Recent research has advanced the understanding of how global processes have led to standardized ideas about modern schooling. Chabbott provides an insightful examination of how the processes of international development have effected the role of education at a global level since World War II.

The emergence of international development organisations in the postwar era has played an important role in the development of global standards for educational development. This book details the variables among these organisations and explains the standardisation of Western models of mass education through international conventions and declarations. Colette Chabbott's analysis incorporates archival materials, secondary data on organisational foundings and international meetings, and primary data from interviews.