ABSTRACT
This chapter plots the growth trajectory of education from the ancient era to the present day. It highlights that the rapid global expansion of education has been one of the greatest successes of the modern era. In 300 short years we have moved from no schooling to universal education funded from taxation in many parts of the world. However, significant ‘black holes’ remain in the education systems of developing countries – with more than 250 million children out of school and a further 650 million that attend but get little out of it. Our major message is that waiting 100–150 years for Global South education systems to ‘catch-up’ is just not acceptable. Disruptive, evidence-informed solutions are required – fast.
