Most people don't think of the World Bank when it comes to learning, but as Francine Menashy writes, "as the largest single source of aid to education globally, (the World Bank) wields a degree of power that has arguably enabled it to shape the educational agendas of nations throughout the Global South." So the book under review, The World Bank and Education: Critiques and Alternatives, is of particular interest to educators. Happily, "the book explicitly provides a 'broad critique of World Bank policies and, in particular, of its recently released World Bank Education Strategy 2020,'" and in particular, its "unwavering adherence to neoliberal ideology, where market-driven analyses and prescriptions pervade the strategy." The book additionally criticizes the World Bank's reliance on its own sources and self-referenceing in its documents and policies. "Evidence from outside the Bank's circle is simply ignored, including much research which might offer alternative visions of standard Bank policy." Sadly, "those who ought to read this book are those who are least likely to: the staff and, in particular, high-level management at the World Bank." See also this review of the same book, in Spanish.
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