In 1983, after over 10 years of working on mathematics education reform in the Philippines, I wrote a paper for a Tokyo conference arguing that education reform in developing countries such as the Philippines should begin by working on macro-problems, namely the social, political, and economic environment of the schools, as a context for the…

Literacy policy and programming in developing countries continues to be influenced by the assumption that without literacy, an adult is unable to function on an equal basis in society and that an individual can be easily categorised as either literate or illiterate. Although this has led to prioritisation of primary schooling over adult literacy…

Over the past few years, marketisation-focused public policies have significantly transformed higher education systems worldwide. In developing countries that do not have public universities, there has been a reduction of public financing and the expansion of private institutions. In Brazil, one of the main developing countries in the world…

This Policy Brief describes and explains patterns of access to schools in India. It outlines policy and legislation on access to education and provides an analysis of access, vulnerability and exclusion. The quantitative data is supported by a review of research which explains the patterns of access and exclusion. It is based on findings from the…

This article is based on an ESRC/DFID funded research project on Widening Participation in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania: Developing an Equity Scorecard (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/education/wideningparticipation). There are questions about whether widening participation in higher education is a force for democratisation or differentiation.…

This monograph, in the CREATE Pathways to Access series, is about the modality of cooperation and programme management in primary education in Bangladesh, based specifically on the experience of the Second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP II). It is not intended to be an assessment of PEDP II accomplishments, but key information and a…

Distance education means instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology. Distance education changes the learning relationship from the common, centralized school model to a more decentralized, flexible model. It also reverses social dynamics by bringing…

This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which central ministry policy initiatives result in large-scale educational change in developing countries. Specifically, Lesotho's policy of inclusive special education was examined as a case study. The study employed a multi-method approach to yield a large data-set. Results…

This article examines Western and Chinese discourses of education, sustainable growth and development. Education is increasingly considered as a means to fuel economic growth, especially since the 1980s, when conservative economic values became predominant in Western development thought. Despite a discourse on sustainability favouring ecologically…

For millions of children worldwide the only type of schooling to which they will gain access will be in small schools. Economically and socially disadvantaged areas support disproportionate numbers of these schools. Although small schools have many advantages, they also face myriad problems. This policy brief explores the existing international…

The study examined variations in district performance in KCPE national examination in Kenya between 2001 and 2007. The individual change model revealed that district poverty rate was not a significant predictor of either the initial district performance (2001) or the rate of change over the seven-year period. The regional context of North Eastern…

This dissertation study sets out to take a close look at the complex mix of factors on the ground, which influence the appropriation of language and education policies by local education stakeholders at Lesotho primary schools. I argue that much of the research in language policy and planning (LPP) has focused too largely on the macro-level…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the nature of technology and engineering education provision in developing economies, focusing on Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on recent developments in the shake up and implementation of new measures to call for quality technology and engineering education in the country,…

The object of this article is to analyse the possible viability of the global education project One Laptop per Child (OLPC), and to trace some of the recent events impacting the project. The XO laptop, a unique machine, has itself become an iconic symbol. Its impact as a cultural product in a global market that targets the transformation of…

Graduate unemployment has been a major socio-politico-economic problem in the small open economy of Sri Lanka for the past 35 years. The nature of the problem, causal factors and policy responses are examined in this paper with a special focus on the role of higher education within a highly competitive and knowledge-based economic environment. The…