This updated second edition presents an analytical description of the education systems of all European countries, following common guidelines. These conceptual guidelines consider various criteria concerning presumptions as to the quality of a good education system. One of the book central aims is to explore the paradoxical character of education, i.e. the relationship between universal values and the search for a national identity. The common structure of the different country analyses oriented by crucial problems of education worldwide guides to discover common patterns of European education compared to that of education systems outside Europe, making its reading relevant to educators around the world. The handbook provides many suggestions for further study.

Hans DöbertProfessor, German Institute for International Pedagogical Research, Berlin and University of ErfurtResearch Profile:Empirical and Comparative Educational Research; Education and Monitoring,; Research on Schools and Teachers Botho von Kopp Ph.D.Associated Researcher, German Institute for Pedagogical Research, Frankfurt/M.Research Profile: Comparative Education Research,  Education Policy and Governance Research, Education Stratification Research.  Wolfgang HörnerProfessor of Comparative Education, Universität LeipzigResearch Profile:Methodology of Comparative Education; Analysis of Educational Systems; Education in Central and Eastern European Countries; School and Work Lutz R. ReuterProfessor of Educational Policy Research, Helmut Schmidt University, HamburgVisiting Professorships: Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; University of Stellenbosch, RSA; University of Maputo, Mocambique; Technical University of Nanjing, ChinaResearch Profile:Education Systems and Comparative Education; Educational Governance and Law; Education Policy and Politics