This edited volume is intended as both a major contribution to understanding of the growing field of international education and an acknowledgement of the pivotal role played in the growth and development of that field by Professor Jeff Thompson. This first chapter, by the editor, explains the rationale for the structure of the volume, and sets the scene for the contributions that follow in chapters authored by a range of researchers and educators with interests and experience in the field of international education. In doing so, the chapter charts the development of the field of international education – in the sense of education with a focus on international schools and the concept of an international curriculum – and in doing so shows how these developments have been intertwined with the academic and professional career of Jeff Thompson over the past half-century.