Introduction

What does it mean for education that our societies are becoming more diverse? What does it mean that ICT is playing an ever larger role in our lives? Does it matter for higher education providers that the share of national wealth spent on research and development is increasing? This book is about major developments that are affecting the future of education and setting challenges for policy makers and education providers alike. It does not give conclusive answers: it is not an analytical report nor is it a statistical compendium, and it is certainly not a statement of OECD policy on these different developments. It is instead a stimulus for thinking about major trends with the potential to influence education. While the trends are robust, the questions raised for education in this book are illustrative and suggestive. We invite users to look further and to add to this basic coverage examples of trends from their own countries or regions.