BRICS countries invest in education: answers to global challenges and social changes

International research project “Education, well-being and the emergent economies of Brazil, Russia and South Africa” started in 2010 in London with the support of Economic and Social Research Council. The main goal of the project is investigation of the structure of interconnections between personal well-being, education, economy, security of children and youths in certain social contexts as well as conditionality of those connections with cultural traditions. National coordinators from Brazil, Russia and South Africa have arranged a range of expert symposia that joined more than 300 representatives of academic community and practitioners form the spheres of policy, education, economy and security. The project results are embodied in the activities on spreading the experience of the project by the way of reports, sent to Educational departments of participant countries; presentations, held for scientists and politicians; workshops for Ph.D students and young researchers. The article deals with the core issues discussed in the frames of the project and approaches to their solution.

1. Deniels G. Vygotskii i obuchenie detei s osobymi potrebnostyami, Continuum, 2011.
2. Remorenko I.M. Strategicheskoe razvitie vysshego obrazovaniya v Rossii (stenogramma) //Materialy proekta  Obrazovanie, blagopoluchie i razvivayushayasya ekonomika Rossii, Brazilii i Yuzhnoi Afriki. M., 2011.
3. Blanden J., Hansen K., Machin S. The GDP Cost of the Lost Earning Potential of Adults Who Grew up in Poverty. Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, 2008.
4. Bradshaw J., Hoelscher P., Richardson D. Comparing Child Well-Being in OECD Countries: Concepts and Methods. UNICEF,  2006.
5. Brown P., Green A., Lauder H. High Skills: Globalisation, Competitiveness and Skill Formation. Oxford, 2001.
6. Cheng H.F., Gutierrez M., Mahajan A., Shachmurove Y., Shahrokhi M. A Future Global Economy to Be Built by BRICs // Global Finance Journal. 2007. Vol. 18. Iss. 2.
7. Donald D., Dawes A., Louw J. (Eds.) Addressing Childhood Adversity. Cape Town, 2000.
8. Foster D., Freeman M., Pillay Y. (Eds.) Mental Health Policy Issues for South Africa.  Cape Town, 1997.
9. Higher Education and Economic Development: A Review of the Literature. Pundy Pillay, 2011.
10.  McCowan T. The Growth of Private Higher Education in Brazil: Implications for Equity and Quality // Journal of Education Policy. 2004. Vol. 19. № 4.
11.  Teles V.K., Andrade J. Public Investment in Basic Education and Economic // Growth Journal of Economic Studies. 2008. V. 35.