The World Leaders in Education: Lessons from the Successes and Drawbacks of Their Methods

The World Leaders in Education: Lessons from the Successes and Drawbacks of Their Methods explores the practices and policies that the highest-ranking nations in education implement to achieve their success. Topics include the education of disadvantaged students; cultural attitudes toward education; teacher preparation; and teacher salaries. Eight countries are examined: China, Japan, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Finland, and the United States. The United States is discussed for several reasons, including its large number of strong performers on international tests and its notable history in education. The book looks at both the successes and the failings of these nations, and also mentions the possibilities and limitations of implementing the practices of world-class nations in education in areas where students tend to perform poorly on tests like the PISA. This book may be used for undergraduate and graduate courses such as comparative education.