A global thematic study on literacy and adult education considered trends and innovations particularly salient during the World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) decade. According to the most recent UNESCO statistics, world illiteracy rates dropped over the last 20-30 years because of increased primary school enrollments, yet the actual…

Discusses the concept of nationalism and seeks to analyze whether "Latin-Americanism" can serve as a lever for a nationalistic type of social movement. In spite of separate national group identifications going back 150 years, research indicates that the socio-psychological preconditions of a Latin American supranationalism do exist. (CS)

Analyzes literacy campaigns in developing countries since early postcolonial efforts. Sees the Experimental World Literacy Programme as a turning point, reflecting lessons learned from past failures. Identifies features of successful campaigns, including political will, resource mobilization, timing, decentralized implementation, realistic…

Examines relationships among gender, subordination, politics, poverty, and illiteracy in developing nations. Links women's illiteracy with uneven power distribution. Suggests that patriarchal ideologies shaping the sexual division of labor affect women's access to education and attainment of literacy. Recommends literacy programs be more relevant…

Discusses the development of reference services in developing countries and describes some of the functions of libraries and information services. Topics discussed include meeting users' needs; criteria for the planning and organization of services; and technology, including electronic dictionaries, computerized community information files,…

Asserts that U.S. global awareness has been heightened significantly during the past decade. Contends that increasing economic interdependence has been a primary reason for this trend. States that the objectives of the world studies program at City University of New York Queens College help student understanding of global interdependence and…

How educators define and study school effectiveness is shaped by "policy mechanics" who attempt to define inputs that raise student achievement and by classroom culturalists who focus on implicitly modeled norms in the classroom. This article reviews how these two paths are informed by research in developing countries. (SLD)

Background: The health needs of people with intellectual disabilities have recently received increasing attention. Method: Based on a review of the 2003 literature, this paper presents an overview of our knowledge on physical, mental and social well-being in this group. Results: Physical well-being is threatened by handicap-related conditions,…

Although there is a need for enhanced evidence-based information on successful HIV and AIDS education interventions, much has already been learnt about good practices and policies in the education sector's response to the pandemic. This booklet, to be used in tandem with others in the series, aims to further expand our knowledge by highlighting…

The paper adds to the ongoing debate over whether education in multicultural societies should be provided in the native tongue of the children in the classrooms. Material is presented from two grassroots level village studies carried out in Senegal and Sri Lanka as a source of insiders' perceptions and desires. Comparative data from diverse…

Information about the world conferences for and about women held during the United Nations' Decade for Women, 1975-1985, demonstrates that women have been responsible for promoting change on local, national, and international levels. The booklet begins with a chronology of the events leading up to and including the decade and its conferences.…

In much of the developing world, research environments are in many ways the same--burdened by the same weight of colonial dependency, underfinanced, and with products undervalued and underutilized. The primary purpose of this book is to analyze such environments for the sake of assessing whether and how they might be changed to enhance national…

The five papers in this volume examine the methods, costs, and effects of traditional agricultural extension services and basic education and about the use of mass media for extension and education. The first paper, a literature review regarding the effectiveness of agricultural extension, reports that extension agents' studies of internal…

Public administration and management training (PAMT) in developing countries has expanded and diversified in the past three decades. Five preconditions have been identified as necessary to ensure the effectiveness of that training: training policies and management of institutions, the educational system, the stock of educated personnel, personnel…

The first of five sections in this paper describes the role of the Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT) in the formation of consortia for the development of curricula and the production of learning materials using electronic technologies in the United States and Canada. The processes of instructional design and formative evaluation adopted by…