Asian countries have expanded basic education over the past three decades, due to declining enrollment rates, a booming economy, and supportive national-development strategies. Urgent health, environmental, population, and economic pressures are fueling a move to decentralized education systems and negatively affecting headmasters. School…

Investigates gender differences in determinants of three schooling indicators (grade attainment, current enrollment, and withdrawal from school) in a poor urban area in Guinea. Raising household income leads to greater investments in girls' schooling. Improving fathers' education benefits both sexes' education; improving mothers' education…

Identifies two competing tendencies in higher education: becoming more market-oriented and working for the benefit of society. Argues that partnerships between the community and institutions of higher education are an effective way of contributing to community development. Describes the potential of South Africa's historically disadvantaged…

The chapters of this theme issue describe 11 book-based literacy projects conducted in a variety of countries. In these programs, a "flood" of high-interest books is placed in classrooms, and teachers are shown how to use them to improve children's literacy levels and their attitudes toward literacy. Articles make the case for extending these…

In April, 2000, more than 1,100 participants from 164 countries gathered in Dakar, Senegal, for the World Education Forum sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Participants included teachers, prime ministers, policy makers, executives from non-governmental organizations, and heads of major…

Poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) present a recipient country's program of intent for the utilization of World Bank loans and grants to alleviate debt under the bank's programs of action for poverty reduction in highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs). This article argues that structural transformation is a prerequisite for poverty…

This paper discusses the changes to engineering education introduced through the accelerated engineering-related industrial growth in Asian and other developing countries. While the demand for engineering services is increasing, these nations educate a large number of engineers themselves and many are providing lower-cost alternatives for…

The aim of this article is to talk about the possibilities of work-related adult education programmes within the context of developing countries. The focus of the analysis is on poor populations, particularly those dwelling in rural and marginal urban areas. The background comprises the challenges for productive incorporation, social exclusion,…

This paper is an examination of the pedagogical and cultural impact of the PROPELCA (Operational Research Project for the Teaching of Cameroonian Languages) mother-tongue education program being implemented in the Bafut, Kom and Nso' language communities of the Northwest Province of Cameroon. Using research carried out in 2002-2003, the author…

Based mainly on a study of newspaper adverts for qualifications and tuition courses in Sri Lanka over a period from 1965 to 2000, this paper describes a decentralisation of control over the supply of qualifications. It is argued that this has occurred not through a deliberate policy mechanism to decentralise qualifications, but rather by default,…

India is now in the throes of a higher education revolution, and its colleges are churning out thousands of professionals each year. Despite the fact that 35 percent of its population still cannot read or write, the country has successfully positioned itself as one of the world's foremost producers of math, science, and technology graduates,…

Since Eritrea became independent in 1993, efforts have been underway to revise and update the conventional education curriculum. With a determination to quickly bridge the growing knowledge gap between Eritrea and the rest of the world, the Eritrean Government has decided on media education as a sustainable alternative. This choice is in line with…

There is debate about whether the rate of return to education in developing countries declines with the level of schooling. This paper reports evidence from urban Papua New Guinea which shows that the average private rate of return to an additional year of education rises with the level of education considered. This pattern is robust to the…

Much has been said about the impact of globalisation on higher education. Some have argued that globalisation, the Internet and the scientific community will level the playing field in the new age of knowledge interdependence. Others claim that globalisation means both worldwide inequality and the McDonaldisation of the university. It is argued…

Many computer users around the world have access to the latest advances in technology and use of the World Wide Web (WWW or Web). However, for a variety of political, economic, and social reasons, some peoples of the world do not have access to these resources. The educational systems of developing countries have not completely missed the…