This article analyses how Education for All policies were transferred to Brazil and Latin America by means of ambitious educational strategic plans such as the Plan for the Development of Education and the National Education Plans -- promoted by the Federal Government of Brazil, and the Latin American Educational Goals -- promoted by the…

This article examines young Syrians' perceptions of higher education after the 2001 reforms, which expanded access to higher education and permitted the establishment of private universities. Data come from in-depth interviews conducted with 22 Syrians residing in Damascus, aged 18-32 in 2009. Analysis indicates youth are critical of the…

Within a single generation Nepal has seen a tremendous increase in higher education opportunities. This rapid growth has encouraged the participation of many young people from social groups previously unrepresented at university. A more questionable consequence however has been the growing divergence and complexity of the educational landscape…

Despite the massive education sector of the country, the Philippines--being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire and the typhoon belt--is home to a number of natural instabilities that frequently disrupt the school calendar. Conflict areas in selected parts of the island of Mindanao and the remote geographic features of the country also pose…

In this paper we examine the role which distance, in a variety of forms, can play in the reproduction, intensification or reduction of educational inequality in different types of school systems in different countries. This is a very broad issue, and in the paper we examine the ways in which distance to school has emerged as an important factor in…

This paper addresses the politics of researching private education with special reference to the Indian context. Due to a recent increase in privatised forms of education globally and recognition of the private sector by governments, international agencies and researchers as a policy and academic interest, this is shifting ground. The evolving…

Using data from the super-sample of the "PISA Suisse" 2003 assessment, this article examines the relationship between the characteristics of education systems (made up of homogeneous or heterogeneous tracks) and their consequences in terms of effectiveness and equity. Our results indicate that it is not so much the official structure of tracks as…

Around the world there is a growing consensus that migrant children's rights must be protected, regardless of where they have emigrated from. One of these rights is the right to a public education of equal quality to that granted to non-migrant children regardless of where one's family is registered or pays taxes. This article focuses on migrant…

This article sets out to re-conceptualise gender equality in education quality. Four approaches to conceptualising gender equitable education quality are identified in the literature: human capital theory with a focus on parity and sameness for all; a human rights and power perspective, within which gender equality is viewed as transforming unjust…

Comparative and international studies of education that focus on policy borrowing and transfer must be expanded to account for aspects of what Terence Halliday and Bruce Carruthers call "global norm-making." Such an approach examines how global policies are refracted within divergent but interrelated sociopolitical and economic contexts,…

Random selection is a fair way to break ties between applicants of equal merit seeking admission to institutions of higher education (with "merit" defined here in terms of the intrinsic contribution higher education would make to the applicant's life). Opponents of random selection commonly argue that differences in strength between…

This special issue introduces a set of article addressing the question of what "fairness" means with respect to the distribution of access to higher education. Articles herein address the criteria that "should" be used to allocate funding, offers of admission at selective institutions, and conceiving and assessing …

The study investigates the chances of gaining admission to Georgian higher education in relation to residential origin. The analysis of broad trends is combined with details from an in-depth individual-level inquiry. Qualitative data on the entire population of 150,000 applicants over the period 2005-9, together with interview data from a…

In France, the proportion of second-generation immigrants enrolling in tertiary education has increased as education has undergone a process of "democratization." This article analyzes their postsecondary choices, access to tertiary programs, dropout, and transition to the labor market, compared to those of students of French origin.…

Access to higher education in Egypt is expanding in both the public and private sectors. Using a nationally representative sample from the Survey of Young People in Egypt, this article is able to disaggregate patterns of access by both demographic group and university sector. Findings suggest that access in the public sector is governed strongly…