The successful application of communication or educational technology in developing nations is dependent upon a favorable mix of planning factors and the more predominant contextual factors of local settings. Planning strategies should be adopted to search for those contexts that promise the best results from a rationally planned application of…

One of a series prepared for the International Commission for the Study of Communication of Unesco, this report elucidates the principal reasons supporting reform of the international information system. Following an introduction that outlines the role of information in developing countries and explains why the current media are inadequate, the…

Context is a key factor in designing and delivering adult learning programmes, and in multilingual environments the choice of language plays a decisive role. Four programmes, two in Asia (Bhutan Myanmar) and two in Africa (Ghana and Uganda), which focus on learning for development, integrate language considerations in different ways, related both…

Based on current thought in multicultural education, this paper discusses the need for Americans to help Saudi Arabia integrate western technology into education without subjecting the country to cultural imperialism. The paper is purported to rest on the "reconceptualist" theories of curriculum development. The author cites four…

Change is more advantageous if it incorporates an entire society rather than an element of that society, and the goals of educational development will be most fruitfully realized with a minimum of harmful effects if programs of instructional development are made to focus on the entire culture, rather than on a single social institution. A systems…

Unanswered questions about the development and administration of distance education as a solution to educational needs in developing nations are discussed, including program articulation, meeting different cultural needs and circumstances, and appropriate curriculum. (MSE)

Nutrition education is the theme of this issue of "Children in the Tropics," which emphasizes an analysis of the situation of nutrition education programs, particularly in third world countries. It is noted that in most cases, it is necessary to integrate aspects of nutrition education into broader programs that encompass agricultural…

Recent developments in fertility control are presented in relation to the global demographic situation. Discussion focuses on changes in scientific knowledge and concepts that have shifted the focus from birth control to planned parenthood to the notion of controlled fertility. The place of family planning programs, including their socioeconomic…

This book describes the genesis and aims of 5 folk high schools established in Bangladesh during the last 20 years, the first schools of this kind founded in a Muslim society. Section 1 sketches in the essential background and context of the high school initiatives. It covers geographical facts and, particularly, the significance of historical…

A number of counter-assumptions can be posited to challenge the usual basic assumptions of the professional literacy establishment. These counter-assumptions include the following: (1) literacy is not just a technical skill neutral across all cultures; (2) culture refers to basic questions about truth and knowledge and varies from one society to…

The importance of research in literacy is that it provides some routes to greater efficiency in literacy provision. Research from the past shows how important reading and writing have been over the centuries. Literacy was often invested with social and moral power as well, and religious literacy was the predominant form of reading and writing from…

The aim of the article is to critically consider the implications of the African Renaissance project for skills formation policies and priorities with a focus on the education and training systems of sub-Saharan Africa. The article commences with an account of the origins of the African Renaissance idea and its latest incarnation in the New…

In 1987, the department of Rio San Juan was declared the first "illiteracy-free territory" in Nicaragua, since it had reduced its rate of illiteracy from 96 percent in 1979 to 3.7 percent. This regional literacy crusade was made possible by the facts that the necessary facilities had been provided; a network of consultative committees…

This collection of 20 papers addresses child development and early intervention issues related to literacy acquisition from a cross-cultural perspective. Titles of the papers are: (1) "Preparing Young Children for Literacy: Issues in Theory and Practice" (Lotty Eldering and Paul Leseman); (2) "Jomtien Revisited: A Plea for a…

In order to explain the role that the university can play in the struggle against illiteracy, a distinction must be made between "social" illiterate people, who are dominated by oral tradition, and functional, or "uneducated" illiterate people, who usually know how to read and write, but without having sufficient understanding…