Rebekka Horlacher is Professor of Education at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

German education played a huge role in the development of education sciences and modern universities internationally. This impact was influenced by the educational concept of Bildung, which defined and still defines Germany's theoretical and curricular ventures. This concept is famously untranslatable into other languages and this fact is part of its self-understanding: education, instruction, training, upbringing and other terms which don't encompass its thorough cultural ambitions. Despite this hurdle, Bildung is now being recognized internationally in current discussions of education issues such as opposing standardization, teaching to the test, evidence-based policy and high stakes testing. This volume clears up the confusion and misunderstandings surrounding Bildung by examining the origins of the concept and how it has been traveled throughout history and across different cultures.

Introduction. 1. Bildung in the Eighteenth Century? 2. The Fundaments of the Educationalized World 3. The Philosophy of Politeness as Language for Bildung 4. Bildung as a National Construct 5. Bildung as a Social Distinction 6. Bildung and its Travels to North America 7. Bildung as a Fundamental Concept in the German Educational Sciences 8. Bildung after the Second World War: Reconnections and Skeptical Variations 9. Bildung as an Alternative to Contemporary Empiricism in Education Research. 10. Concluding Remarks, or Bildung in the Twenty-First Century.