Edmund King's writings and research on postcompulsory education in England and western Europe encouraged innovative policies in British further education. Educational opportunities for students aged 16-19 have broadened to include both academic and vocational courses in an effort to ease the school-to-work transition. (KS)

Higher education in Australia and the Netherlands illustrates two international trends: restructuring toward systems of fewer, larger institutions; and government tendencies to continue setting broad policies while decentralizing other responsibilities to institutions. Success in restructuring is attributed to the interaction of public policy and…

Evaluating Chinese publications about rural education and needed reforms presents several problems: political limits on educational debate; paucity of statistical data and reference citations; and complex ideological statements. Examination of nine journal and newspaper articles reveals that they cautiously endorse rural education reforms within…

Like most countries that have implemented some form of decentralization policy, Mexico followed a strategy of legislation first and actual reform second. Nicaragua, on the other hand, moved toward school-based management and significant changes in governance and finance with little legal framework. Benefits and pitfalls of the two national…

Discusses the questionable survival of minority languages worldwide and of the Celtic languages in the United Kingdom. Examines governmental policies concerning the teaching and school use of Welsh, Scots Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic in their respective regions. Outlines some general principles to guide policies related to minority language…

Examines the vigorous dialectic occurring among intellectuals, religious leaders, and politicians trying to define the appropriate role of Islam in Egyptian education. Discusses the call for the Islamization of education in contemporary Egypt, aspects of Islamic law, the position of the state on religious education, and the influence of a small…

Considers South African curriculum reforms borrowed from New Zealand--outcomes-based education and a national qualifications framework--in terms of development of self-regulated learners and the kinds of teachers needed for such learners. Analyzes the implicit pedagogical logic of performance and competence models of pedagogy, and concludes that…

Examines views of the role of knowledge in educational policies of countries of the Mercosul (the common market of South America's southern cone) and the influence of two international aid organizations with conflicting views (productivity-oriented goals versus cultural diversity and equity concerns). Discusses Brazilian national curricular…

Compares attempts and outcomes in Fiji junior secondary schools and in Kiribati community high schools to provide alternative schooling of either vocational or local/practical orientation. Focuses on nature of educational decision-making process and influence of public pressures on planners and politicians. Identifies new and influential factors…

Reviews historical context and recent research on vocational education in 15 Commonwealth Caribbean countries and the United States. Identifies supportive American vocational legislation. Derives synthesis based on juxtaposition of vocational education in both regions and draws inferences regarding the larger question of vocationalization. (NEC)

Examines the potential of the World Bank scheme, outlined in its 1980 Education Sector Policy Paper, for helping Bangladesh achieve universal basic education. Considers such issues as formal vs. nonformal schooling, costs, and teacher training. Part of a theme issue on the World Bank Paper and Third World educational development. (SJL)

Past "elitist" development efforts modeled on Western academic education have failed to meet manpower needs but resist change due to popular preference for "modern" occupations. A new development strategy providing universal basic education and improved general living standards is needed. (Part of a theme issue on Third World educational…

Sweden and Denmark are becoming aware that the "at risk" group of unemployed young people present a double-edged risk in that they are economically and socially disadvantaged and constitute a risk for society at large. Sweden and Denmark differ in their responses to the problem. (BRR)

The changing political and security situation in Indonesia since 1949 has made religion a compulsory subject at all educational levels. This paper looks critically at the assumptions underlying this policy. Its scope is limited to administration and control, educational objectives and curriculum, morality and values, and teacher education. (Author)

This paper examines educational policies in certain culturally plural South East Asian societies in relation to hypotheses concerning differences in educational policies resulting from the threat felt by the dominant elite and the effects of educational and national language policies on the assimilation or alienation of different ethnic groups.…