Student Perceptions of Globalization

Abstract

Globalization and international trade issues play a prominent role in news coverage, politics, and the macroeconomy.  There is a range of views regarding the costs and benefits of globalization, with some groups standing to benefit while others fear they will be harmed.  This paper uses survey data to examine recent trends in students' view of globalization at a small college in southern Arkansas.  Student responses were divided by classification, selected major, and gender.  ANOVA and Mean Differences analysis were used to generate student response means for each group.  Overall, students were observed to view globalization positively, although there were some differences among various groups.  Results showed that graduate students hold the most favorable view of free trade.  This may be due to varying exposures to news media and classroom discussions regarding these issues.  Additionally, male students showed a more positive view of globalization when compared to their female counterparts.  These results largely supported previous studies and the authors' expectations.  Business students' viewpoints on free trade, however, were not noticeably different than those of science or liberal arts majors and were noticeably less positive than those of education majors, contradicting previous findings.