Simon, Rita J., and Lisa Banks. Global Perspectives on Social Issues: Education.

• Author: Jeffrey, Christina F.
• Position: Book Review

Simon, Rita J., and Lisa Banks. Global Perspectives on Social Issues: Education. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2003. 194+x pp. Cloth, $60.

In this thin volume, Simon and Banks have brought together useful information about the educational systems of twenty major nations from all regions of the world. After a brief introduction and overview, the following topics are covered, with only a few gaps, for each country: background information describing historical and political aspects pertinent to the development of that country's peculiar educational system; basis of the educational system--usually legislative; control--that is, who actually is responsible for running the schools; organization; pre-primary education; compulsory education; post-secondary education; private schools; financing; alternative forms of education; literacy rates; school enrollment rates; and, reform efforts.

The writing is clear and to the point. It leaves one wanting more information, as it should, but provides enough comparative data so that one can see, almost at a glance, how one nation stacks up against others. Aside from the topics covered in each nation's profile, there are numerous charts and graphs providing such data as literacy by gender, national expenditures as a percentage of each nation's gross national product, enrollment figures for every level, and changes in enrollment by region over time. The reader might wish for more current information, but the lack of it is probably due to the nature of the bureaucracies that report such data. Most of the tables are dated 1995 or 1996, but some are older. A few do not have dates at all.

...