The Education of Diverse Student Populations

This book takes up the challenge of examining the thorniest educational issue from a global perspective. It contributes to the evidence-based conversation among policy makers, educators, and researchers around the world about what works to improve the education outcomes and what can make a bigger difference for the education of diverse students. The eleven countries included — the United Kingdom, Austria, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Ghana, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand are unique, and yet overlap in the sense that they all face similar challenges of teaching diverse students. The authors, being education and cultural insiders, discuss country-specific policies, efforts, and best practices in the education of diverse students; share stories of success and failure; and explore current best practices from global, social, political, and economic perspectives. Built on previous theories and research, it describes diverse students’ experiences in theglobal and information age, and searches for effective policies and practices that help these students to perform better in school and in life.

Readers are forced to step outside of their own experiences and commonly held beliefs about education. Conscious recognition that there are other ways of doing things may result in new approaches that we have not explored before. We hope the insights, lessons, and conclusions drawn from examining this pressing education issue from a global perspective will help nations to better understand and deal with it in their own educational system.

• Education of ethnic minorities
• Efforts, policies and practices
• Making a bigger difference
• Research-based evidence
• School achievement and learning
• education
• education policy
• learning and instruction

“The strength of this book is its global perspective and its evidence-based analysis. It is a must read for those seeking sustainable solutions to what editor Guofang Wan refers to as 'the thorniest of educational issues' – the challenge that increasing diversity poses for education systems around the world.” Dr. Barry van Driel, Secretary General International Association for Intercultural Education, Senior Education Consultant ODIHR/OSCE

“Finally, a book that examines the challenges facing today’s educators. The Education of Diverse Student Population: A Global Perspective answers the question of how to cultivate a learning environment for culturally and linguistically diverse students. This book will encourage both inservice and preservice teachers to value the differences that each culture brings to the classroom and view this diversity as an opportunity for teaching and learning with a global focus.” Dr. Rosalyn Anstine Templeton, Executive Dean, College ofEducation and Human Services, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA

“The Education of Diverse Student Populations: A Global Perspective offers a much needed critical examination of educating children within diverse economic, political and social conditions. These timely and extensive studies show that we have much to learn from each other and that intercultural education for social justice is a shared goal. The book is well written and informative and should be required reading for educators and policy makers alike.” Michele M. Kahn, Ph.D., School of Education, University of Houston-Clear Lake

“I read the chapters with great profit. Indeed the increasing diversity among students is a challenge for most education systems, especially with regards to the general ideal of an equal distribution of chances between mainstream students and students from ethnic or linguistic minorities or from socially disadvantaged groups. In this situation it is most valuableto provide policy makers and practitioners as well as researchers with relevant information from other countries’ experience – the successful as well as the undesirable. The book “The Education of Diverse Student Populations: A Global Perspective” presents a whole lot of such information and is a very useful resource for better understanding and responses to a globally burning issue.” Dr. Ingrid Gogolin, President of the European Education Research Assoc, and Director of the Institute for Intercultural and Comparative Studies, University of Hamburg

• Ohio University, Athens, USA

  Guofang Wan

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