"International Perspectives in Higher Education" offers a balanced perspective on how different countries approach key policies and what the United States can learn from those programs. Jason D. Delisle and Alex Usher have gathered a diverse group of experts to examine systems across the globe with a focus on the trade-offs between…

"Early Childhood Development in Tonga: Baseline Results from the Tongan Early Human Capability Index" offers a comprehensive assessment of early child development across Tonga. This book reports on a census of child development using the Tongan Early Human Capability Index. The data includes information on more than 6,600 children ages 3…

Chile's education system can foster stronger economic, democratic and social development in the country. There are significant macroeconomic benefits to education, such as increased productivity. That said, individuals tend to benefit the most from high-quality, equitable education systems. In 2004, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and…

Education has until recently promoted social mobility, broad economic growth, and democracy. However, modern universities direct policy and resources toward criteria that exacerbate income inequality and reduce social mobility. Online education can make education more socially, geographically, temporally, and financially accessible, impacting the…

Gender inequalities persist in all areas of social and economic life and across countries. Young women in OECD countries generally obtain more years of schooling than young men, but women are less likely than men to engage in paid work. Gaps widen with age, as motherhood typically has marked negative effects on gender pay gaps and career…

This country review offers an independent analysis of major issues facing the use of school resources in Portugal from an international perspective. It provides a description of national policies, an analysis of strengths and challenges and options for possible future approaches. The analysis focuses on the process of decentralisation of school…

Continuous and rapid developments in global higher education today more than ever before present new questions, greater challenges, and vast new opportunities for institutions, policy makers, scholars and students alike. This book is a collection of studies and essays by many of the leading experts in international higher education who share their…

In the twenty-first century educators around the world are being told that they need to transform education systems to adapt young people for the challenges of a global digital knowledge economy. Too rarely, however, do we ask whether this future vision is robust, achievable or even desirable, whether alternative futures might be in development,…

Learning disability is a classification that includes several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner. Depending on the type and severity of the disability, interventions may be used to help the individual learn strategies that will foster future success. Some interventions can be quite simplistic, while others are…

Fertility rates have fallen dramatically around the world. In some countries, there are no longer enough children being born to replace adult populations. The disappearance of children is a matter of concern matched only by fears that childhood is becoming too structured or not structured enough, too short or too long, or just simply too different…

Population aging was one of the most distinctive events of the 20th century and will remain important throughout the 21st century. Initially, a phenomenon of more developed countries, the process has recently become apparent in much of the developing world as well. The shift in age structure associated with population aging has a profound impact…

Discussions over the last 2 decades about the possible reform of low socioeconomic schools and teaching practices originate in the effectiveness and improvement (E&I) fields of educational research, which proclaim that teachers and schools "can make a difference." But the message has been thoroughly overplayed. This work focuses on…

The Bernard van Leer Foundation, now headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established as a philanthropic institution in 1949. This book examines the range and complexity of the foundation's work on behalf of young disadvantaged children, and illustrates the unique character of the foundation. The book, which consists of 11 chapters,…

"Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 6," is the newest volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and…

This monograph describes the system of higher education in the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The preface points out that despite perestroika, two features of Soviet education persist, a high degree of unity and centralization and a close link between higher education and employers. Chapter 1, "Historical Overview," begins…