Colin Brock, Honorary Professor of Education, University of Durham, UKNafsika Alexiadou is Professor of Education at the Department of Applied Educational Science, University of Umeå, Sweden.

• AcknowledgementsPreface 1. Why is it Important? The Story So Far2. The Nature of the Interdisciplinary Field and its Development3. A Global Overview: Legacies and Inertias4. Scale, Space and Place with Reference to the USA and the World of Small States5. National and International Educational Development6. Europe: Issues and Comparisons7. Sub-Saharan Africa: Legacies and Innovations8. Rising Stars: Brazil, Russia, India and the People's Republic of China (The BRIC States)ReferencesIndex

This is a very honourable text: it captures a lifetime’s work in the field and a lifetime of reflection about the field, but combines that with fresh zest and excitement about how interesting all of this kind of thing is ... I hope this textbook is widely used.