In Balancing Change and Tradition in Global Education Reform, Rotberg brings together examples of current education reforms in sixteen countries, written by "insiders". This book goes beyond myths and stereotypes and describes the difficult trade-offs countries make as they attempt to implement reforms in the context of societal and global change. In some countries, reforms are a response to major political or economic shifts; in others, they are motivated by large upsurges in immigration and increased student diversity. Irrespective of the reasons for education reform, all countries face decisions about resource allocation, equality of educational opportunity across diverse populations, access to higher education, student testing and tracking, teacher accountability, school choice, and innovation.

The essays in this volume reveal:

· the policy choices about the school reforms made by countries throughout the world

· the consequences associated with these choices

· the role that societal values, historical antecedents, and political structures play in facilitating or constraining reform

Balancing Change and Tradition in Global Education Reform is an invaluable resource for policymakers, faculty, students, and anyone interested in how decisions made about the education system ultimately affect the quality of education, educational access, and social justice.

List of Contributors
Gérard Bonnet is in charge of European and international relations at the French Ministry of Education's Department of Assessment and Forecasting in Paris, which is responsible for promoting and organizing international cooperation in the field of quality education systems. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Education's Bedford Group for Statistical and Lifecourse Studies at the University of London. His publications include articles on teacher training, assessment methodology, and comparative evaluation published in French and in international journals.

Mary Canning and Stephen T. Kerr co-authored the chapter on Russia. Mary Canning is lead education specialist in the Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank, specializing in the education system of Russia where she leads the Bank's education policy dialogue and sector analysis. She also works on education reform in those countries of Central and Eastern Europe that joined the European Union in May 2004. Her reports and papers on Russia have appeared in the World Bank series, as well as in edited collections such as Crossroads in Russia: Experiences in Educational Cooperation. Stephen T. Kerr is Professor of Education and Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Education at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he also holds an adjunct appointment in the University's Program in Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. His articles and book chapters on Russia and the former Soviet Union have dealt with problems of change in educational institutions under conditions of rapid economic and social development.

Kai-ming Cheng is Pro-Vice Chancellor, Chair, and Professor of Education at the University of Hong Kong. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Graduate School of Education, Peking University, and serves as a member of Hong Kong's Education Commission. His publications focus on education planning, finance, and policymaking in China, India, Japan and other Asian systems of education and reflect his fundamental interest in the process of policymaking and the notion of legitimacy in such a process.

Terry J. Crooks is Associate Professor of Education and co-director of the Educational Assessment Research Unit at the University of Otago. He co-directs the National Education Monitoring Project, which assesses the capabilities of fourth- and eighth-grade school students in all curriculum areas, and is a past president of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education. His publications focus on educational assessment and the teaching and learning process.

Luis Crouch is a lead education economist for The World Bank's Human Development Network, and was an economist at RTI International (Research Triangle Institute) in North Carolina, where he specialized in education planning, the measurement of performance indicators, and education finance. He has been technical advisor to South Africa's Department of Education during the period 1995 to the present. The comradely and technical quality of the interactions with officials in the Department and various NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) is gratefully remembered and acknowledged, as is the funding by USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) during the period 1995 to 2002. The opinions and conclusions expressed here are, of course, the author's own, and are not to be associated with any institutions with whom he has worked.

Eva Forsberg and Ulf P. Lundgren co-authored the chapter on Sweden. Eva Forsberg is Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow of Education at Uppsala University. She has served as an expert consultant to Sweden's National Agency for Education and the Ministry of Education and Science. Her publications focus on issues of educational leadership and student participation in the policy process. Ulf P. Lundgren is Professor of Education at Uppsala University. He has also served as an expert consultant to the Ministries of Education in Sweden and Portugal, to international organizations, and to various education committees within the European Union. His publications address issues of educational governance, policy, and philosophy. The authors would like to thank the members of the Research Unit for Studies in Educational Policy and Educational Philosophy (STEP) for their valuable comments and contributions to the chapter.

Ratna Ghosh is Professor of Education at McGill University in Montreal, where she recently completed her term as Dean of the Faculty of Education. She has engaged in research, training and development work in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. She has also served as Resident Director and President of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, as an advisor to the Canadian government, and in several positions on the Canadian Human Rights Foundation. Her publications focus on issues of intercultural and international education and gender studies.

