The founders of the International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva were convinced the best way to develop understanding between peoples was by disseminating knowledge: collecting pedagogical materials from around the world, making them accessible to all, and enriching them through collective studies and conferences where attendees could engage…

Over the past two decades, historians have dedicated a growing amount of research to the history of globalization. This introduction shows how the articles in this issue contribute to this dynamic, aiming to illustrate its heuristic potential in historicizing educational phenomena. The field of education is presented as a relevant platform for an…

Over the course of the 20th century, the social and legal status of the child evolved considerably. One remarkable illustration of this process can be seen by tracing the evolution of specific international treaties on the rights of the child. Although developments in national legislation inspired the authors of these treaties, it was through…

Most countries in South Asia are either in the middle-income bracket or moving towards it; to move up the value chain towards higher incomes, they need more skilled people and larger investments in infrastructure. The combination of globalization, technological advancement, unprecedented labour mobility, and the demographic dividend offers them…

The article provides an overview of the global economic landscape in which the contemporary skills development discourse is located. Effective skills development oriented to market needs and to competitiveness in high-value global value chains will help developing economies to avoid the middle income trap. It outlines major issues and challenges…

The 2006 UNESCO conference "Building Creative Competencies for the 21st Century" had international participants and a global reach. The Director-General's proclamation that "Creativity is our hope" captured the essence of the proceedings and participants saw the focus on creativity as offering solutions to global problems.…

Many countries are now creating world-class universities (WCUs) as essential parts of their higher education reform agendas, and as national goals. It is legitimate to ask whether every country that aspires to build a WCU can do so--especially developing countries. To answer this question, this paper provides a three-step framework. The first step…

This article describes the unique characteristics of internationalization in teacher education in the Republic of Belarus, by asking how the creation of a national system of teacher education after the USSR's disintegration has both enhanced and hindered internationalization. The question is answered by providing an overview of the specific…

Through a case study of Quebec's general and vocational colleges (cegeps), this article analyzes the role that institutions play in internationalizing the in-service training they provide to their teachers, and explains how partnerships with educational institutions in developing countries contribute to this process. Data from a questionnaire…

The 1969 racial riot in Kuala Lumpur served as a historical landmark in the development of Malaysian education, as it raised concerns about the state of national unity in the country. Subsequently, education was coupled with the socioeconomic restructuring of Malaysian society in line with the New Economic Policy (NEP) that commenced in 1970.…

This article examines research by postgraduate students in education at the University of the South Pacific (USP) between 1968 and 2009. These experienced educators, who later return to their original education sector to influence policy and practice in some way, are producing new knowledge intimately connected to Pacific education systems. The…

This article posits that world-class education is international education, as defined by UNESCO, and presents International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes as examples of this phenomenon. It begins with the IB's 1960s origins in international schools, which educated the children of globally mobile parents who worked principally in the UN and its…

Around the world we hear considerable talk about creating world-class schools. Usually the term refers to schools whose students get very high scores on the international comparisons of student achievement such as PISA or TIMSS. The practice of restricting the meaning of exemplary schools to the narrow criterion of achievement scores is usually…

For over two decades the State of Ohio has been reforming its education system. This article focuses on the 2006 reform initiatives: a newly elected governor pledged to review and revise its 2002 kindergarten to twelfth grad (K-12) academic content standards and benchmark them to international "best-in-class" measures, given Ohio's need to develop…

The slogan "world-class education" is ubiquitous in education circles. This essay looks closely at who is advancing this idea, why, and where, and the kind of work it is asked to do. Though instruments for determining the world-class status of education institutions were first launched in the 1980s, they have grown exponentially in the past…