Purpose: The purpose of this self-reflective paper is to focus on practical efforts to combat inequality and foster intercultural dialogue in education. It introduces "knowledge alliances", a type of social practice open for education technologies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is structured in a theoretical and an empirical…

As the authors began to think about this issue's Peace Education/Conflict Resolution column, they realized that their network has been going for 10 years. Their goal has been to bring together professionals in their field to learn from one another and carry the wisdom of each other into their practice on behalf of a more peaceful world. Hearing…

In the "participation age", emerging cross-border, transnational communities driven by innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives--in short, international entrepreneurial communities--give impetus to the rise of international public goods. With varying intensity, a non-voting international mobile public--still a small but an increasing fraction…

The important contributions that community colleges make to American society are well known and documented, but many people may not be aware of the huge influence that community colleges are having overseas. The U.S. model of the two-year college with a vocational emphasis is being exported, and foreign institutions that focus on career education…

This article provides some concluding reflections on religious education and peace-making in different countries in East and West (Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Israel, Spain, Germany, USA), as discussed in the previous papers of this volume. I mention the changed nature of modern forms of violence and war, so that peace is no longer just an option in…

On the eve of CONFINTEA VI, discussion and debates on promoting literacy is being revived. However, in most cases, the discussion limits itself to the definitional nuances of literacy and falls short of critiquing the global policy making inertia that violates the human rights obligations to the millions of adults remaining illiterate. This…

Offering lifelong and developmental learning to over 13 million students at nearly 1,200 schools, community colleges in the United States attract a student body with remarkable economic, ethnic, and cultural diversity. They provide students with skills and foundational knowledge upon which successful professional careers and rewarding personal…

This study portrays the present social trends of the educational system against the background of the transformation of the social institutions that emerge as a result of the general changes to the social paradigm. These transformations have a direct impact on questions over classical humanistic ideals and educational goals relating to the social…

The humanist tradition in Western education systems is increasingly coming under critical scrutiny by posthumanist scholars, arguing that Enlightenment humanism accommodates a number of serious shortcomings such as being essentialist, exclusive, and unable to meet its own criteria of value pluralism, tolerance, and equity for all. This article…

Much progress has been made in improving access to basic education in recent years, but international support has been less than promised and the "funding gap" to achieve universal primary education remains stubbornly present. This article identifies six interrelated factors that constrain such donor financing. Prioritization of basic education,…

A constant element of Europeanization, from the 1950s, was the cultural strategy of creating a common identity, fabricated through cultural symbols and exchange; education was enmeshed within this strategy. In particular, cultural cooperation was associated with a new identity, "a European model of culture correlating with European…

Commitments on trade in education services constitute a vital part of China's promises after securing World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the forms of educational imports and exports in the framework of WTO and examines the Chinese government's efforts to adjust education legislation and policy…

Statistics and analysis indicate that there are many problems to be resolved over the issue of Sino-foreign cooperation in running schools. These include national policy failing to catch up with development, Chinese and foreign partners disagreeing on the objectives of their cosponsored programs, cooperation being geographically unbalanced,…

The international academic success of Finnish secondary schooling in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the triumph of the Finnish technology company NOKIA have stimulated national ambitions to improve higher education institutions in Finland. Because secondary schooling and technology in Finland receive world recognition,…

This article examines "inter-ministerial cooperation" (IMC) in the education sector as a form of development cooperation, whereby a ministry of education in the north collaborates with counterpart(s) in the south for purposes of mutual interest and development. It explores the characteristics and dynamics of IMC, and addresses the…