First published in 1986, this book proposes and illustrates a new approach to the comparative analysis of educational policy, based on anthropological and historical inquiry. It reviews the transitions of Western countries, Japan, and the People's Republic of China and in doing so investigates cultural ideas of human potential and how they inform social and economic goals of education.

Note on the Project on Human Potential; Preface; Part I: Cultural and Human Development in World History; 1. Human Development as a Global Problem 2. Virtues and Vices: Agrarian Models of the Life Span 3. Revolution in Parenthood 4. Revolution in Schooling; Part II: Schooling and Social Change: Life Chances and Cultural Diversity; 5. Educational Mobilization: The Case of Japan 6. Schooling in China: Mobilizing for Virtue 7. Life Chances in the Third World: The Limits of Educational Mobilization; Part III: Past and Future World: Prospects for Educational Development; 8. Improving Human Conditions: Policy Dilemmas in Cultural Context 9. Realizing Potentials: A Comparative Perspective; Notes; Bibliography; Index