5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

This session focuses on the role of secondary education in each society within a globalizing world. Session organizers have observed that East Asian countries have contributed to the development of human capital throughout their societies during industrialization and economic development, while effectively expanding secondary education (Aizawa et al., 2019). In particular, secondary education around the world has significantly contributed to the formation of a new middle class during industrialization. However, with the advance of globalization and post-industrialization, the gap between the super-rich, who attend international schools and boarding schools, and the secondary education institutions rooted in their societies has only grown larger. Of course, there is no doubt that the global trend of neoliberalism and privatization, with its emphasis on choice, is having an impact here.

Since Morocco is far from East Asia, which the session organizers have studied, we would like to take this opportunity to consider the study of East Asia relative to the study of secondary education worldwide. We invite a wide range of submissions of research that convey the current state of secondary education in various countries.