This volume brings together eight case studies which describe a variety of initiatives to create more effective schools for children of poverty, especially in the Third World. The initiatives reviewed published and unpublished documents and both qualitative and statistical studies were examined. Countries include Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Ghana, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United States. Each initiative was developed independently to address unique challenges and situations but taken as a group, the features of the approaches described in this volume can be viewed as a basis for considering the development of effective schools strategies in other contexts.