The Third Annual Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture – Catching up to Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization

Professor Yong Zhao, from the University of Oregon, will examine if education reform in the United States is heading down the right path in a world that is more dramatically shaped by globalization and technology, during the Third Annual Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture.

The lecture starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15 in the Scandinavian Cultural Center in the UC. Zhao’s address is based on his book, Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.

Some other questions he will examine include: Are schools emphasizing the knowledge and skills that students need in a global society? Are education systems in China and other countries really as superior as some people claim? As well as other questions.

Zhao was born and raised in China, and is currently the Presidential Chair and Associate Dean for Global Education for the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He also serves as the director of the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) at the U of O. He is a fellow of the International Academy for Education.

Zhao bases many of his observations on extensive research and firsthand experience as a student in China and as a parent of children attending school in the United States. His unique perspective leads him to conclude that “American education is at a crossroads” and “we need to change course” to maintain leadership in a rapidly changing world.