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Based on the work of Bourdieu, this paper analyses how far formal education within a revolutionary setting can act as a 'strategy-generating' institution in terms of enabling women to aspire to and achieve goals they would not even have envisaged pre-revolution. In making its case, it draws on the examples of three revolutionary societies: Vietnam (since 1976), Nicaragua (1979-1990) and Eritrea (since 1991). It is argued that even though not eliminating gender as a discriminatory marker, education indeed creates room for personal emancipation. While this could equally be achieved by openings within a neo-liberal setting, a strong focus on fostering social cohesion makes educational policies in revolutionary societies different. The paper ends by arguing that revolutionary states can offer valuable lessons for education as a source of social equity. It advocates to newly consider what type of state supports what kind of education system and for what purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The views in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of CERI and IIR. In 2006 Vietnam had experienced more than two decades of reform. However, while the reforms have transformed the entire Vietnamese economy and opened the country to globalization, the education system is still very much under the Vietnamese Communist Party's control. The schoolbooks are published under close supervision of the authorities. The national autobiography in which children are instructed has not changed much since the first conceptions of the Vietnamese revolutionaries and nationalists: as in many young nations, myths and legends have a fundamental place in the national history. Moreover the historical narrative youngsters are educated in serves the purpose of justifying communist rule and the leading role of the VCP in this process: the VCP is pictured as the midwife of the Vietnamese modern nation. Since the start of the reform process, the pressures and challenges on this system of history education have been growing. However, even if some voices have now started to call for a more subdued national autobiography, the national story is clearly not to be 'de-nationalized' any time soon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the education in Vietnam. Improvements on the wealth and health in Vietnam; Details on plans by the Government relating to poverty and national health; Impact of population growth on Vietnam's educational goals; Information on the disadvantaged groups in Vietnam; Morals and wealth of the teachers; Funding for educational development.