Globalization Affects Opportunities and Aspirations of Asian Youth

							Globalization Affects Opportunities and Aspirations of Asian Youth
Diane Shao, Rice University

GLOBAL CHANGES
Bicultural Identity
Youth in the modern world develop a global consciousness that allows them to identify with a worldwide culture dominated by ideals of individualism, free market economics, and democracy, freedom of choice, individual rights, openness to change, and tolerance of differences. They are able to communicate with diverse people through direct access and sharing of information through the Internet. Youth also retain a sense of their local culture in their daily lives, although this is modified by globalization. For example, many young Indians willingly defer to arranged marriages by tradition. Some youth choose to become part of a self-selected culture that provides more tradition and structure than their globalized surroundings. As global and local cultures mix, youth are developing their unique identities in type of hybrid. While their career aspirations are driven by ideals of globalization, they are also influenced by a sense of duty to family and obligation to tradition.

“For those of us who
can go to college, we take an internship to prepare for our career. I plan to be involved in hotel management. It is a good job… Many of my classmates also have internships around Beijing in different career fields. “” -- Young Hotel Intern, Beijing, China

“My parents are pretty agreeable to most things I would like to do. I have worked at several jobs, and even stayed at home for a while. I like graphic design, but I think that by working here, I will learn some useful things from my boss. I like just the usual things like shopping, reading…” “
-- Corporate employee, Bangalore, India

“I would like to play a key
role in the process of making India a lucrative place for Indians to stay back and foreigners to come to..be someone that others look up to, and most importantly, come good in the hopes and expectations that my parents have of me.“” -- IIT student, Bangalore, India

INDIA
“Our youth, numbering 300 million persons, should develop
the curiosity, knowledge, core competence, determination, perseverance and the courage to invent new phenomena in science and technology leading to path-breaking discoveries. “ -- Adapted from President APJ Abdul Kalam’s address to the 14th Children’s Science Congress on December 27, 2006

”

India has the largest youth population in the world, consisting of one-third of its entire population. With expansion of IT services and other industries, India is experiencing a job boom and a tremendous growth in employment. According to Business Today estimates, “at least 2.2 million jobs will be created in India's private sector over the next two years.” India has a great intellectual pool, but lacks middle management and the leadership to harness it. Few college graduates enter the workforce with the skills needed to contribute to their company. Young Indians in general are earning more and even daring to lead new lifestyles. However, the lure of money is also making youngsters drop out of college to take up jobs that pay much more than what they can ever get from their parents. The most promising Indian youth are experiencing healthy salaries by doing grunt work for others.

Emerging Adulthood
Adult roles such as work, marriage, and parenthood are occurring later for youth in urban areas, forming a stage of life we may call “emerging adulthood”. The highly information-based global economy requires longer amounts of education for preparation. This happens especially in societies where there is no pressing need for immediate work (I.e. the pampered only-child of middle to upper class Chinese). In rural areas, this stage is shortened greatly, as they must become economically productive sooner. The hope is that with globalization and economic improvement, the proportion of youth that can experience the benefits will increase.

THE BLACK BOX
Rural youth are more likely to suffer from poverty, lack of education, and restricted economic opportunities. They have little in common with the lives of their urban counterparts. In India, hose who do leave the countryside in hopes of finding greater opportunities in the cities often end up living in slums. India's economic growth is providing new opportunities, but the challenge is bringing the impact to it’s poorest villages. In China, almost 70% of people still live in rural areas where opportunities are poor. Although education is mandatory for the first 9 years, there are few schools or adequate teachers. Only an extremely small percentage of youth belong to the educational elite as shown in the chart below.

CHINA
Chinese youth (age 15-24) today consist of 15.9% of the population. As the only child of the family, they are also under great pressure from their parents to excel and be their source of pride. Every child is expected to complete 9 years of compulsory education, but many do not have access. As education becomes more competitive, youth from urban and/or rich families find it much easier to take advantage of educational opportunities. Recently, some measures have been taken to ensure that rural migrant children can access this right. More and more young people are pursuing utilitarianism and believe that earning enough money is the most important thing to bringing them a sense of security. Even many college graduates cannot find a job, so many youth choose to go abroad to study and seek better opportunities. In rural areas, young people are increasingly migrating to urban areas to find work. Migration between cities in China has become much more free. This presents more equality for young people’s access to the labor market. Some local governments have passed regulations to protect rural migrant workers’ interests and rights, and some have introduced programs to build support networks for college students’ employment.

What this means for China & India
Youth are embracing concepts of globalization and have dreams of financial success in the global market. As these countries develop, there is a greater need and demand for skills of leadership and innovation from students with higher education. Education is available for only a small percentage of the population, forcing youth into great competition. Since not all institutions effectively impart useful skills for the workforce, there is great competition at the job market level afterwards as well. Meanwhile, the improving economic situation and state of “emerging adulthood” are allowing youth the resources to explore their unique identities. Youth are adapting to meet the challenges of globalization by becoming active leaders and citizens.
* From the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC), 2005

Education has become a necessity for improved opportunities. While urban youth compete for limited positions, rural youth lack even the basic materials to learn. The opportunities and aspirations of its poorest citizens are major challenges that China and India must confront as globalization continues.

Engi 205: Topics in Global Leadership in Technology Jun Kuno and Sarah Phillips Rice University, Houston, Texas April 26, 2007

This trip was generously funded by the following organizations: • School of Natural Sciences, Rice University • School of Engineering, Rice University • Department of Biochemistry, Rice University • VIGRE Program in Statistics, Rice University

Special thanks to these strong supporters of INNOVATE: • National Science Foundation • University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Department