Education equity in an international context

INTRODUCTION All countries face issues of educational equity. Depending on the country, the policy debate may focus on how to increase access to primary or secondary schools; how to reduce persistent achievement gaps between students of different genders, ethnic backgrounds, or income levels; or how to reduce educational resource disparities between rural and urban areas of the country. Likewise, educational priorities in countries where a high proportion of available jobs require high levels of skills will differ from those with less demanding job markets. Th ough all such issues are of interest to policymakers and researchers, we focus in this chapter on the major areas of educational policy and research at the international level aimed at promoting equity in education, particularly in developing countries.

Duke Scholars

Author Helen F. Ladd Sanford School of Public Policy