A Snapshot of the Roles of Knowledge in the New Times

Abstract

Globalization involves the reconfiguration and restructuring of capitalist organizations where knowledge becomes the main resource for effective production, forming a knowledge-based economy in the new times. The article analyzes recent educational literature on the knowledge-based economy with a discussion on types of necessary knowledge which nurture students’ thinking ability in order to possibly enhance their life-long learning ability which is considered as important for individuals in the knowledge economy to proactively enter the global integration process. This essay proposes that by playing the key role in production in the knowledge economy, knowledge is also deemed as a competitive factor for economic growth and as social capital for individuals to live and work. As knowledge takes a newer role compared to the traditional understanding of knowledge as the remembering of separate facts, educational sectors are now tasked with more responsibilities in producing a responsive and intellectual workforce to live and work well in the global integration time.

Keywords: Globalization, Knowledge, Knowledge-based Economy