Introduction – “They do it Differently Abroad”

It has been part of the stock-in-trade of comparative educationists since the time of Marc-Antoine Jullien in the early nineteenth century that by looking at educational developments in other societies not only can we better understand our own educational system, but that we can also learn, borrow ideas and even introduce reforms. The area where the greatest confusion and uncertainty exist is also the very one where the greatest pressures exist, namely that of post-compulsory provision for the 16 to 19-year-olds. Here again, as Edmund King so admirably shows, Britain lags far behind other industrialised countries. The question of curriculum control, central direction and uniform structure – or lack of it – also occurs in Margaret Sutherland's analysis os sex bias in education. Once again England is shown to be falling behind in attempts to provide greater equality of opportunity for the female sex.