This article discusses issues that emerged from conducting professional development activities for educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, as post-academic educational trainers, the authors worked closely with more than 200 professional educators who participated in an international diploma program to develop their professional skills and…

Effects rippling from the COVID 19 emergency include changes in the personal, social, and economic spheres. Are there continuities as well? Based on a literature review (primarily of UNESCO and OECD publications and their critics), the following question is posed: How can one resist the slide into passive technologization and seize the possibility…

COVID-19, the most severe global pandemic since the Spanish flu that followed World War I, threatens nearly every country, from global powers to developing nations. This threat presents a concurrent challenge for educational systems. With schools closed during the pandemic, students and teachers have had to stay at home worldwide. This shift has…

Presents the conclusions and recommendations of UNESCO's 1989 Paris conference on education and information technology. Stresses developing an information base at the level of higher education. Recommends future development strategies for international cooperation with dialogue between education and industry. Proposes information exchange through…

Suggests that the most acute problem in educational planning is the confusion about the nature, purpose, and relevance of education. Argues that education should be viewed as a field of hypothesis about the future. Includes the importance of knowledge and know-how, education versus educational systems, and social versus educational planning. (DK)

Examines the French distance-education system, discussing enrollment, administrative structure, types of instruction, and new technologies. Addresses educational problems, financial concerns, and prospects for new courses. (GEA)

Attempts to draw comparisons between the different ways that distance education methods have been used for postsecondary education. Emphasizes the differences in scale, curricula, teaching approaches, and resource levels at different institutions in different nations. Explores problems such as lack of discussion, inflexibility, high cost of…

Reports findings from the Computers in Education Study (COMPED) conducted in 1989 by the International Association for the Evaluation Achievement (IEA). Discusses problems associated with failure to adopt computers in schools, staff development, gender differences, and administrative use of computers in schools. (CFR)

Analyzes Latin American educational research phases--the artisan and industrial. During the artisan phase (1950s-early 1970s), university scholars conducted isolated projects with limited access to information. Research centers, government supports, and information networks characterize the industrial period (post-mid 1970s). Argues information…

Provides an overview of problems facing Asia's developing countries as they strive to achieve economic development. Reviews trends in universal primary education; continuing education; restructuring secondary education; communications technology, vocational education, and professional development of teachers. (CFR)

Presents a World Bank policy paper on vocational and technical education and training. Reviews the performance of vocational and technical education in both developed and developing nations. Provides four recommendations for donors who might wish to assist countries in meeting skill needs. (CFR)

Comments on the World Bank's policy paper on vocational and technical education and training. Argues that past failures in establishing effective vocational and technical education were a result of not applying conventional neoclassical economic theory. Asserts that the World Bank's policy paper corrects this approach. (CFR)