Arts & Culture
The Worldwide Diffusion of Mass Education and the Institutionalization of Schooling
Quick fact
In 1950, only about 50% of the world's primary-school-age children were enrolled in school; today that figure exceeds 90%—a staggering global transformation achieved in just a few decades.
Why this is interesting
Nearly every child on Earth now sits in a classroom, but this was unheard of just 150 years ago. How did schooling become a universal rite of passage for the world's youth?