Ten years have elapsed since the publication of the first edition of Comparative Education. As we reviewed the contents of that edition, we were impressed by the rapid pace of change in the interim. On the one hand, it has become nearly a cliché in literature on comparative higher education to note the astonishing transformations in the 21st century. On the other hand, the pace of change in the new century is nothing short of astounding. As a result, comparative research and scholarship have become more central than ever to the understanding of contemporary higher education. The first edition of the reader showed remarkable foresight in a number of areas: attention was turned in that volume to such key and abiding issues as privatization, the role of the State, institutional autonomy, and the rise of postsecondary education in such emerging contexts as Southeast Asia. At the same time, fundamental theoretical frameworks, models, and analytic perspectives are no less relevant now than at the publication of the first edition. Ideology, hegemony, legitimacy, power, culture, and identity are just some of the concepts that continue to be central to understanding higher education in international and comparative perspectives. Each is addressed in one of the sections of this revised edition.

As was done during the development of the first edition, in this revision we have attempted to be inclusive of various perspectives, regions, and cultures. We understand the irony inherent in publishing a comparative volume in English and selecting readings primarily from books and journals derived from the academic core. We have endeavored to mediate these biases, however, by drawing upon an advisory board that represents scholars from across the academic and international spectrum. The advisory board was extremely helpful in providing suggestions and advice on how best to represent cultures and ideologies both in the core and on the periphery. As editors, we have engaged in several rounds of manuscript suggestions and selections both to update contributions from the first edition and to add new categories and themes to this revision. Nevertheless, we understand the difficulties in being truly inclusive and accept that inevitably there are many perspectives and contexts not sufficiently represented here.