This volume gives theoretical and practical insights in international and comparative research in the field of adult and continuing education. The 16 contributions of this volume give three perspectives on international and comparative adult education. The first perspective focuses on the question how internationalisation and comparative adult and continuing education can be taught. The second perspective gives insights into the results of comparative research that has been conducted throughout a two-week Winter School that took place in February 2019 in Würzburg. The third perspective complements the two perspectives with insights into international projects and practices in adult and continuing education. The authors of this volume are contributing to the transnational Winter School International and comparative studies in adult and continuing education in Würzburg, Germany since 2014.

It argues that the main purpose of educational research is to improve student learning, and that international comparative studies are no exception.

The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Studies in Education explores international educational practices and behaviours through new research and review of existing research.

Comparative and international education is an increasingly important area of study. This book introduces major themes surrounding globalisation and education, giving you a nuanced understanding of key debates, thinkers and sources of information. Important theories and research exploring how globalisation has influenced educational practice are critically examined, providing you with an understanding of relevant social, economic, historical and cultural factors. Coverage includes: Case studies from around the world raising thought-provoking questions on chapter topics How to undertake research using significant secondary sources of comparative international data (including OECD, PISA, TIMMS) The relationship between development, education and inequality The purpose and role of multicultural and citizenship education Gender and education in a global context This is essential reading for students on undergraduate Education Studies degrees, and for similar courses covering comparative and international education.

In the post-World War II era, the emergence of 'area studies' marked a signal development in the social sciences. As the social sciences evolved methodologically, however, many dismissed area studies as favoring narrow description over general theory. Still, area studies continues to plays a key, if unacknowledged, role in bringing new data, new theories, and valuable policy-relevant insights to social sciences. In Comparative Area Studies, three leading figures in the field have gathered an international group of scholars in a volume that promises to be a landmark in a resurgent field. The book upholds two basic convictions: that intensive regional research remains indispensable to the social sciences and that this research needs to employ comparative referents from other regions to demonstrate its broader relevance. Comparative Area Studies (CAS) combines the context-specific insights from traditional area studies and the logic of cross- and inter-regional empirical research. This first book devoted to CAS explores methodological rationales and illustrative applications to demonstrate how area-based expertise can be fruitfully integrated with cutting-edge comparative analytical frameworks.

School dropout remains a persistent and critical issue in many school systems, so much so that it is sometimes referred to as a crisis. Populations across the globe have come to depend on success at school for establishing careers and gaining access to post-school qualifications. Yet large numbers of young people are excluded from the advantages that successful completion of school brings and as a result are subjected to consequences such as higher likelihood of unemployment, lower earnings, greater dependence on welfare and poorer physical health and well-being. Over recent decades, most western nations have stepped up their efforts to reduce drop out and raise school completion rates while maintaining high standards. How school systems have approached this, and how successful they are, varies. This book compares the various approaches by evaluating their impact on rates of dropout and completion. Case studies of national systems are used to highlight the different approaches including institutional arrangements and the various alternative secondary school programs and their outcomes. The evaluation is based on several key questions: What are the main approaches? How do they work? For whom do they work? And, how successful are they in promoting high rates of completion and equivalent outcomes for all? This book examines the nature of the dropout problem in advanced industrialized countries with the goal of developing a broader, international understanding that can feed into public policy to help improve completion rates worldwide.

Comparative and international education / Brendan Bartram -- Alternative education provision : international perspectives / Paul Wiseman -- Pedagogical outlooks underpinning early-years education and workforce training in England and Hungary / Tunde Rozsahegyi and Mike Lambert -- Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education in Dutch and English primary schools / Sarah Elsey -- The technical and vocational provision in England : a comparative study with the Austrian secondary system / Sean Starr -- The rise of private supplementary tutoring : contemporary issues and international perspectives on shadow education in China / Roy Y. Chan, Hei-Hang Hayes Tang, Patrick Delaney -- The impact of austerity in further education : cross-cultural perspectives from England and Ireland / Matt O'Leary and Justin Rami -- Academic, vocational and pre-vocational education origins and developments / Patrick Ainley -- Comparative issues and perspectives in adult education and training / John Field -- International comparisons in mathematics : perspectives on teaching and learning / David Burghes -- Higher education : from global trends to local realities / Richard Budd -- Some final reflections on educational comparison / Brendan Bartram