Search

Participation, a 'buzzword' in social development in both developed and developing countries, has several different interpretations in terms of purpose, form and implication. For instance, parents are encouraged to participate individually in choosing the school for their own children, and they are expected to participate collectively in school development through the work of school governing bodies. Furthermore, participation in education is often considered to be a means of assuring accountability of decentralised institutions. This paper explores the notion of parental participation in school governance, based on data obtained from field research in Uganda. It argues that parents' perceptions of the accountability of the school affect the way they participate in education. Thus, accountability is one of the crucial factors for realising local democracy through decentralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since World War II, much of the economic growth literature has focused on the contribution of human capital to national development. Two assumptions have remained largely unexamined: (i) economic stability results from economic growth, and (ii) investments in human capital result in economic growth (ceteris paribus). This paper questions this education-stability link by examining longitudinal data from France and Germany across 170 years. Results indicate that human capital investment prior to 1945 was a response to economic growth. It is only since 1945 that human capital investments appear to drive economic growth. A shift since 1973 leads to doubts as to whether the post-war human capital-driven growth is being sustained. The results raise the question of whether human capital investment might not be as much a consequence as it is a cause of economic stability in the course of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has a unique education system. The overwhelming majority of children are enrolled in private schools. In the absence of a functioning system of public schools, religious communities and private operators have become the main providers of educational services. This situation raises the question of the fairness of a system in which the quality of the education children receive is directly related to the level of tuition their families can afford. This paper assesses whether private education is playing an appropriate role in a poor country like Haiti in terms of providing quality education and promoting equity. It also reviews strategies which could allow the government to use its limited financial resources in a more cost-effective and equitable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Presents information on educational reform. Details on the educational systems in Latin America; Educational provision in Macau; Examination of educational systems traditionally dominated by national examinations.

Comments on the article by Geraldine McDonald about a research into the relative performance of the youngest in the year group in different countries, published in the volume 31:3 issue of the 'Compare' journal. Birth date effects; McDonald's attempt to explain the persistence of season of birth effects in Great Britain; Age-related organization in English and Welsh schools.

This paper reports on an initiative that took the strategy of youth consultation in programme planning one step further by putting a research project's design, data collection, analysis and presentation of findings in the hands of young women and men who have experienced education and discontinuity of education in a long‐term refugee camp. The participatory action research (PAR) process is described and assessed with attention to how PAR may serve as a practical, credible and ethical methodology for research with refugee youths about refugee youths. This case study reflects that PAR can yield new insights for developing youth‐focused initiatives and positive personal experiences for youth participants, including limited forms of empowerment. Ultimately, however, the structural inequalities imposed by refugee status require redress if the goal is the long‐term empowerment of youths in camps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the presence of ‘peacebuilding islands’ within civil society as potential agents of transformation in the midst of intractable conflict. Focusing on the particular case of the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict, the argument stems from a deconstruction of the legacy of national myopia perpetuated through social and political institutions and the capacity of individuals to impact them. Inspired by feminist organisations and the personal experience of feminist peace activists in Israel and Palestine, the author discusses the intersection of a variety of peacebuilding and educational initiatives as paramount to the building of a culture of peace in the region. The study embraces strategies that challenge the structural, socio‐cultural and inter‐personal status quo as part of a multi‐layered effort at transforming conflict in the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Comments on the study of comparative economics of education. History of the emergence of the discipline; Human capital and economic growth; Economic cycles; Labor markets.

Presents a study which examined the relationship between the national context and national educational values as these are translated into the school context, teacher beliefs, classroom processes and pupil perspectives on learning and schooling. Theoretical framework and aims of the research; Methodology and findings; Difference in perceived functions of schools; Conclusion.

Offers information on a study which examined how teachers have sought to alter relations of authority and the nature of their work within schools, and how these have interacted with managerial and state initiatives in South Africa. Background on related literature; Outline of the main lines and forms of teachers' organizations; Discussion on the teachers' work under apartheid.

Suggests that laissez-faire market principles have failed to provide high quality schooling in Macau and that considerable state intervention is required to ensure that education develops as a public good in Macau. Education as a private service or a public good; Schooling in Macau; Agenda for reform.

Looks at two contrasting countries, England and Ghana, with a view to examining the rationale behind the introduction of systems of school-based, continuous assessment by teachers. Teacher assessment in England; Continuous assessment in Ghana; Two research projects about the analyses of continuous assessment in England and Ghana.

Establishes that policy formation occurs from the interaction between existing local conditions and the global economy. Details on the studies carried out on three regional educational trends; Identification of the trends; Method of the studies done; Results of the study.

Editorial. Introduces a series of articles about comparative education. Establishment of specialist school programs in England and New Zealand; Quality of education in Haiti; Applicability of exogenous models of education change.

