The Role of Local Educational Policies in Educational and Human Development of Developing Economies in the Era of Globalization – Nigeria and China as Case Studies

The impact of globalization has been felt in every aspect of life and economy as it has presented an opportunity for borderless interaction and information dissemination. However, just like any other phenomenon, globalization comes with its demerits which if left unchecked by its adopters can in the long run undermine all benefits it earlier provided. This paper examines globalization in education in the context of global educational policies in developing economies. It attempts to justify the importance of local educational policies in developing economies and why these economies must take the extra step of re-contextualizing the global educational policies to create local educational policies tailored towards achieving knowledge economy results that first benefits the immediate local economy and human development. It achieves this by comparing the national educational policies in a developing economy like Nigeria with the national educational policies in a fast-developing economy such as China in a comparative analysis of information available in the public domain and in research articles and clearly outlines how local educational policies of China have assisted her in forging ahead in education and human development even in the era of globalization. This research concludes by suggesting local educational policies that align with global educational policies but will ultimately protect developing economies from knowledge erosion resulting from globalization in education while bringing the standard of their education to par with those obtainable in developed economies.