This paper (1) defines "quality education"; (2) examines choices for improving primary education in developing countries; (3) describes the processes of change and decision making; (4) identifies the historical, economic, political, and social contexts within which these decisions are made; and (5) proposes ways to improve educational decision…

Argues that in the more commonly used approaches to comparative education there has been lacking an adequate theoretical base upon which any country could with confidence know how to learn from another country's educational experience what would be useful for its own development. (Author/RK)

Suggests that both broad policy analyses and country case studies are needed to illuminate relationships between international aid agencies and recipient nations and to delineate the impact that agency educational policies have on international educational development. Part of a theme issue on aid to Third World education. (SJL)

Noting that economic conditions in developed and developing nations create vastly different environmental problems, the author looks at the directions environmental education is taking in the Third World and at efforts in industrialized nations to develop a global perspective in environmental education. (SJL)

The author suggests that observing the difficulties and failures of plans and programs for educational development over the last two decades makes it easy to become a sceptic about the fact that the age of innocence underestimates the extent and complexity of the knowledge base needed for sound choices in educational policy. (KC)

Article considered what can be done to relate education to social and economic needs. (Author/RK)

To set the stage for this theme issue on aid and education in the Third World and on the World Bank's most recent (April 1980) Education Sector Policy Paper, the author presents a brief overview of aid to education and an agenda of major problems which are currently debated. (Author/SJL)

The author reacts to the World Bank's 1980 Education Sector Policy Paper, highlighting changes in emphasis from the Bank's 1974 report. Part of a theme issue on the World Bank Paper and on aid to educational development in the Third World. (SJL)

The 1988 World Bank report on education in sub-Saharan Africa overstates the regional "crisis" in educational quality and recommends unrealistic strategies, ignoring the fact that basic human needs such as education are unmet because political elites corruptly privatize much of the wealth generated by their nations' economies. (SV)

Discusses some areas of particular interest in the study of education in the South Pacific islands: educational development in small, recently decolonized nations; mismatch between policies of donors of international aid and the needs of developing nations; importance of understanding the context of education; and misapplication of educational…

A literature review on the origins, nature, and future of globalization and implications for education found little of relevance for low-income, postcolonial countries. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, a conceptual framework suggests how developing nations' educational policies are influenced by legacies of colonial education, the position of…

Reviews trends, issues, and problems of administrative decentralization and education in developing nations, with reference to Papua New Guinea. Concludes that decentralization should not be seen as a panacea; policy-makers must sharpen understanding of types and levels of decentralization; success requires attention to training and implementation…

Using Columbia as a case study, the author argues that educational reform in Latin America is a method used by United States economic interests, along with the national elites, to maintain their dominant political and economic position. Part of a theme issue on Third World educational development. (Author/SJL)

Since 1989, international aid agencies have shown a marked interest in and preference for learner-centered pedagogy. This change follows a shift in agency ideology from modernization theory to neoliberalism, which sees democratic social relations as a prerequisite to free-market capitalism. Thus, the pedagogy represents a process of Westernization…

Discusses the systematic and scientific study of sport and physical education and suggests areas for cross-cultural analysis. (RK)