The book is, in essence, a world tour of public education in the early twenty-first century. For every teaching and learning issue that divides this country, the book shows that several other countries are having the same argument. For every cry of despair at the assorted failures of American schools, Rotberg introduces a host of nations-including some that American critics admire-who are hearing the same complaints about their education systems from their own experts.

Jay Mathews, Washington Post columnist, The Washington Post

The chapters are...lucid, accessible, and insightful, and the concluding chapter is a thoughtful synthesis of the themes that weave throughout the book....Rotberg gets the editing business right; as a result, education policy makers, scholars, and practitioners interested in comparative education reform will find the book's sum is greater than the individual parts....I recommend the book because the individual case studies are informative. Reading Balancing Change and Tradition in Global Education Reform is like being on an interesting, sixteen stop, world study tour. I also recommend the book because Rotberg carefully and thoughtfully pieced together the concluding chapter. Readers who read the book from beginning to end will still be processing the sixteen stories and the wide-ranging content as they begin the final chapter. By identifying the themes that weave throughout the chapters, Rotberg helps the reader make sense of this worldwide intellectual journey....Rotberg does more than identify the themes; she illuminates them by constantly referencing the most essential points made by the individual contributors. What results is a theme, example, example, theme, example, example rhythm that provides readers with a thoughtful, manageable, and memorable conceptual framework that should enable them to draw upon the work in their own professional activities.

Ron Byrnes, Teachers College Record

Twenty-five international academics, researchers, consultants, policymakers, and journalists contribute 16 chapters analyzing educational reforms in 16 countries from around the world…. Some of the countries represented have undergone major changes in their political and economic systems, while others have experienced significant demographic changes. The papers demonstrate the high priority given to education reform in the face of rapidly changing societies and global demands, and highlight how decisions about education reform in the face of rapidly changing societies and global demands, and highlight how decisions about education will ultimately facilitate or impede economic growth, improvements in the quality of life, and social justice. The second edition contains the 16 original country chapters, each followed by an update on developments in the country's educational reforms over the past five years.

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