This book seeks to offer the most up-to-date and relevant sample of contemporary research on Latin American education, by inviting the reader to understand the complexities, heterogenetics, nightmares, dreams, crisis and promises of education in the region.

After two decades of neoliberal reforms, Latin America educational policy remains hotly contested by a number of players. Crisis and Hope studies the role of the state, political parties, international organisations and teachers in determining the course of South American education and invites us to understand the complexities, heterogenetics, nightmares, dreams, crises, and promises of education in the region. In these lively essays, readers in 'the North' get a glimpse of the innovative work of Latin American scholars whose research is usually only available in Spanish and Portuguese.

The purpose of this volume is to contribute to educational research by presenting comprehensive and nuanced understandings of intersectional perspectives. Researchers working within an intersectional framework try to account for the dynamic and complex ways that race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, citizenship, ability, and age shape individual identities and social life. We argue it is essential to overcome simplistic, static, one-dimensional, and additive approaches to educational research by expanding the use of analytical categories and engaging the multiplicities of people's circumstances within and across teaching and learning settings. This volume is our attempt to open a space for analysis, dialogue, and reflection among scholars about intersectionality, and the possibilities of reimagining the research tools used to address the complex demographic, social, economic, and cultural transformations shaping education. Ideally, this conversation will reach audiences outside of the academy.

Margarita Pivovarova is an Assistant Professor of Education Economics at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. Her research interests include education policy and related quantitative research. Specifically, her research studies the economic consequences of accountability and financial incentives in education. In addition, she studies peer interactions in school contexts and optimal classroom or school design.