Now in its fourth edition,Comparative Education: The Dialectic of the Global and the Localremains the same groundbreaking book when it first debuted its collection of outstanding scholars in examining the changing transnational landscape of education. With the addition of new coeditor Stephen Franz, the book provides new perspectives on the dynamic interplay of global, national, and local forces as they shape the functions and outcomes of education systems. The book calls for a rethinking of the nation-state as the basic unit for analyzing school-society relations and emphasizes the need to study social movements in relation to educational reforms. It also emphasizes the value of feminist, postcolonial, and culturally sensitive perspectives for inquiry into the potential of education systems to contribute to individual development and social change. This new edition incorporates recent developments in scholarship, especially in education policy and practice, the impact of the global economic crisis, and a new chapter on education in the European Union.

Robert F. Arnove is Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is also an honorary fellow and past president of the Comparative and International Education Society.Carlos Alberto Torres is professor of social sciences and comparative education, founding director of the Paulo Freire Institute, and division head, SSCE, of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS) at the University of California, UCLA.Stephen Franz has a doctorate in Education Policy Studies from Indiana University and is an education consultant and research analyst focusing on topics related to equality of educational opportunities and outcomes. He has written extensively on education in Latin America.