Lecture Summary:
-Zhao’s book of the same title, “Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization,” addresses these and other questions.
-At a time when globalization and technology are dramatically altering the world we live in, is education reform in the United States headed down the right path?
-Are schools emphasizing the knowledge and skills that students need in a global society? Or, are they undermining students’ strengths by overemphasizing high-stakes testing and standardization?
-American education is at a crossroads. We need to change course to maintain leadership in a rapidly changing world. How should we redesign our educational system?

Yong Zhao is an internationally recognized scholar on the impacts of globalization and technology on education. He currently serves as Presidential Chair and Associate Dean for Global Education at the University of Oregon, where he is also Weinman Professor of Technology and a professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy and Leadership. Over the course of his career, he has designed schools that cultivate global competence and developed computer games for language learning. Zhao is the author of more than 20 books, including “Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization” and “World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students.” A winner of the early career award from the American Educational Research Association, Zhao is a graduate of Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.