Explores two main themes in Gerald Fast's paper about living and teaching in Zimbabwe: learning from cultural immersion (e.g., protocols as help and hindrance, supportive cultural structures, and immersion experience as a constructive or constricting teacher) and clarifying one's teaching philosophy and practices. Discusses learning through making…

This paper explores gender violence in schools in what is commonly known as the "developing world" through a review of recent research written in English. Violence in the school setting has only recently emerged as a widespread and serious phenomenon in these countries, with the consequence that our knowledge and understanding of it is embryonic;…

This paper aims to develop a theoretical and practical framework for lifelong learning which will contribute to bridging the development divide, thus facilitating the implementation of the MDGs on both a global and personal level. We see this happening through the direct personal and professional involvement of development professionals (that is,…

Investment in secondary schooling in sub-Saharan Africa has been neglected over the last two decades. Emphasis on universalising primary schooling has shaped national policy and flows of international assistance to favour rapid expansion at the first level of schooling. Though there are many good reasons for this emphasis, this has resulted in…

Many social indicators are based on household consumption information. The valuation of non-monetary operations is crucial for the analysis of consumption surveys in developing countries because of the importance of own-consumption and transfers in kind. What are the price statistics used in the valuation of consumption indicators? How is the…

Describes how development cooperation can help achieve developmental education goals, noting the impact of education on cultural, social, and material prosperity in later life, and discussing how quality education is the gateway to participation in society and better wages. The article examines challenges to quality education in developing…

The author assesses the 1987 educational reforms in Ghana that mandated increased emphasis on inquiry and problem-solving teaching methods in training colleges. While teaching practices were not as rote and dictatorial as scholars have often claimed, trainees and teachers shied away from methods that could lead to ''indiscipline.'' Their concern…

This article compares the invariance properties of two methods of psychometric instrument calibration for the development of a measure of wealth among families of Grade 5 pupils in five provinces in Vietnam. The measure is based on self-reported lists of possessions in the home. Its stability has been measured over two time periods. The concept of…

This paper explores how an aid-funded Ph.D.-programme in mathematics education instituted in some Southern African Development Community countries measures up to issues related to research capacity development projects. The research capacity development programme is described and reflected against mutual benefit, relevance, sustainability and…

The purpose of this article is to analyze, discuss, and assess some of the competing viewpoints and factors regarding the role of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) within civil society. By outlining the various actions that civil society organizations (CSOs) need to take in order to maximize the positive impacts and mitigate…

In the context of the UN Literacy Decade (declared in February 2003), the present paper suggests three parameters that should be considered when new tools for assessment are considered in less developed countries (LDCs), each of which poses a special challenge to international comparative literacy assessment, such as in the International Adult…

Quality is high on the education agendas of developing countries. Much time, effort, and finance have been poured into various initiatives and reforms in an effort to improve quality in these countries. However, so far success has been limited and the quality of education in many developing countries remains poor. Efforts to explore the reasons…

This article explores the important role that the religion of Islam plays in the education of Egyptian children. The scrutiny under which the Islamic world finds itself in the after-math of September 11, 2001 has resulted in calls for educational reform, not only from the outside world, but also from the Muslim world itself. The author has a…

Squatter settlements or "shanty towns" are often viewed as a problem confined to poorer countries of the developing world. Turkey is centered neither in the impoverished Third World nor the industrialized West, but has experienced rapid urban growth and related modernizing social tensions attendant with its headlong pitch into the…

Over the last several decades a number of strategies have emerged and evolved to promote gender equity in development efforts. Yet debates regarding the relative efficacy of these strategies remain. On Thursday, April 26, 2007, the Woodrow Wilson Center convened a group of experts on gender and development to address the issue of gender inequality…