A discussion of education in South Africa looks at the history of public policy concerning schools for blacks and whites, enrollment trends since 1969, early efforts at desegregation, and obstacles that must be overcome to make education equitable in that country. (MSE)

A survey of 55 Chinese students and scholars visiting the United States investigated attitudes toward the spread of Putonghua, the standard variety of Chinese. Results indicate six categories of attitude, five supporting its spread. They also show a correlation of attitude with age, birthplace, current residence, and parents' occupation.…

Since establishment of national university systems in Mexico and Venezuela, three principal demands have dominated policy formation: government ideological demand; economic demand for expertise; and political and social demand for upward mobility through education. Tensions between these demands have stemmed from economic inability to sustain…

Presents chapter 2 from Ele Isaevich Monoszon's 1987 book, "The Establishment and Development of Soviet Pedagogy." Focuses on achievements of the 1920s in establishing a Soviet system of education. Reviews biographies and ideas of five eminent Soviet educators. (CH)

Analyzes the political and socioeconomic context of three innovations introduced in Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s: functional adult literacy, workers' education, and the Folk Development Colleges. Identifies factors hindering their implementation (e.g., lack of trained educators, inadequate financing, and mismatch between needs and programs) and…

Presents (1) characteristics of the totalitarian educational system in Poland which influence the current educational situation; (2) expectations for institutions connected with early childhood education in the new democratic political and social situations in Poland; and (3) an image of early childhood settings as institutions supporting parent…

Discusses the role of story-telling in the political empowerment of the oppressed. Describes how the uncritical reliance on stories has led to the failure in the classroom to acknowledge the risks taken by various oppressed groups when they attempt to critically reflect and build coalitions. (JB)

Analysis of recent vocational education reforms in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak republics looks at the nature of modernization efforts and structural changes, and the role of foreign assistance and international cooperation. Current initiatives are seen as an attempt to catch up with the Western world of the 1970s. (MSE)

The current state of education in Russia strongly correlates with the socioeconomic crisis, which negatively impacts education. Responsibility for education falls to the state and other social institutions, which form a system of education. The many laws, decrees, and rules about education have had little impact on practice. School democratization…

The rapid growth and development of outdoor education in Ontario during the 1960s-70s can be attributed to the social and political climate of the time; widespread enthusiasm for environmental education; and Ministry of Education support through teacher education courses, legislation, incentive grants, and founding of the Council of Outdoor…

Between the end of World War II and the early 1970s, many Native women in Ontario came to Toronto in the hopes of accessing higher education, jobs, and freedom denied them on reserves under the oppression of federal government tutelage. However, much of the literature on Native rural-urban migration in Canada concentrates on an association between…

The development of educational computing in the last two decades has been largely uncritical and the field is dominated by technocentric approaches. With few notable exceptions, sociologists of education have not directly addressed educational computing. As a result, the social, political and cultural origins and implications of educational…

This book contains four articles on adult higher education (AHE) in Finland. In the preface, Matti Parjanen outlines the development of AHE in Finland and discusses the rationale for the book. In "Adult Education and Universities in the Era of Economic Depression," Osmo Kivinen and Risto Rinne examine the dilemma between the mission of…

The nations of the Pacific Rim comprise an increasingly important world economic region. Of these countries, Japan is clearly the most powerful and important. While the United States is an important trading partner for Japan, the Japanese are paying increasing attention to the neighboring nations of the Pacific Rim. This digest examines the…

This report presents essays from a symposium held in the Netherlands in 1986 whose purpose was to study the theme: values in higher education. The symposium addressed the issue of cultural continuity and the importance of awareness of how higher education is developing and cultural values are maintained. Among the symposium's presentations are the…