ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses globalisation and analyses its implications for education. Specifi cally, it examines a convergence of educational policy and practice that has taken place over the last century; in virtually every country on earth education is now provided by national governments through a system of formal schooling. There is remarkable similarity in this model of schooling, despite vast differences in countries’ cultures, histories and economies. The chapter examines and compares several theoretical accounts of the globalisation of education and looks at the concept of the ‘knowledge economy’ and increasing emphasis on international achievement tests (e.g. PISA and TIMSS) as a case study.
