When starting research it is wise to decide what information you will need, where to find it and how much you want to use.  A good place to start is with general sources such as encyclopedias to find topics and define terms. Do a search in WorldCat Discovery using the terms "education" and "encyclopedia."

Encyclopedia of Education (2003) Online

Offers a complete view of the institutions, people, processes, roles, and philosophies in educational practice in the United States and throughout the world. Features biographies of influential educators; profiles of historic colleges and universities and of organizations active in the field; and an appendix of full text source documents, including education related legislation, international treaties, and testing methods. 8 volumes.

Encyclopedia of Educational Law (2008) Online.

Encyclopedia of Law and Higher Education  (2010) Online

Encyclopedia of Multicultural Education  (1999) Online

Encyclopedia of African-American Education  (2015) Online

The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (2011) Online (With multiple volume sets use "education" in the search line to limit your search)

WorldCat is the Mount's default search engine.  It is an umbrella service that includes many other databases but not all.  That is why it is important to use individual databases to zero in on your discipline.  The place to find databases is on the home page of the library on the tab bar, labeled Databases A to Z. Your can find locate databases by subject, or alphabetically.

A topical search for Education in the Databases A to Z yields 13 databases.  Remember there is a difference between databases that provide just indexing that points to articles you may have to request through interlibrary loan, and those that are full text.  There are two that are most widely used.  They are:

ERIC - Education Resources Information Center (EBSCO)  An authoritative database of indexed and full-text education literature and resources. It is essential for education researchers of all kinds

Education is a discipline that has been researched at length.  One of the earliest electronic education databases was compiled under the auspices of the US government. That database is ERIC, Educational Resource Information Center.  To refine the searching technique, ERIC has produced a Thesaurus that greatly aids research.  The terms there are defined as "descriptors" or "subjects." (It is located above the search bars of the top left of the page. The word Thesaurus may be replaced by the term Subjects.  Each database has an equivalent subject list that functions the same).

So for example, if you look for the term "IEP" of "I.E.P" or "Individual  Education Plan" in a search, your search will not be inclusive.  Instead, if you go to the Thesaurus and browse the term IEP you will find that the term is actually Individualized Education Programs.  This indexing term  is also a hyperlink.  Clicking on it will link you to all articles that have been deemed to be about that topic.

Other terms you may want to research are:

"Special Education"

"Behavior Management"

"Technology in Education"

"Standardized Curriculum"

"High Stakes Assessment"

• Putting phrases in quotation marks retains the term as a concept as opposed to separate words.
• Using the word "education" alone is redundant in an education database.
• When using EBSCOhost databases  add the Geographic field to your search to specify the country or region you want.

When searching for information about foreign countries there are many sites on the Internet.  However, librarians at the Phillips Library have drawn together authoritative resources in research guides that will prove helpful for background information and context.  Some of these are:

Country Studies and Profiles

Africa

Asia

Europe

South America, Central America and the Caribbean

Comparative Politics: Education

There are many organizations, both governmental and non-governmental that collect information about education, culture, business, human rights and so on, in individual countries.  One of the primary aggregators of  data is the United Nations.  There are others that are scattered through the research guides such as the World Health Organization and the Library of Congress. Some excellent ones are listed below.