Ferment in Education

These 11 essays chronicle the growth and changing focus of comparative education, offer criticism of research into comparing educational systems around the world and describe recent developments in education worldwide. Topics include: a profile of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and a summary of the organization's key findings; the impact of international agencies like the World Bank on the reconstruction of schooling in Africa; the effects of social upheaval on education in Russia; the expansion of secondary education and independent schools in the new Czech Republic; the removal of vestiges of communism from civic education in Romania; new forms of teacher training in Israel and China; and reforms in the entrance examination process in Japan. The contributors include a Romanian school inspector, a research psychologist and educational consultant and scholars at universities in Australia, China, Europe, Israel and the United States.