Focusing on comparative examination of educational reforms, this book explores the relation of state practices and educational knowledge to changes in culture and economics among nations. Countries with different state traditions and political regimes are studied to understand how national and global settings are interrelated in current restructuring of education and social welfare policies related to schooling. The regional cases focus on the policies of the European Union, restructuring efforts in Latin America, and family, child welfare, and early childhood policies in Eastern Europe. In addition, specific studies of national changes in Argentina, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Tanzania, South Africa, and the U.S. are presented.

Educational Knowledge makes a unique contribution by bringing neo-Marxist theories, world systems, and post-modern cultural and political theories into a conversation about the changes that are occurring in the educational arena. This book will interest not only specialists in the field of education studying educational reform, but also economists, political scientists, sociologists, and comparative historians who examine the functioning of education within the larger context of modernization.

Contributors include Benita Blessing, Marianne Bloch, Alejandra Brgin, Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Drewek, Ines Dussel, Tony Edwards, Sharon Gewirtz, Lisa Hennon, Steve Kerr, Johan Müller, Antonio Novoa, Thomas S. Popkewitz, Jurgen Schriewer, Gillermiona Tiramonti, Carlos Alberto Torres, Frances Vavrus, and Geoff Whitty.