The Impact Of Cultural Globalization On University Curriculum Development

Culture and globalization are two different concepts. The Latin word Cultura for culture carries the meaning of "cultivating". Culture is a way of life which is adopted by a certain group of people of a particular society at a specific time and place. Globalization refers to the economic interaction among more than two countries. This term shows the global context rather than the limited interest of a country (Satwase2011). In general, scholars’ definitions of globalization are relayed into four aspects:economic aspect, political aspect, social aspect and cultural aspects. These four aspects are counted as determinants of the globalization system.The purpose of this study was to investigate and examine the impact of cultural globalization on universities’curricula development. The study was guided by two research questions. These are:(1) In what ways has cultural globalization affected the objectives and contents of university curriculum since2000? And (2) How has cultural globalization impacted the curriculum development process in terms of duration for reviewing, changing and reforming?The study was designed as a case study whereby a qualitative strategy used. Multiple methods were used for data collection, namely documentary analysis, lecture observation and semi-structured interviews. Seven English syllabi and university general book which contains all school available in this university were analyzed, but due to lack of official curriculum. Six English lectures were observed and six lecturers were interviewed. The data collected was analyzed using content analysis model.The findings show that the need of preparing students for global citizenship and cultural awareness had an influence on the English curriculum, in which the main focus is on skill, knowledge, ethics and values. The study also established that government, university and English department managements have the role towards curriculum reviews, changes and reforms.