boards and community action. The cases in this book also cover salient contemporary policy topics such as school accountability and the assessment of student achievement. Few books, original or edited, have such a broad range of coverage while offering enough structure and context to lay the foundation for introductory education courses! The book: - provides real-life case studies to give readers concrete data about actual conditions in primary and secondary education - explores diverse academic subjects as well as different education programs such as special education and bilingual education to introduce students to a variety of classroom settings - includes case studies written by well-known education professionals to provide insight from experts in the field - presents and examines different facets of case study methodology to help readers design or build their own case studies - offers a contemporary perspective on education to provide students with an accurate understanding of today's classrooms Introducing the World of Education is an ideal companion text for undergraduate and master's students in introductory education courses. The book is a must-have for students entering the world of education, professors teaching the world of education, in-service educators and administrators who desire a stronger foundation in case study research and a broad range of educational issues, and anyone who merely wants a glimpse at the challenges and opportunities in education today. Students and researchers in public administration and policy will also find this a valuable resource.