Keypoint schools were established by the Chinese in the 1950s to concentrate limited resources in a relatively small number of schools in order to cultivate outstanding students. The evolution of keypoint school policy from the revival of these schools in 1978 to 1983 is discussed. (RM)

Reviews French educational reform projects of the past 30 years, and offers some explanations for their failure. Discusses groups with a vested interest in continuing reform, the lack of national consensus on educational policy, and the discontinuity of political leadership. (34 references) (SV)

The 1975 policy decision of the Swedish Parliament to reform universities and colleges followed many official inquiries, particularly the 1968 Commission on Higher Education (U 68), which had tried to solve higher education problems of the 1960s and 1970s. Described is the report of a project that studied the reform's origins. (RM)

The late 1970s may be regarded not merely as lacking in significant reform in higher education, but also as a period characterized by a loss of momentum in certain ambitious reforms previously initiated. Some reform strategies succeeded and others did not. (MSE)

Three centuries have gone by since the termination by the Catholic government of France of the religious, educational, cultural, commercial, and personal freedom of the adherents of the Calvinist Reformed Church, or Huguenots. The historical consequences of the Edict of Fontainebleau (Revocation of the Edict of Nantes) are discussed. (RM)

Reviews educational changes in Sweden since the 1962 Education Act, which expanded educational opportunities through introduction of comprehensive schools. Discusses the effects of Swedish reforms on educational policy debates in Great Britain and West Germany and on comparative education research in Europe and the United States. Contains 32…

Many problems of educational policy are influenced by the distribution of tasks between the federal government and the Lander as prescribed by the German constitution. How the experiences of the Weimar Republic have affected education in the Federal Republic is shown through an analysis of constitutional history. (RM)

Outlines several ways of looking comparatively at democratic educational systems. Examines narratives of democratic education in American educational history; nation-building as a primary policy objective; and conceptual weaknesses of the model of elite, mass, and universal education. Sees current trends toward educational efficiency and quality…

Identifies similarities and differences in the French and British models of colonial education in sub-Saharan Africa. Draws on the statements of policymakers in official reports and government studies to highlight the "signposts" of colonial educational policy--phrases referring to policy goals and to moral claims and cultural…

The aim of this paper is to attempt a comparative analysis, in a historical context, of attempts to move education policy for Maoris in New Zealand and Indians in the United States away from an assimilationist model and to demonstrate the relevance of this comparison to contemporary developments. (Author)

Traces the histories of rural education and rural technology in four countries. Suggests that the economic function of education is the transmission of technologically relevant skills, and that technologically appropriate curricula are a necessary part of economic development policy. 30 references. (SV)

This broad historical survey assesses Japan's efforts to overcome dilemmas endemic to all modern school systems in industrialized societies. The book describes efforts to strike a balance between equality and excellence, individual creativity and team cooperation, standardization and innovation, and internationalism and cultural identity in the…

This paper examines education in China from 1949 to 1979. Education plays a key role in Chinese society. The main goal of Chinese educational policy is to produce workers with both socialist consciousness and culture. The Chinese conception of education is very broad and includes the regular school system, work-study education, and informal mass…

The educational history of reform in the primary schools of Thailand is discussed. Lessons that might be learned from the Thai experience with respect to the linkages and interaction between research, policy, planning, and implementation are examined. (RM)

It has been assumed that colonial schooling systems were always poor quality reproductions of the educational system in the colonizing (metropolitan) power. This paper compares the structures and curricula of colonial and metropolitan schools, finding not a reproduction, but a hierarchy, with the metropolitan school on top. (SJL)