Professor Arnove is an expert in the fields of comparative and international education and the sociology of education. He has made major contributions to research on national education systems from a world-systems perspective, to the critical analysis of the role major philanthropic foundations play in agenda setting in education and social science research, to the historical and comparative study of national literacy campaigns, to the conceptualization of nonformal and popular education as well as alternative schools, and to the study of political and educational change in Latin America, in general, and Nicaragua, in particular.

Honors and awards