General Secondary Education in the Twenty-First Century

Secondary education is a crucial point in the lives of individuals: it is at this stage that young people should be able to decide their own future, in the light of their own tastes and aptitudes, and that they can acquire the abilities that will make for a successful adult life (Delors Report). Aware of the fundamental importance of education and the growing need to focus on secondary education, the international community has taken up the challenge of improving the relevance and effectiveness of secondary education. In order to complement international efforts and facilitate policy dialogue on this commitment to secondary education, the UNESCO International Expert Meeting on general secondary education in the twenty-first century: trends, challenges and priorities was held in Beijing, people’s republic of China. The final outcomes of this meeting are presented in this book along with some important papers on the theme. This book also contains the results of the UNESCO’s International Conference on the reform of secondary education held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. All these conclusions and suggestions are specifically meant for the quality improvement of secondary education around the world. This book will be very much useful to the educational planners and policy makers, educational personnel, and teachers and students in the light of the globalisation of human resource development as this book is specially prepared for their use.