Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the CIES conferences. In them, intellectual discussion, debates about theories and practical perspectives, and the emphasis on making useful comparisons for academia and decision-making provide an exceptional framework for peer cooperation. I am pleased that colleagues who wrote the chapters of this book accepted my invitation. They worked hard and responded to my demands that, I hope, were not many or exaggerated.
Regina Cortina and Sergio Cárdenas are in some way jointly responsible for this publication. Regina not only invited me to organize the two sessions—and she entrusted me with other tasks for the Mexico City Conference—but she also motivated me to make sure that the papers did not remain in the annals of the CIES. Sergio, then general director of CREFAL, sponsored the conference in Pátzcuaro and, with that, he contributed to the authors getting to know each other a bit more. We stayed together and spoke about matters beyond our scholarly work. CREFAL staff always collaborated and supported us on both more substantial organizational matters and minor details. They are too many to mention individually.
Also, the students of the MA in Learning and Educational Policies of the CREFAL are too numerous and have our appreciation. They provided sharp comments, some of them very critical, in response to the presentations of our essays. Bob Arnove was more than a commentator; he acted as an advisor who told us how to improve content and performance. I value that he has agreed to write the Foreword.
My friend Bradley Levinson translated and edited (even in Spanish) the work of René Guevara and Sandra Milena Téllez, from Colombia. He also helped me to put my chapter and this introduction in better English form. I thank him very much.
The final outcome is in a better shape thanks to our series editor at Brill Sense, Allan Pitman, who put many hours of his work to polish the presentation, and to Jolanda Karada, our book’s production editor. We all express gratitude to them for their hard work and kind comments.