In developing countries, an increasing number of civil society organizations (CSOs) engage in independent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of government programs and policies. Most CSOs rely on a range of M&E tools in combination with advocacy strategies to hold government accountable and improve the implementation of programs and policies.…

In the context of decades of successful economic reforms in Ghana, this study investigates whether ethnicity influences economic well-being (perceived and actual) among Ghanaians at the micro-level. Drawing on Afro-barometer 2008 data, the authors employs logistic and multiple regression techniques to explore the relative effect of ethnicity on…

This article investigates how school building design can support primary school feeding programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore it argues for schools to become community "development hubs"; incorporating both local access to education and also to programmes for nutrition, ICT, health education and other services,…

This volume collects several case studies on the relationship between government and higher education in developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In particular these studies ask whether specific forms of government regulation help to solve the crisis of higher education in the developing world better than other forms of regulation.…

This study examined the impact of implementation of the Ghanaian government's mother tongue language policy, noting whether bilingual/mother tongue education would lead to improved academic achievement of elementary school students or would reinforce the marginalized position of linguistic minority children in developing countries. Data came from…

A study examined Ghana's official response to criticism of university efficiency, a budgeting system intended to reform funding mechanisms. Analysis revealed that the new policy resulted in an input-based model that neglected outcome measures, potentially causing reduced, rather than enhanced, efficiency. Lessons learned and implications for both…

This report summarizes research on interventions intended to improve four key breastfeeding behaviors: early initiation of breastfeeding, feeding of colostrum to newborns, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 0-6 months, and continued breastfeeding through the second year and beyond. It clarifies what is known about improving these practices in…

The fundamental theme of these papers is what constitutes the common good and the issues and problems related to the understanding of that common good. Several anthropologists and a political scientist explore this theme in various geographic settings and from many theoretical and methodological perspectives. Among the countries and cultures…

This research paper explores the relationship between fertility and the investments made by parents in the schooling of their children in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana (both in Africa). The tendency in developing nations research is that families with many children invest less in each, and families with fewer children make greater human capital…

As increasing numbers of children in developing nations survive to school age, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers are increasingly focusing on the health and well-being of school-age children and on the possibility of using the infrastructure of the school system to deliver health and nutrition interventions. This research, conducted in…

The needs of grassroots farmers in Uganda and Ghana for locally developed print materials were examined through a postal survey of nearly 200 organizations and examinations of 75 autonomous farmer groups and 95 organizations sharing agricultural information in both countries. Both printed agricultural information relevant to grassroots farmers and…

A multinational, multidisciplinary team examined the impact of globalization on education, training, and small and medium sized enterprise development in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The study focused on the following issues: developing a learner-led competitiveness approach; building learning enterprises; education for microenterprises and…