According to globalisation theories, the importance of international organisations such as UNESCO and EU regarding processes of policy-making is increasing and it is no longer the nation state alone that is regulating policy. Focusing on equity and social justice as central topics of the global discourse, the article raises the question of how…

While the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to better learning are now widely acknowledged, a widespread and accessible provision for these services also helps support gender equality in the workforce. In particular, the availability, intensity, reliability and affordability of ECEC play an important role in engaging…

The subject of the article is social and occupational activation of persons at risk of social exclusion. The phenomenon of social exclusion is an important socio-economic problem today and an important area for the implementation of the priorities of EU cohesion policy. This policy sets out the indicators to be achieved by 2020. Among the specific…

The last half century has seen a dramatic expansion in access to primary, secondary, and higher education in many nations around the world. Educational expansion is desirable for a country's economy, beneficial for educated individuals themselves, and is also a strategy for greater social harmony. But has greater access to education reduced or…

The prevalence of intellectual disability (ID) in Poland is estimated at 47.8/10,000 among the population aged over 15 years. Although progress has recently been documented in the development of more positive attitudes toward integration of people with disabilities in society, social distance toward those with ID is persistent. Several Acts of…

Trends in the social origins, with respect to level and type of education, of Polish students are identified. It is suggested that these trends are probably more the result of self-selection than of selection based on objective school assessment. (Author/MLW)

This book encompasses a systematic, comparative study of change in educational stratification in 13 industrialized countries, exploring which societal conditions help reduce existing inequalities in educational opportunity. The contributors show that in most industrialized countries inequalities in educational opportunity among students from…

The relationship between higher education and employment (particulary underemployment and unemployment) is discussed in terms of a synthesis of 21 case studies of developing and developed nations. The countries discussed are: Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Federal Republic of Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen,…