COMMON VISIONS, NEW PERSPECTIVES: RE-VISIONING GLOBAL CONNECTIONS FOR LOCAL ACTIONS

The role of education in the creation of the information society in the global world is one of the key issues faced by researchers nowadays. Sri Aurobindo, Eduardo Pérez de Carrera, and Edgar Morin are but a few of the forerunners whose work stands on the threshold of new educational paradigms. Their research, separated by time and space lines, shows a common interest in the development of mankind, a deep study of the paradoxical condition of the human being, and a necessary defense of the balance between the present technological culture and the need to unfold into a more complete wholeness by integrating the different ontological constituents of the persona.

These authors have in common the multicultural and transdisciplinary quality of their works. In an increasingly growing complex and policultural society, through their works we may inquire if it is possible to formulate a global educational theory that could, with some variations, be adapted to the local dimensions of the world, fostering the growth of an integral consciousness via an integral education. In other words, may the main educational systems combine and converge? What are the vital issues to be considered? Is there a question between modernism and antiquity in educational paradigms, between imported civilizations and the creation of new mixed cultures? Moreover, in the preparation of world citizens through global education, what should be the characteristics of a global education program that raises student awareness of development issues, and fosters their conscious participation in the creation of a new society? Finally, and most importantly, how do these reflections apply to our local schools? Is it possible to develop a truly global education locally?

Through our paper, we will underline some of the critical issues on the subject of global education in the light of the above mentioned visionary authors, and we will attempt to draw some answers by discussing the role of education in the larger system of world design.