Batia P. Horsky and Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew co-authored the chapter on education in Singapore. Batia P. Horsky is an art historian with a special interest in archeology, Egyptology, and education. She is on the faculty of Nanyang Technological University, and she has worked for Singapore's Ministry of Education. Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew is also on the faculty of Nanyang Technological University. Her books and articles address a wide range of topics, including pragmatic strategies in business, gender studies, English as an international language, contemporary linguistics, and language and culture in an educational context.

Barbara M. Kehm is professor at the University of Kassel, where she also holds a position with the Center for Research on Higher Education and Work. Her publications focus on German and international higher education. She recently contributed an overview of German universities and research institutions for a publication, Trends in American and German Higher Education, published by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and its German counterpart, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Allan Luke is Professor and Dean of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. He has served as Dean at the University of Queensland and Deputy Director General of Education for Queensland Schools. His publications focus on issues related to the role of education in a changing societal and global context, and the implications of those changes for pedagogy and research. His most recent book is Struggles over Difference: Texts, Curriculum and Pedagogy in the Asia Pacific.

Robert W. McMeekin is an Associated Researcher with the Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Educación (CIDE, Center for Education Research and Development) in Santiago, Chile, and previously held a position at the World Bank. He also serves as a consultant to the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Latin America and other organizations. His most recent book, Incentives to Improve Education: A New Perspective, applies new institutional economics concepts to study incentives in the education sector.

Adam Nir and Dan Inbar co-authored the chapter on Israel. Adam Nir is Chairperson of the Department of Policy and Administration in Education at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a member of the Board of Directors of The International Society for Educational Planning (ISEP). His articles address issues of educational planning and administration, leadership, and school-based management. Dan Inbar is a professor of education policy and administration at Hebrew University, and formerly was Dean of the School of Education. He has served on several committees of Israel's Ministry of Education and held appointments as visiting fellow in European, Australian, Canadian, and U.S. universities. His research focuses on educational choice, administration, and diversity.

Peter Schrag is former editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee and longtime columnist on American politics and education. His articles, which address a wide range of issues related to societal trends, education, and politics, have appeared in publications such as The American Prospect, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New Republic. His most recent book, Final Test: The Battle for Adequacy in America's Schools, presents an analysis of school finance reform cases.

Hasan Simsek and Ali Yildirim co-authored the chapter on Turkey. Hasan Simsek is Professor of Education and Chairperson of the Department of Educational Sciences at Middle East Technical University in Ankara; his research focuses on educational administration, higher education, and teacher education. Ali Yildirim is also Professor of Education at Middle East Technical University, where he specializes in curriculum and instruction, teacher education, and qualitative research methods. Simsek and Yildirim recently co-authored Qualitative Research Methods in Social Sciences, as well as articles on education policy in Turkey. Both authors have also served as consultants to the World Bank and the Turkish Higher Education Council.

Ryo Watanabe is Director of the Department for International Research and Cooperation at the National Institute for Policy Research (NIER) in Japan and a visiting Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has published work in both English and Japanese on educational technology, comparative education, assessment of student performance, and educational cooperation. Most recently, Watanabe served as co-editor and author of the International Handbook of Educational Research in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Alison Wolf is Professor of Management at the Management Centre, King's College, London, and previously was Professor of Education at the University of London. She has been an advisor to British government agencies, the OECD, the European Commission, and the New Zealand, French, and South African governments, and has conducted program evaluations for the U. S. Congress. Her publications focus on education and the labor market, and on assessment, qualifications, and skills. Her most recent book is Does Education Matter? Myths about Education and Economic Growth.

About the Author
Iris C. Rotberg, editor, is research professor of education policy at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. After beginning her career as a research psychologist, she entered the field of public policy research, holding positions with the National Science Foundation, RAND, the National Institute of Education, and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Her research reports, articles, and commentaries address issues of school reform, testing and accountability, international education, science education, and federal policy for financing education. She has conducted research for the U.S. Congress on policy options for improving the education of low-income students, technology and human resources, and the outcomes of federal education programs. Her articles and commentaries appear in such publications as Science, Brookings Papers on Education Policy, Phi Delta Kappan, The Bridge, Harvard Educational Review, The Washington Post, and Education Week.