ABSTRACT
I have spent four decades thinking about universal primary education. During that time, many of my views have held constant. I have always believed, for example, that education transforms society and that too few girls and members of marginalized or stigmatized groups have access to it. This lack of diversity erodes quality, because it limits education’s potential to help students understand how the world really works-both locally and globally. Unfortunately, I also still believe that education often does little to respond to the challenge of preparing individuals in the four performance areas that lie at the heart of quality education: sustaining a livelihood; protecting the environment; being a good family member; and practicing enlightened citizenship. But, in this chapter, I will primarily address how my thinking has evolved-specifi cally, what has changed in my approach to quality education, and why.
