Educational scholars, particularly those working in comparative education, have largely failed to recognise, let alone discuss, the impending finite-ness of global resources. The field continues to operate on an assumption of infinite resources, an implicit cultural horizon in place since at least the Western Enlightenment. It has missed the…

This essay applies a model to guide an analysis of goodness-of-fit between national and educational plans. The model is described through application to Nepal. In the process, information is collected on Nepal's 25 years of educational efforts and the reciprocal relationship to national development. (Author/KC)

At the policy level, the World Bank and other aid agencies evidence a practical orientation, emphasizing problems described as solvable by expertise and improved use of capital. In reality, tension exists between educational planning based on positivistic, technical rationality and political interaction grounded in situational considerations. (JHZ)