This book examines the educational phases experienced by countries moving from authoritarian styles of government to various forms of liberal democracy. It focuses on Latvia, South Africa, and the former German Democratic Republic so as to identify commonalities in diverse systems. The essays employ a model that depends not on a regular linear progression, but on variable movement from one condition to another. The text defines "educational transition" as a complex change that is clearly related to the broader political arena. The second chapter focuses on the course of educational transition in South Africa following the collapse of apartheid and on the development of policy formation with respect to South African schools. The chapter on Latvia examines the impact that the collapse of communism had on the education system and how the Latvian experience, like that of South Africa and the German Democratic Republic, fits a proposed model. Three chapters on the former East Germany concentrate on that country's experience with respect to the educational transition following the collapse of communism and unification with West Germany. The chapters also describe the challenges in teacher education, and include a discussion of the comprehensive school in the new Federal Republic of Germany. (RJM)