Amazon.com description: Product Description: The relation between secondary and higher education is considered by 10 different authors in 10 country/area profiles: United States, England and Wales, France, West Germany, Sweden, Japan, the People's Republic of China, Latin America, and Africa. The systems of secondary and higher education are detailed for each country. The question of how the school shapes the university is addressed for each country, with emphasis on the flow of students and problems of access to higher education. The way that unions and associations of secondary school teachers influence public policy on higher education is also considered. Each country/area profile discusses how the university shapes the school, with particular focus on the nature of teacher selection and training and the effects of university requirements and examinations on school curricula. Practices, agencies, and professional groups that mediate between schools and universities are described, particularly those public agencies in some countries and private associations in others that write and administer examinations. The large variety of structures and practices that appear among the 50 states of the United States is described, along with the nature of the U.S. teaching profession and the state of teacher education.