Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a brief historical introduction to the problem and develops the theoretical part of the work. It investigates the role education played in transformation from feudal to modern political structures. The book is concerned with issues of citizenship, loyalty to the state, and the homogenisation of culture, whose achievement was facilitated by education. It analyses economic mechanisms by which level of education and science translates into state power. The book discusses what challenges the Third Industrial Revolution brings to education and science and argues that development of those issue-areas is vital for any state that seeks to achieve a favourable position in the global value chains. It provides a thorough analysis of global inequalities as far as education and science are concerned, addressing various questions, from literacy and primary schooling, through secondary schools, up to higher education, science, and research and development (R&D).