The basic aim of this special issue is to focus on the profound change of tendency in education that is taking place at both the national and interna tional level. At a time when education and lifelong learning are increasingly merging into one process, it is important to examine the ways in which edu cational policies and practices are evolving. Consequently, we invited a variety of contributors, both men and women, coming from different regions and encompassing both research and practice, to identify significant phenomena and trends that are indicative of the ways in which systems of...