Hear from evaluation practitioners throughout Latin America. In this region program evaluation is an emergent practice, one that is shaped by distinctive geopolitical and social contexts and has its own intellectual biography. Through a selection of writings and cases this issue provides a window on program evaluation in this region. The articles indicate a range of experiences and concerns that respond to the countries’ unique histories and cultures. Articles by evaluators from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru illustrate new directions and are grouped around the following themes: Strategic use of evaluation in public policies and active citizenship Innovative project evaluation examples Evaluation capacity building and institutionalization. The widespread development of participatory or actor-oriented approaches, based on qualitative methodologies that have a particularly Latin American stamp, are emphasized in this issue. This is the 134th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

This book emanated from presentations at the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in June 2013. The Congress theme of “New Times, New Voices” provided the broad frame of the post-Buenos Aires series of volumes including this one containing research contributions focusing on the situation of public education systems. The chapters in this volume are selected for quality of research and relevance to the theme, and for representation across global regions. They examine the new and renovated challenges faced by public education systems at present for which different paths are suggested. In particular, this book puts together studies from authors from Latin American countries, especially from the Southern Cone, as a way of giving voice to particular educational problems and perspectives in a globalized world. Getting into educational systems in Argentina, Brazil and Chile and analysing some of its current particularities through the lenses of regional and international comparison, contributes to a better understanding of the processes of circulation, reception, appropriation and translation that historically characterizes educational systems development. This is why the volume also includes studies regarding the impact on contemporary educational reforms in the public sector, their links to past reforms and their cumulative impact on educational systems.

This book encapsulates four sections about open and equal access for learning in school management. The first section is related to school management and leadership. Second section of the book gives insight on school culture. Third section of the book underlines the importance of open learning. Latest section of the book covers the importance of equal acess and learning in curriculum, environment, gender, youth. I have a firm belief that authors can find great insights on open and equal access for learning from different reflections and researches of chapters.

This book offers a comparative analysis of the intercultural theories and practices developed in the European context. Bringing together work on the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, The Netherlands and Sweden, it examines specific approaches to intercultural education. Structured around a series of core questions concerning the main features of diverse groups of migrants present within a country and within schools, the major issues raised by scientific research on the presence of migrant students, and the adoption of relevant educational policies and practices to address these issues - together with examples of best practice in each case - Intercultural Education in the European Context explores the strengths and weaknesses of the intercultural education approach adopted in each context. Offering a broad framework for the study of intercultural education as adopted in European settings, the book highlights the contribution of education to the development of a fair, democratic and pluralistic Europe. As such, it will appeal to scholars and policy makers in the field of sociology, migration, education and intercultural relations.

Inequality of educational opportunities (IEO) is a recurring topic in both public debate and academic research. This book contributes to the contemporary discussion on IEO with a focus on individual trajectories over the life course. It provides empirical evidence on the magnitude and the mechanisms of IEO in Colombia, a country with extreme, persistent levels of social inequality. Using national administrative databases, the author examines the effect of social origin on academic and labor market outcomes among university graduates. Drawing on a comprehensive theoretical approach to stratification and higher education, this volume discusses how the interaction between family background and segmentation of educational institutions might influence individuals’ outcomes. As such, it will appeal to scholars, policy makers, and practitioners with interests in education, social inequality, social policy, higher education research, and international/comparative education.