Education researchers working in sub-Saharan Africa have recently and rapidly expanded the availability of evidence related to the impact of educational interventions on learning outcomes, particularly in preprimary and lower primary education (Ganimian & Murnane, 2016; McEwan, 2015; Popova, Evans, & Arancibia, 2016). Awareness that…

Over the past decade, international and national education agencies have begun to emphasize the improvement of the quality (rather than quantity) of education in developing countries. This trend has been paralleled by a significant increase in the use of educational assessments as a way to measure gains and losses in quality of learning. As…

Averil Coxhead is widely known for developing the Academic Word List, a list of 570 word families associated with great frequency in academic texts. This list has been particularly useful to teachers of English as a Second Language as well as independent learners in tertiary education. She has also developed a Science-based word list (Coxhead and…

The author is increasingly sensitive to the Venn diagram of overlapping expertise in which program evaluation intersects a content area such as public health, urban education, or--in the case of Katherine Hay--international development. Many evaluators practice in these areas of overlap, experts in the evaluation of a specific domain. Given her…

This paper examines the magnitude of the problem of disability facing developing countries; the traditional response to this challenge and its ineffectiveness; the emergence of community-based rehabilitation (CBR); its underlying assumptions and effectiveness in terms of staff training, interagency partnerships, and parental and community…

Drawing on his long experience of Africa, the author discusses what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided to ensure that labor-intensive special public works programs yield tangible and lasting results. (Author)

This special issue of the "Courier" has been produced to mark the beginning of International Literacy Year 1990. It brings together papers from adult educators involved in literacy work about who needs literacy and why, what literacy is, who can help in creating the right conditions for literacy to succeed, and how to evaluate literacy…

Contains suggestions for designing a program for developing small scale enterprise managers or promotion staff: define the problem, identify the weaknesses, identify the best method of assistance, hire suitable consultants, identify the best source of financial support, and ensure that the program is effectively implemented and evaluated. (CT)

This article provides an analytical framework that not only explains the contradictions in the relationship between decentralization and development, but also facilitates constructive debate about decentralization's role in development. It also reviews the extent, form, and impact of recent decentralization policies and programs in less developed…

This article introduces a group of six papers on sustainability of programs for visually handicapped persons in developing countries. Sustainability is discussed from an anthropological perspective, noting the importance of a social soundness analysis and a social impact assessment, enemies of sustainability, and the need for broad local input in…

Participation has been accepted as an always desirable methodology in seeking development with rather than for the people. This paper explores some of the limitations of participation as it relates to planning and implementing nonformal education projects. The author focuses on six broad issues that relate to project participation. (SSH)

This paper discusses the relevance of e-learning in the position of distance education in Nigeria. It commences by discussing the meaning of e-learning and distance education. It also discusses the historical background of distance education in Nigeria as well as the operations of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as the first federal…

The author points out that the experiences of women and children closely affect each other, yet in development programs over the past 20 years projects have been designed either for one group or the other--but seldom with both in mind. She provides examples of successful programs that focus on both groups. (CT)

Nongovernment organizations providing services to visually handicapped persons in developing nations should direct increased efforts toward project evaluation, monitoring, documentation, and dissemination, to ensure that innovative, flexible strategies direct self-help information to the "grassroots" level in forms that are familiar,…

Discusses the development of entrepreneurship programs for women in developing countries. Examines the importance of focusing on rural areas, developing basic and entrepreneurial skills for women migrating to urban areas, encouraging linkage between urban and rural women, and considering women's personal needs. (CT)