Economic growth and the creation of wealth have cut global poverty rates, yet vulnerability, inequality, exclusion and violence have escalated within and across societies throughout the world. Unsustainable patterns of economic production and consumption promote global warming, environmental degradation and an upsurge in natural disasters. Moreover, while we have strengthened international human rights frameworks over the past several decades, implementing and protecting these norms remains a challenge.These changes signal the emergence of a new global context for learning that has vital implications for education. Rethinking the purpose of education and the organization of learning has never been more urgent. This book is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development, based on respect for life and human dignity, equal rights, social justice, cultural diversity, international solidarity and shared responsibility for a sustainable future. It proposes that we consider education and knowledge as global common goods, in order to reconcile the purpose and organization of education as a collective societal endeavour in a complex world.

This book is about the power of education: the kind of education that simultaneously improves the quality of life both of individuals and the wider society. It explains why education must be viewed as a basic human right, as a value in and of itself, and reviews the evidence on how education builds the human resources that individuals and nations need to be productive, to continue to learn, to solve problems, to be creative, and to live together and with nature in peace and harmony. When nations ensure that such an education is accessible to all throughout their lives, education becomes the engine of sustainable development – economic, social, moral and cultural. The book is unique in that it covers the development of education at all levels in all countries of the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, using the latest international data bases, while blending in analyses of both quantitate and qualitative research.

The aim of the Handbook is to present readily accessible, but scholarly sources of information about educational research in the Asia-Pacific region. The scale and scope of the Handbook is such that the articles included in it provide substantive contributions to knowledge and understanding of education in the Asia region. In so doing, the articles present the problems and issues facing education in the region and the findings of research conducted within the region that contribute to the resolution of these problems and issues. Moreover, since new problems and issues are constantly arising, the articles in the Handbook also indicate the likely directions of future developments. The different articles within the Handbook seek to conceptualize the problems in each specific content area under review, provide an integration of the research conducted within that area, the theoretical basis of the research the practical implications of the research and the contribution of the research towards the resolution of the problems identified. Thus, the articles do not involve the reporting of newly conducted research, but rather require a synthesis of the research undertaken in a particular area, with reference to the research methods employed and the theoretical frameworks on which the research is based. In general, the articles do not advocate a single point of view, but rather, present alternative points of view and comment on the debate and disagreements associated with the conduct and findings of the research. Furthermore, it should be noted, that the Handbook is not concerned with research methodology, and only considers the methods employed in inquiry in so far as the particular methods of research contribute to the effective investigation of problems and issues that have arisen in the conduct and provision of education at different levels within the region.

Issued annually since 1946/47, the Yearbook is the principal reference work of the United Nations, providing a comprehensive, one-volume account of the Organization's work. It includes details of United Nations activities concerning trade, industrial development, natural resources, food, science and technology, social development, polulation, environment, human settlement, children and legal questions, along with information on the work of each specialized agency in the United Nations family.