In light of the set of influences produced by changes arising, among others, from the scientific and technical revolution, globalization and the structural crisis of capitalism, this article reports some results of a study that analysed the development of international guidelines for environmental education (EE) in four historical periods between…

Research on international organizations (IOs), both intergovernmental and non governmental, has become an important strand in comparative education. At the same time, strikingly absent in this large body of research is a large-N perspective on IOs themselves, representing a level of analysis in its own right where geography, discourse, and…

Introduction: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded in the post-war period and since then it has been working to combat the illiteracy of children, the youth and adults. A specific area in this context is the issue of second-chance education. Purpose: The paper analyzes these UNESCO activities in…

Drawing on a historical case study, this article focuses on the ways in which the Greek Government (2015-2019), through involving the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), managed to modify the education conditionalities laid down by the third Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) negotiated with the 'Institutions' (the…

At the midway point towards the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030, this critical volume focuses on how a range of contextually diverse countries are progressing towards inclusive education. Contributors critically consider the current state of inclusive education in their own countries in relation to meeting the UN's Agenda 2030 initiative and…

This book examines the educational role of three international organizations created as part of the post-World War II multilateral architecture: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These organizations have significantly…

Building on a historiography that is in full expansion, we are focusing our attention on the sociogenesis of "educational internationalism", by studying the way in which agents and organisations which claim to belong to this movement have executed their commitments and reconfigured them over the decades. After having studied the groups…

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has risen to prominence as one of the most influential international organisations in the world, in large part due to its country reviews and comprehensive comparative testing portfolio. This article starts from two proposition: (1) that fields of tension and antagonisms lie beyond…

This paper analyses the origin, development and fall of the 'school voucher' system in Spain. It was called the Ley de Financiación de la Enseñanza Obligatoria (Compulsory Education Financing Law) (LFEO), and this reform represented the first attempt at an international level to establish a school voucher model for a whole country. This article…

In this article, we review the process of building relationships around education and international development at IOE (Institute of Education), UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (University College London, UK). The analysis looks at how hierarchies linked to colonialism were inscribed in initial structures, and unevenly and disparately…

The World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions (WFNMC) was founded in 1984 as a professional organization that provides the possibility of international collaboration among mathematicians and mathematics educators working in the area of mathematics contests. Over the last decades the field, which has come to be called "competition…

Since the late nineteenth century, teachers have come together to found associations and unions in Europe and beyond. Drawing on oral histories, primary and secondary documents, and media reports, this paper delves into this rich historical background, leading to the founding of Education International in 1993. In particular it explores the…

This paper presents an analysis of the examination of Portugal's education policy conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1987 as well as of its role in the legitimation of a new vocationalism. In particular, the focus is on the key recommendation put forward in the examiners' report regarding the…

When the United Kingdom has figured in the modern history of study abroad, it has featured almost exclusively in the role of host country with little attention paid to the study abroad patterns of UK students. In order to gain a rounded picture of the UK's role in post-war study abroad, this article explores the position of the UK within the…

This article examines the OECD's role in the construction of education policies in Portugal after the Second World War up to the Carnation Revolution (1974). For a large part of the twentieth century (1926-1974), Portugal lived under a nationalist dictatorship, with elements that were on a par with the European fascism. After analysing the genesis…