Externally imposed macroeconomic restructuring in developing nations (termed economic liberalization or neoliberalism) has specific effects on women because free-market processes undervalue anything without direct monetary value. Two immediate effects on education are privatization and budget cutbacks, which result in differential access to…

The most serious long-term problem facing the world at the moment is not terrorism but the desperate level of poverty and inequality endured by those living in the Global South--due in part to environmental problems created by the unsustainable abuse of natural resources. By the late 1990s there was a growing consensus that the prevalence of…

Technology is helping to reduce the education gap between developed countries and those that are still developing. The following article gives one example of an innovative teacher training project where a western university, in Rome, Italy, is selflessly showing their African counterparts, in rural Rwanda, how to become fully autonomous in…

This paper hypothesizes that the cost differential between primary school and middle or secondary schooling will affect household decisions to invest in any one schooling level in Ghana. Human capital investment is usually modeled in an intertemporal optimization framework in which households or individuals maximize the present value of life-time…

Several international agencies related to the United Nations and the World Bank convened the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtein, Thailand, March 5 through 9, 1990. The 1,500 conference participants adopted two texts, the "World Declaration on Education for All" and the "Framework for Action To Meet Basic Learning…

This paper describes the role of open universities in the developing world, particularly al-Quds Open University (QOU) in Jordan which serves Palestinians. An introduction notes the rapid expansion in higher education enrollment in the developing world and the demand for education due to changing labor conditions. The paper goes on to compare…

This report addresses the problem of school wastage in developing countries, provides the latest data on trends in repetition and drop-out, and deals with three questions: (1) how extensive is school wastage? (2) what are its causes? and (3) what can be done to make schools more efficient? Wastage is defined as the missed opportunities for…

The Rural Satellite Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development was a 6-year effort (1981-87) to explore the potential uses of two way telecommunications facilities, particularly satellite-mediated, telephone-based technologies--to support Third World Development educational endeavors. This program created three audioconferencing…

The Gulf Crisis that erupted in August, 1990 brought Jordan widespread economic devastation, increased poverty, the threat of hunger, health setbacks, and other hardships. Just as the country's economy was beginning to pull out of a lingering recession, Jordan was struck by the economic embargo against Iraq, the influx of over a million evacuees…

This report addresses the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) goals for activities related to the development of education in rural areas. Studies were conducted in China, the Philippines, Tanzania, Yugoslavia, Botswana, and Sierra Leone. The first section deals with the analytical study of information on…

Concerned with the means by which distance education programs can be used to further social justice in various parts of the world, this paper considers both the generally recognized strengths of and some potential problems in three aspects of such programs--access, curriculum, and a monopolistic tendency. It draws on the experience of the…

For developing nations, education can equalize opportunities, especially for the deprived and disadvantaged, and therefore must be delivered with efficiency and quality. Conventional ways of spreading education are proving to be inadequate in the face of rapidly expanding populations. There is a marked need to supplement formal schooling with…

Following a discussion of contrasts between developed and developing countries, this paper describes problems encountered by the Universal Primary Education program, a project in Nigeria designed to promote literacy and eradicate superstititon and ignorance. Specifically, the following problems are described in the light of rural, traditional…

Focuses on the impact of overseas training on national development objectives in Sub-Saharan Africa. Reviews the current economic crisis in Africa and the need for high-level, skilled workers. Examines the advantages and disadvantages of foreign study as a means of developing competent indigenous professionals. Notes pertinent research issues. (SB)

Over 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas, and most of these people are illiterate and undernourished. This paper calls for the international donor community and developing nations to combine for an all-out assault on rural poverty, and presents a proposal for education for sustainable rural development. Education for rural…