In supporting children’s development, countries invest in the future successes of economies and societies. Awareness of the critical role early childhood education and care (ECEC) plays in setting a strong foundation for children’s learning, development and well-being has grown among policy makers worldwide.

Provides the reader with an impressive selection of articles on the history of education from a broad base, including a new introduction from the editor.

A contemporary snapshot of Irish education, this book positions 21st-century Irish education at the centre of the creation of the knowledge economy and outlines the challenges and changes presented as a result of a changing education system and society. Part 1: The Changing System charts selected changes that have taken place in Irish education in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and considers educations's role in building a knowledge economy and social cohesion Part 2: Diversity and Inclusion in Schools analyses the changes in Irish schools based on the results of original research on change, diversity, inclusion, and on ethnicity, disability and social class disadvantage. It draws together key findings relating to the impact of increasing diversity in Irish schools in comparision with international trends. Part 3: Teacher Education for changing Times presents research on teacher education at all stages of the teaching career and discusses how teachers can adapt to the challenges of change. It also highlights new evidence relating to the recruitment, formation and continuing professional development of teachers.

This book explores how education influences economic and social development. With a particular focus on the role of higher education and universities, policies that promote education are analysed to highlight how economic development can be encouraged (and hindered) through policymaking. Comparative trends within Europe and Romania are examined to provide insight into the different ways in which education has evolved across the continent. The relationship between levels of education and employability, personal development, and professional development is also discussed. This book aims to examine how education policies can maximise economic growth and social development. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in economic development and education economics.

This series of reports examines whether it is possible to develop reliable and effective criteria for evaluation of investments, given the wide range of parameters from planning and cost-effectiveness of buildings to their impact on the performance of the educational system as a whole.

Did religion disappear with modernization and the secularization reforms that changed the relation between religion and state throughout the European empires and nation states from late nineteenth century onwards? Or was religion rather transformed becoming a part of the new social and national imaginaries on the road from European empires to African, Middle Eastern, European Union- and Post-Soviet nation states? What are the historical roots behind the divisions of state, church and education that characterized the late nineteenth and during the twentieth century? What has been the role of education in this context, both with regard to political reforms targeting the education systems and with regard to broader public enlightenment efforts and modernization of the state? Connecting scholars across the fields of history and historical sociology of education, church history and historical religion research and political history, and covering the time span from the early modern period and up until the present, this volume explores how education reform has functioned as an arena for the political project of secularization and in which way this contributed to transforming and revitalizing religion.