Education, Learning, Training

Abstract

This volume is the fifth in a series on development policy and international cooperation trends that is edited by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Many of the articles build on research by the Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training (NORRAG), which flavours both the approach (as many papers draw on North–South research partnerships in which network members are involved) and the focus (on technical, vocational and higher education). The book is organized in two parts. The first, consisting of three articles, looks back at the history of approaches to international education and development since 1944 ‘to unpack major shifts’ as the world is coming closer to formulating a new agenda for the period 2015–2030. The second part, consisting of seven articles, focuses ‘on critical issues that have been neglected’: tertiary technical education (in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico); technical education (in Bolivia); vocational education (in South Africa); community learning centres (in Bangladesh and China); and higher education in Africa through different lenses (the role of Chinese development cooperation; the migration intentions of university students in Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and Senegal; and the take-up of massive open online courses offered by the Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne). The foreword makes it clear that the volume does not pretend to cover all the relevant topics. The seven articles of the second part appear at first glance a relatively eclectic mix that does not sit easily with the general issues raised in the first part. But what emerges as a unifying theme is that these seven articles refer to aspects that have not featured prominently in the past 15 years. This period was dominated by the Education for All and Millennium Development Goal agendas and focused primarily on basic education. In this sense, the articles of the second part provide a timely snapshot of subjects that are likely to feature more in the next 15 years: the proposed fourth Sustainable Development Goal on education either introduces for the first time or provides more explicit focus on targets related to lifelong learning, tertiary education, vocational skills and scholarships for students from least developed countries. But this also means that the articles cover only part of the new international education agenda, so readers will not find much about early childhood, global citizenship or teachers (to name but a few other targets). As is often the case with edited volumes, the book contains different, sometimes contrasting, views about several key issues. For example, it displays some ambivalence over the role of the private sector. On the one hand, a number of authors express serious concerns about the detrimental effect that private sector involvement can have on education systems. There is no doubt that an unchecked role for private entities can undermine efforts towards the equalization of education opportunities. However, simply demonizing the private sector seems to be missing the point, especially when we move from basic to post-basic education. As the book attests with several examples, the role Book Reviews