By the end of the Twentieth century, formal schooling - once the privilege of male elites - had become accessible to women, the working class and some ethnic minorities. The essays in this volume explore the historical origins of this transformation, analyzing struggles Australia, Canada, China, Columbia, India, the United States, and South Africa.

KIM TOLLEY is Associate Professor in the School of Education and Leadership at Notre Dame de Namur University, California, USA. She co-edited Chartered Schools: Two Hundred Years of Independent Academies in the United States and is the author of The Science Education of American Girls.