I. CONCEPTUAL ISSUES

Around the world, schools are provided by the state, at public expense. In the latter half of the twentieth century the critical dynamics in the education system reflected efforts by the state to enhance the supply of schooling, both by increasing access and by improving the quality of education provided. The focus on the supply side of the market originated in the increasingly wide acceptance of a notional “right ” to education (see below), which ultimately resulted in the virtually unanimous affirmation that states are responsible for ensuring that all young people have access to educational opportunities of at least minimal duration and quality (World Conference on Education for All, 1990). These “supply-side ” dynamics continue to drive educational policy in countries around the world. Standards and expectations for the duration and quality of schooling have inexorably risen, accompanied by efforts to ensure equal access to educational opportunities for young people from previously excluded or marginalized groups including girls, racial or linguistic minorities, and the handicapped. While the poorest countries are struggling unsuccessfully to provide universal access to primary school, many OECD countries are moving toward policies that will ensure universal access to post-secondary education and training