Cultivation of Global Competence During the COVID-19 Era: Comparative Study in USA, South Korea, and Taiwan

(Doshisha University, Japan)

Abstract: This paper discusses whether university education aiming to provide students with global competencies (GC), built on the premise of free movement between countries, can perform the same function in the corona era as before. It will analyze an international comparative survey conducted in 2020, asking whether it is possible to acquire GC, a core objective of education, through online learning after COVID-19. COVID-19 is spreading all over the world. As of June 2021, vaccination levels vary from country to country, and the return to a situation centered on face-to-face university education is still uncertain. The impact of this unprecedented corona pandemic on higher education is enormous. The social transformation of the corona pandemic and post-corona is also one of the phenomena caused by globalization. Therefore, the spread of COVID-19 has significantly impacted higher education worldwide. Online education at the higher education level has suddenly spread worldwide, providing various possibilities and suggestions for the form university education should take. This study considers the ideal state and direction of university education with-corona and post-corona from the perspective of the “new normal” and the movement for university education fostering GC and internationalization. It will explore the new normal and the possibilities and challenges it brings concerning the development of GC through an international student survey centered on the US, South Korea, and Taiwan in 2020. As a result, it was found that in Taiwan, many face-to-face teachings were held, and the acquisition of GC has not decreased so much, but in the United States, and South Korea, where there were many online teachings, the acquisition of GC has decreased since COVID-19. 

Key words: global competence, online education, COVID-19, comparative survey