Reflects on problems facing Radio and Television Universities in China, including limitation of television transmission time (although this could become less significant with planned development of multimedia learning package use); course content; cost effectiveness; and graduate employment prospects. Recent developments due to internal and…

Situations often thought of as geographically or historically peripheral to the education system may provide the stimulus for educational innovation. How the well-known educators Freinet, Don Milani, and Freire developed their methods in peripheral situations is discussed. Implications to be found in peripheral education for teacher training are…

The paper reviews a select body of literature that focuses on the role of teachers, schools, and communities at the local level in creating quality education in less-developed countries. The review asserts that understanding what is happening in schools and classrooms is a precondition for shaping more effective quality improvement strategies.…

This volume of International Perspectives on Education and Society highlights the valuable role that educational policy plays in the development of education and society around the world. The role of policy in the development of education is crucial. Much rests on the decisions, support, and most of all resources that policymakers can either give…

Reform of education, training, and human resource development is an integral part of the transition to a democratic society and market economy. Latvia has made progress in all these areas since reform began in 1990. The challenge for the Ministry of Education and Science has been to promote and support changes that meet the needs of the new…

Technology education (TE) in Taiwan is implemented in elementary, junior high, senior high, and comprehensive high schools. Since 2001, the new curriculum syllabus for grades 1-9 reflects the call for educational reform in such areas as articulation, integration, and flexibility of reform. The national curriculum for grades 10-12 is being revised;…

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…

Since establishment of formal dental education in Southeast Asia, changes stemming from research and technology have led to dental curriculum changes. Development of the dental curriculum can be divided into three phases: disease oriented; health oriented; and community oriented. Evolution of these phases is traced in the dental curricula of Laos,…

It is argued that, although Sri Lanka has been able to provide equal access to higher education, this does not represent total equal educational opportunity in relation to students' socioeconomic status. As is typical of developing countries, since employment remains limited, educational achievement does not outweigh antecedent social status. (MSE)

At a nine-day UNESCO-sponsored conference in Geneva, educational and political leaders, most from developing nations, called for an international campaign to make higher education a more effective tool for economic and social progress, urging the expansion of basic and vocational education. (MSE)

Uses a case study of curriculum innovation in Zimbabwe to assess existing explanations of why colonial curriculum content persists in many postcolonial states despite radical policy efforts. Argues for the primacy of conflict, history, and politics as determinants of school curriculum in Third World transition states. Contains 47 references. (SV)

The article describes special education services in Singapore since 1980, with emphasis on changes since 1988. These changes have stressed improved teacher training, increase in the per capita grant for children attending special schools, and changes in special school administration (currently by voluntary associations). (DB)

Discusses the relationship between education and Apartheid in South Africa and Namibia, asserting that the political system was fostered by unequal educational systems that provided different schools and resources for different population groups. Describes the increase of alternative education projects, including the National Literacy Programme in…

Namibian teacher-education reforms cast teachers as critical developers of schooling changes, not as government servants delivering an approved curriculum. Reforms are contributing to a societal reconstruction that means greater equity for all Namibians. The role of critical practitioner inquiry in supporting learner-centered, democratic practices…

Evaluates Science Education in Pacific Schools (SEPS), a project addressing science-education deficiencies in 12 small Pacific Island countries. The assessment revealed inadequate, outdated, and unattractive science teaching resources in some countries; badly sequenced and duplicative curriculum projects across the region; and lack of teacher…