"Rising to the challenge, this essential volume examines individualization in relation to changing attitudes to childhood, and the positioning and identity development of students within educational 'markets'. It discusses globalization from several crucial perspectives, including the reduced sovereignty of the nation state and the problematizing of notions of distance and proximity. The ever-increasing environmental crisis is considered in terms of the possibilities for education for sustainable development. The author adopts a pragmatic approach, exploring the supremacy of individual and collective 'readings' of the world and divulging his views on whether education is capable of determining the future in predefined ways."--Jacket.