This paper uses Anderson's notion of 'imagined community' to argue that how people think about the publicness of their school system provides insight into the functioning and flourishing of communities, societies and nations. We focus on the privatisation of public schooling in Alberta, Canada and Northern England to highlight tensions between the…

Research results are collated and presented concerning the change in Finland from a binary system of education to a more unitary system, the "comprehensive school," involving a single primary school (grades one through nine) and a choice between vocational and senior secondary school (grades ten through twelve). The new system, being…

This volume consists of reports on the status and function of lower secondary comprehensive school systems in four countries with contrasting cultures and educational traditions: Denmark, France, the United Kingdom as represented by Scotland, and the United States as represented by Maryland and Minnesota. The volume begins with an analysis by…