Teenagers are living in a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected yet unequal world. Whether they live in Australia or Zimbabwe, they have in common that they are between childhood and adulthood and increasingly aware of how inequality is affecting their lives and futures. This encyclopedia gives a different perspective based on the experiences of teens in 60 countries.

Each entry gives the reader a brief sketch of a country to helps readers to understand how geography, history, economics, and politics shape teen life. The entries include a country overview and cover the following topics: Schooling and Education; Extracurricular Activities: Art, Music, and Sports; Family and Social Life; Religions and Cultural Rites of Passage; Rights and Legal Status; and Issues Today. Special sidebars, called Teen Voices, appear throughout the text, and include a description of a typical day in the life of a teen in various countries. Students will be able to gain a better understanding of what life is like around the world for their peers and will be able to easily make cross-cultural comparisons between different countries.

Features

• Gives readers a glimpse into a typical day in the life of a teen in countries around the world, from wake up time to classes to after school activities
• Focuses on interesting facts and anecdotal information
• Allows students to make cross-national comparisons of topics such as literacy, education, rights, internet use, and other key issues
• Shows a complex picture of new family forms, new gender roles, and declining religious belief with the strong persistence of conservative values