmed by the mixed attitude towards globalization of the representatives of the whole world. Some see globalization as a source of economic growth for both national and global economies; others – as a threat to the world economic system (Egorychev and Rostovskaya, 2021).

The analysis of the current state of society in general and the globalization of education in particular allowed identifying its following negative aspects.

, the formation of personality as an element of world space leads to a leveling of its uniqueness.

, the universality typical for the globalization of education overshadows the social and cultural characteristics of certain countries.

, the globalization of education is one of the factors of negative migration: in search of better life and working conditions young people – the labor potential of the state – leave for other countries.

, the globalization of education mainly based on information technology has a negative impact on human health: every year, the number of children with ophthalmological and musculoskeletal diseases increases in the world.

, in the context of the information society education is considered as one of the spheres of services, and teacher-student relations shift to a new plane – the plane of economic relations; this leads to a decrease in the value of the spiritual component of education.

Conclusion

Thus, the globalization of education is a factor in the formation of high-quality human capital capable of fulfilling the tasks set and ensuring the economic growth of the state in a timely manner. Today, in the context of a post-industrial economy intellectual capital comes first. A modern specialist must possess such universal qualities as the ability to work in a team, activity, creativity, stress resistance, the desire for self-education and self-development. Besides, a specialist of a new generation must constantly professionally improve himself. Opportunities for this arise as a result of the globalization of education: online platforms, academic mobility, and creation of a single educational space. However, in determining the educational strategies of the state it is necessary to take into account both national priorities and world trends.

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