Education, Social Cohesion, and the Future Role of International Organizations

Abstract

Although they have many important functions, The European Union, many federal governments, and the United Nations (UN) have few areas where their mandates call for them to dictate, adjudicate, or legislate education policy. Education, for the most part, has traditionally been viewed as relevant to local culture and hence subject to local control. This is now changing. Traditional interest in mathematics, science, and language remain, and although there are distinct influences drawing school systems into cross-national interests and endeavors, the main focus of attention is not on this area. Today, the main focus of attention is on the citizenship function of education, that purpose of public schooling that transcends curriculum and helps to create social cohesion, the basis of a stable democracy. This article summarizes some of the social cohesion issues involving education, the concerns over how education performs this function, and the implications for international organizations. It begins by reviewing the purposes of public education, then it discusses some