Presents IV (instruments variables) estimates of returns to schooling for Honduran males by exploiting variation in schooling's availability at the time individuals were eligible to commence their education. IV estimates surpass ordinary least-squares estimates. Higher rate of return estimates are driven by greater schooling attainment and higher…

The 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association for Continuing Higher Education was themed "Refining Our Mission: Continuing Education's Role in Engagement, Outreach and Public Service." Opportunities were available to participate in sessions relating to outreach, partnerships and public service and perspectives on this theme were presented…

This document reflects Federal Student Aid's solid progress in meeting strategic objectives since becoming a Performance-Based Organization. Specifically, the plan addresses continuing efforts to increase program integrity, improve customer service and achieve measurable results in the management and administration of the Title IV student…

A widening skills gap is at the heart of many of the major economic and social challenges the United States faces today. Too many Americans lack the basic skills and educational attainments required by a postindustrial economy. This places severe limits on the American economy to innovate, grow, and compete in the global marketplace. It…

This working paper is a product of a regional study in industrial South Wales of the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. Discussion begins with an…

Too often, conversations about Latinos in education are based on ignorance. Put simply, ignorance is "not knowing." As often as not, people in these conversations assume they know more than they actually do--based on individual experiences or cliches shared by others--rather than on data. Excelencia in Education addressed this by providing…

The "achievement gap" is one of the most talked-about issues in U.S. education. The term refers to the disparities in standardized test scores between Black and White, Latina/o and White, and recent immigrant and White students. This article argues that a focus on the gap is misplaced. Instead, we need to look at the "education…

After World War II, an optimistic, rationalist ideology infused with Jeffersonian values influenced worldwide educational growth. The idea of a universal, free, compulsory system replaced an older elitist ideology. The equality ideology held that (1) cultural integration was necessary for national unity and (2) a shortage of trained manpower was…

The present status of higher education in the United States is considered, based on the theory of development of human capital, which proposes that the developed abilities of a nation's population are fundamental to its economic growth and well-being. Attention is also directed to social and cultural benefits. The following ideas are stressed:…

Describes research undertaken to improve measures of rural job skills, identify human capital initiatives supportive of rural development, and assess rural access to education and job training. Major themes include complexity of weaknesses and strengths in rural skills development systems, advantages of rural schools, and mutual reinforcement of…

This document explores the evidence that exists worldwide on the impact of girls' education, particularly primary education. It indicates areas in which impact of education is probably occurring, especially in those areas that have received little or no attention in the literature or that have been studies with methodologies that limit what can be…

Educational policy in three southern African countries plus the "independent" South African homelands is reviewed in this paper. First, an introduction discusses how the significance of education as a factor in national development became an issue of growing concern in the 1960's (during the move toward independence), but also how…

A community development program in rural China aimed to enhance women's economic and social opportunities as a means of lowering fertility rates. The program involved agricultural seminars and extension services, organized cultural and entertainment activities, and political meetings. Village leaders took part in seminars on community development,…

South African development and education policy documents were analyzed to examine postapartheid government goals concerning educational equality and social justice. Documents concerning equity of educational access, quality, outcomes, and governance reveal a shift from a populist social-democratic orientation to a conservative neoliberal position,…

This annual report for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) details the programs and services provided by this organization in 1994. Following an overview of the year and a remembrance of former UNICEF Executive Director James P. Grant, the report describes developments in seven world regions and in specific emergency countries. The report…