The English Geography National Curriculum encourages primary teachers to focus on similarities and differences when teaching distant places. The issues this raises are particularly acute when teaching geography in the context of the Global South. In this article I argue that comparisons based on object-based thinking can lead to views of the…

America's reputation abroad has never been so abysmal. That is the inescapable conclusion of countless books, newspaper and magazine articles, and public-opinion polls that have documented the growth of anti-Americanism during the Bush administration. Yet outside Europe and the Middle East, the loathing for Bush and the bitterness toward America…

Examines some of the social, cultural, and religious factors involved in name changing in Hindi. (AM)

Discusses the use of India as a topic for teaching English as a Foreign Language and about developing an awareness of cultural diversity in Germany. Provides a critical analysis of textbooks in Germany that are beginning to offer new approaches. (Author/VWL)

How much is hegemony and how much is self-determination in the higher education systems in Southeast Asia? This paper argues that while the question of centre and periphery is still relevant to the analysis of international university systems, the analytical frameworks from which it has arisen may lose viability in the long term. Southeast Asian…

Basic patterns of culture and communication in India such as world view, reincarnation, concepts of Karma and Dharma, stages of life, the caste system, time orientation, collectivism, hierarchical orientation, language situation, and nonverbal communication norms are an integral part of Hinduism and Indian culture, and have a significant influence…

This paper explores influences of economic factors on sociocultural aspects of traditional, industrial, and "transitional" societies, with India an example of a transitional society. Links between socioeconomic contexts, child-rearing goals and practices, and early intervention programs are considered. Child-rearing goals and practices…

The view that poverty and riches are caused by two distinct personality traits is perpetuated through educational materials. Examples drawn from secondary social studies texts and adult education programs in India illustrate how an educational system is a medium of cultural dissemination and political control. (AM)

Paper examines how objective and detached scientific discourse negatively influences children's learning, especially in significantly oral cultures like India. It recommends fundamental redefinition of scientific discourse, urging school science to review communicability, address disparate linguistic and conceptual structures in diverse student…

Explores how the story "The Raja's Big Ears" traveled from Gujerat in India, where it is a well-known folktale, via a skilled story teller, to London, where it was transformed through contact with the multicultural world of London school children. (Author/VWL)

The five papers in this collection on art and music environments in developing countries were presented at the 1984 IFLA general conference. (1) In "Developing an Art for Life's Sake," Gavin Jantjes, a black South African artist currently living and working in the United Kingdom, offers personal viewpoints on issues relating to the art…

This paper examines the cultural traditions of South Asia, especially India and Pakistan, regarding the education of children with special needs. This valuable cultural heritage has been largely ignored in the inflow of western educational ideas and the professionalization of special education, especially in the late 19th century. Improved…

This paper is a reflection on the process of dance choreography, an assignment for pedagogical evaluation at postgraduate level in an Indian university. It is also a recapitulation and reconstruction of my experiences while undergoing a Master's course in Bharatanatyam (a style of classical dance) in the Centre for Performing Arts (CPA),…

As background information for a discussion of India's communication system and its potential for social change, this paper briefly describes the country's physical characteristics, some of its cultural heritage and demographics, and the development of its education and railways. After a discussion of the folk media (traditional changes) of…

States that 99 percent of India's education budget is spent on formal education, which is not relevant to the needs of most Indians whose many languages and socioeconomic conditions require the traditional nonformal methods. Sharply criticizes others' emphasis on "elitist" imposition of uneconomic, one-language, formal educational…