This article introduces the topic of the special issue, ‘Public education at the crossroads’, by pointing to some of the debates and controversies surrounding the topic of public education and by framing the theme, while explaining the context and some components of the educational systems of the countries under examination – namely the USA and Germany. In both countries, control of public education is seen as the states’ responsibility within the respective nation states. Despite different developments, both countries are experiencing similar challenges to public education; for example, highly diverse classroom settings, pressure from neoliberal politics, or debates about citizenship education in a world that is increasingly globalized on the one hand, and facing growing nationalism on the other. Finally, this introduction presents articles in this special issue that further discuss the competing factors bringing public education to a new crossroads.

本文通过指出围绕公共教育主题的一些辩论和争议，并通过对主题进行框架化，同时解释了教育系统的背景和某些组成部分，介绍了特殊问题的主题“十字路口的公共教育”。接受审核的国家/地区-美国和德国。在这两个国家中，对公共教育的控制被视为各自国家内部各州的责任。尽管事态发展不同，但两国在公共教育方面都面临着类似的挑战。例如，高度多样化的教室环境，新自由主义政治带来的压力，或者一方面是在一个日益全球化的世界中，另一方面是在面对日益增长的民族主义的世界中，有关公民教育的辩论。最后，