During the early Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union used adult literacy education to wield influence in "Third World" countries. Frank C. Laubach, the "Apostle of Literacy," wrote prolifically about adult literacy and conducted and advised literacy campaigns in more than 100 countries, yet his work is understudied…

Efforts to emphasize higher education's role in development have grown in recent years, but important questions remain about the motivations and effects of these initiatives. In this paper, we employ the concept of a 'modern/colonial global imaginary' to consider the impact of the enduring power relations and uneven politics of knowledge in the…

While school decentralisation policy in Nepal has been taking effect for more than 8 years with the financial and technical assistance of the World Bank, confusion and controversy have been prevalent in relation to its goals, outcomes and sustainability. This article explores the issues of school decentralisation in Nepal by relating the Bank's…

Over the past decade there has been increasing concern with aid effectiveness, and, more generally, development effectiveness. New ways of delivering aid have been developed, including sector-wide approaches and direct budget support. This paper reports on the progress that has been made through some of these new modalities of aid to education, as…

The author discusses characteristics that the poorest developing countries share; causes of poverty (private and public services, land status, capital accumulation and availability, technology, human resources, structural development, environmental issues); the role of adult education in these countries; and the need for technological development.…

Background: For more than 30 years since 1972, the Government of Japan has contributed funds to UNESCO for implementation of the Mobile Training Team (MTT) projects. The MTT assists Member States enhance their capacity in development oriented educational innovation through intra-country study visits, training courses, workshops and technical…

Examines contradictions between the view of planning embodied in the educational programs of developed nations and the actual needs of developing countries. Considered are some processes by which self-help and indigenous, as opposed to imported, planning education can be encouraged. (Author/WB)

The purpose of this consultancy is to strengthen the capacity of the Equity Committee of the Ministry of Pre-University and Civic Education (MEPU-EC); to be more effective, visible, and dynamic in promoting girls' education; and decrease educational disparities between rural and urban areas in Guinea. This technical assistance and training plan is…

The practical usefulness of H. S. Bhola's models for planned change is questioned through speculations on problems that would have arisen if the models had been applied in arranging an Inter-American Development Bank technical assistance project in Barbados. (PP)

Given that education is a highly politicized institution whose benefits are shared inequitably among its supporters, it should be evident that educational reforms fail (or succeed) more often for political reasons than because of technical or programmatic differences. To illustrate, this article examines a large international assistance project,…

A research project analyzed statements about education's contribution to development as a justification for external assistance to education in developing countries by comparing the perspectives of Finnish governmental and public documents and the international perspective in United Nations documents. Differences and parallels in the points of…

Since facilities and technology are useless without trained people, policies that address manpower training must be an integral part of a plan for the use of science and technology in national development. Presented is an overview of labor force requirements, educational needs, and other considerations related to industrial and agricultural…

The Kuru Development Trust is a development support program that is owned and controlled by the communities in which the organization operates, the majority being San, or Bushmen, communities in the Kalahari region of Africa. Following a holistic approach to development, Kuru is involved in a wide range of activities, including income-generating…

The World Bank's Operation Evaluation Department (OED) evaluates educational development in Thailand and assesses the cumulative impact of the Bank's projects on development in that country. From 1966 to date, the Bank supported six education projects with an estimated cost of a half billion dollars. The report covers: (1) economic and educational…

This note series is intended to summarize lessons learned and key policy findings on the World Bank's work in education. The goal of Education for All (EFA) is to provide universal access to primary education throughout the world. To accomplish this goal, as many as 10 million classrooms will be built in developing countries by 2015. A key…