Author Description

About the Author The Editor: Ari Antikainen is Professor of Sociology of Education and Director of the Centre in Socio-Cultural Research on Education at the University of Joensuu, Finland. He is the author and editor of numerous books including Living in a Learning Society: Life Histories, Identities and Education (1996; with J. Houtsonen, H. Huotelin and J. Kauppila) and The International Handbook on the Sociology of Education (2003; with C. A. Torres). Product Description What underlies the Finnish success in international comparisons of education? This book consists of a rich and stimulating collection of articles dealing with educational institutions, education policy and life histories of learners in a swiftly changing Nordic society. Educational contexts covered range from comprehensive school and special education to higher education and lifelong learning. The articles can be read as studies on the extent and form of the realization of a Finnish learning society within global, Nordic and national parameters. Review «Debates about the idea of a learning society have been dominated by rhetoric with little supporting evidence and few attempts to clarify what the concept might mean and how changes in the education system and in the demands for learning might be related to wider changes in society, nationally and globally. Furthermore there has been little attempt to consider how different types of learning society might be emerging that reflect different national histories and cultures. In each of these respects this book breaks new ground.» (Michael F. D. Young, University of London, Institute of Education)