This article seeks to provide a comprehensive account of the impact of globalization on educational systems, noting the changes-as well as continuities-at all levels of education, from primary schooling to university. Higher education has been most affected by globalization reflected in the persistent discourse about the "knowledge society" of the 21st century. Latin America, as other regions, has seen a tremendous expansion in higher education, primarily through private supply of uneven quality. While the region evinces increased participation in education, the adverse conditions of poor children, both boys and girls, who reside in rural areas and who are indigenous or Afro-descendants, have not been substantially improved by globalization. Countries in East Asia are responding eagerly to the possibilities opened up by new global forces; Latin American nations have not shown an equal determination to invest in public education and, if the situation remains unchanged, are likely to fall back in the race toward developing a population with advanced knowledge.
globalization; neoliberalism; higher education; inequality; adult education