Chapter 1: Global Perspectives on Issues and Solutions in Urban Education

Globalization creates a web of connectivity across countries and ever-disappearing borders. In taking a macroview of the globalized world in terms of education, Smith (2013) makes a call to invest now or pay later, suggesting that restricting the investment in education for youth, could lead to social environments that could spark unrest in the United States. Furthermore, there have been citizen protests in areas of Northern Africa, Europe, and the Middle East due to the perception that their countries are not promoting socioeconomic advancement, a hopeful by-product of education. Given the globalized nature of contemporary society, it is advantageous to consider these and other issues that affect education, not just within the silos of independent nations, but on a broad scale with a focus on how complex contemporary societal challenges affect teaching and learning in urban contexts in particular.