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Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill (Details) $ in Thousands | 3 Months Ended
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Jul. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |
Beginning balance | $ 1,116,790 |
Acquisitions | (11,212) | [1]
Foreign translation adjustment | 28,032 |
Ending balance | 1,133,610 |
Research Publishing & Platforms [Member] |  |
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |
Beginning balance | 448,130 |
Acquisitions | (11,212) | [1]
Foreign translation adjustment | 15,490 |
Ending balance | 452,408 |
Academic & Professional Learning [Member] |  |
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |
Beginning balance | 501,091 |
Acquisitions | 0 | [1]
Foreign translation adjustment | 8,794 |
Ending balance | 509,885 |
Education Services [Member] |  |
Goodwill [Roll Forward] |  |
Beginning balance | 167,569 |
Acquisitions | 0 | [1]
Foreign translation adjustment | 3,748 |
Ending balance | $ 171,317 |
[1] | Refer to Note 3, “Acquisitions,” for more information related to the acquisitions that occurred in fiscal year 2020, and the revisions that were made to the allocation of the consideration transferred to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed during the three months ended July 31, 2020.

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- Definition Amount of foreign currency translation gain (loss) which increases (decreases) an asset representing future economic benefits from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (f) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267 + Details
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