Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

International Perspectives on Education. Edited by Albert Rolls. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 2007. 1 vol. 200 p. $50.00. ISBN 978-0-8242-1070-0.

Studies of international education no longer focus on the similarities and differences between national systems such as when students start school, the highest level of compulsory education, or who can attend a college preparatory school rather than a technical school. Studies now embrace globalization and multiculturalism. Countries recognize that they must prepare their young people to live in a global community if the country is to grow. New technologies affecting the classroom, deciding between vocational and academic programs, standards and other issues are gathered from a variety of published sources and divided into five sections: "An Education for Everybody," "Beyond Knowledge: The Other Uses of Education," "Globalization and the Goal of Education," "Education in Our Technological Age" and "In Pursuit of Quality Education." World history, geography, economics, and current events teachers should be made aware of this book so they can generate student interest in the challenges of education outside the U.S. A comparison with a discussion of education within the United States may help with understanding why the U.S. ranks where it does in terms of student testing. Margin notes and inset boxes contain quotations and additional information and charts provide statistics. The appendix includes a two-page bibliography of books, two pages of Web sites and an additional ten pages of annotated periodical articles.