In the past decade, the role of higher education in workforce development has emerged as a key issue around the world. Leading authorities inside and outside of government have begun questioning whether colleges and universities are preparing graduates with the competencies and skills necessary to compete in a dynamic global economy. As part of a…

Increasing attention is being paid today to the place of science in general education at the preprimary, primary, and secondary levels. Educational authorities and specialists in many countries throughout the world agree about the important role that science should and can play in the context of education, but specific aims and objectives must be…

This paper introduces a new measure of educational inequalities based on cognitive achievement data, and uses it to examine achievement inequalities in mathematics between groups of students enrolled in basic education in Brazil. The groups of students are defined by their race, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), and region of residence. The…

Discusses decision making and politics in teacher education. In Papua New Guinea, poor command of the English language led to implementation of an intensive, controversial program in teacher education colleges. The article presents comments on teacher education, language, and competency testing in England, Wales, Brazil, Canada, and the United…

Data from a 1980 population census indicates that of the over 73.5 million people in Brazil who were over 15 years of age, 25.4 percent were illiterate and 27.42 percent had less than 1 year of schooling. Such data show the precarious situation of education in Brazil, particularly that of adolescents and adults. Its origins lie in the dual nature…

This study reports on innovative alternative approaches to children's education in 12 developing countries. These approaches are examined with reference to their flexibility regarding time and place of learning, age of pupils, relationship with formal education systems, relevance and functionality for the actual situation of learners, and ability…

Numerous reports and articles have decried the mediocrity of U.S. students' foreign language skills and have called for improved language education. One study that looked at foreign language education in 19 countries suggests several characteristics of successful foreign language programs: starting early, providing an articulated framework,…