This course explores contemporary issues in international education from a comparative perspective. Education is an important factor in economic, human and social development, and comparative inquiry is necessary to understand both global trends and local contexts. The impact of contemporary processes of globalization are central to the course, creating a forum for critically exploring the changing nature of education and it's relationship to economic development, democratic citizenship, social movements & change, social control, and cultural production. We examine the political economy of education reform in the context of the nation-state, key historical legacies (e.g., Colonialism), the rise and dominance of human capital theory, and the role and function of international organizations and international aid in education development. We pay particular attention to the developing world and the inter-relations between education and poverty. In addition, since many less-developed countries are now looking to the developed world for models of education reform and improvement (and in some cases vice versa), we will consider some of the most prominent reform models from the OECD countries (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and how they are being adopted by less-developed countries. We will discuss the various actors in the provision and reform of education in the developing world: governments (nationals and sub-national); international multi-lateral organizations (The World Bank, the regional development banks, UNESCO, UNDP, OECD, UNICEF, etc); inter-national and local NGOs and civil society; communities, parents, schools, teachers and children; labor unions; etc. The focus of the course will be on primary and secondary schooling but we will consider higher education as necessary as well as the impact of labor markets. And while the course focuses on education per se, it is built on a philosophy that broader human development requires that educational issues be considered together with health, social protection, and other sectors. Building from a base in the social sciences, the course examines multidisciplinary frameworks and methodologies, and multiple dimensions (scientific, pragmatic, and global) shaping contemporary debates about education. Considerable attention will be paid to learning how to interpret data used for educational planning, policy, and advocacy. Additional topics include: early childhood development, gender and education, the millennium development goals (MDG's) situations of severe crisis and war, teacher training and identity, curricular and pedagogical trends, the role of information & computer technology (ICT), educational quality and opportunity.