This book, written from the policymaker's perspective, examines key issues facing education ministries trying to find the optimal size of and curricular emphasis for their secondary-education systems. It sets out the principle choices to be made and the dilemmas encountered regarding the scale and thrust of the sector. The work first looks at key definitions and gives a brief historical overview of the secondary-education system. It sets out basic parameters of understanding secondary education and its role in the overall education system and analyzes the different types of secondary schools. It then goes on to examine the development of secondary education in the developed world and in developing countries. It then introduces the concept of positioning, that is, finding the correct balance between access and curriculum emphasis that allows the secondary-education system to satisfy a particular set of criteria. It also examines the case for diversified education and points out that overall context within which education systems function is changing. Finally it sets out the different policy options and pinpoints important strategic decisions to be taken into account when designing a curriculum. They are grouped into three overlapping areas: organization, content, and control. (Author/WFA)