This article attempts to locate approaches to understanding gender, education and notions of the international within debates on global social justice and cosmopolitanism. It looks at the work of three feminist scholars (Martha Nussbaum, Onora O'Neill and Iris Young) on this theme, draws out some ways in which they engage critiques of cosmopolitanism and considers some of the implications of their work for thinking about gender equality and comparative education. Two examples of work on gender equality in education at global level are assessed: the attempt to introduce gender dimensions into assessments of global financing for Education for All through the Fast Track Initiative and improved forms of monitoring of gender equality in education at national and international levels. The difficulties encountered and some of the implications for understanding discussions of cosmopolitanism are outlined, together with a case for strengthening and supporting work on gender and global social justice that takes participation and ethical reflection as a central concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internationalisation of higher education aims to produce 'citizens that feel at home in the world' but the process is driven by both economic and educational motivations. Today, the international community aspires to promote Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC), together planetary citizenship, and with them emphases on personal and ethical responsibilities to the environment and future that contrast with current competitive individualism. Driven by rising numbers of international students, curricula are already shifting toward more global assessments of society and environment. However, progress is being impeded by management systems that take commerce as their model. While instructors strive to ensure that learners consider their responsibilities through ESD and EDC, their message is being contradicted by their context. Since learners learn from their total environment, not just in classrooms, changes are required. Granting greater attention to sustainability issues and the empowerment of learners and teachers would allow a better constructive alignment between educational and economic imperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative Education (CE) in Teacher Education (ITE) receives little attention in the literature, and this attention is mainly focussed on its decline in Western Countries. This article highlights, however, that it is not declining to the same extent in some countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and in South Africa. The study, upon which the article is based, explores a completely neglected aspect of CE in ITE - the perceptions of student teachers studying CE. The research was conducted among student primary teachers in Ireland and South Africa. Even though some similarities emerge, their perceptions are mainly divergent. It is in the analysis of this divergence, however, that a rich picture of student perceptions emerges. The main findings are: the Irish students knew much less about CE than their South African counterparts, and their main motivation for studying CE was to enable them to work abroad, whereas the South African students wanted to learn about other systems of education in order to improve Education in South Africa. Other findings concerning the extent to which CE is considered to enable student teachers to improve their teaching, are interesting and these are considered in the discussion section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the use of visual methodologies to examine images of girls used by development agencies to portray and promote their work in girls' education, and provides a detailed discussion of three report cover images. It details the processes of methodology and tool development for the visual analysis and presents initial 'readings' of the selected images. This initial study highlights the relevance of image analysis to the field of gender, education and development and of critical reflection on the different messages and meanings inherent in images of girls and girls' education which relate to complex questions of power and privilege, position and post-coloniality. The authors recommend that within development agencies education and communication specialists work together to develop more sophisticated processes for image selection, review and feedback, and that researchers in the field further engage with visual methodologies to inform current theories of girlhood, education, schooling and empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we describe the application of a phenomenological hermeneutical method for interpreting interview texts. The subject of the interviews was to ask 'what is the experience of being an educated woman' and get to the core of the experience as much as possible. Using an exploratory phenomenological method to document women's narratives assumes significance to seek the meanings of women's experiences, not truths. Texts were read as a whole, as parts and then again as a whole, recognising patterns of commonalities and differences within an individual's narrative and across individuals' narratives. Layers of sub-themes, main themes and a phenomenological theme were created for a deeper understanding of the lived experience. This understanding reveals new possibilities to understand the experience of being an educated woman. Methodologically the narratives illuminate women's tensions and conflicts. Theoretically, their insights provide newer ground to analyse educated women's experiences lived in a particular socio-cultural structure. Especially if there are contradictions in what is prophesised and what is actually lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between the propagation of religious nationalist citizenship discourses in classrooms and inter-religious conflict in the context of two developing democracies, India and Israel. The author concludes that students schooled in religious nationalist ideology in developing nations are at greater risk of accepting exclusionary citizenship discourses without adequate critical analyses of their implications due to poor nations' tendencies toward teacher-centred and textbook-based instruction that neglects the development of critical thinking faculties. The acceptance of these ideologies appears to be correlated with an increase in inter-religious conflict, social destabilization and the subversion of democracy. The corruption of democratic ideals by religiously motivated citizenship discourses has however been partially offset by the power of the vote and other structures inherent in democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While implementers are often blamed, reformers themselves are usually responsible for sub-optimal implementation of educational reform projects. This article shows that the conditions for successful implementation, which are known and accessible, are frequently ignored. The case study concerns a university that is engaged in in-service teacher education reform in Pakistan, focusing on introducing a 'learner-centred' approach in schools. The research identified severe shortcomings related to implementation of the new approach, mostly relating to a failure by the teacher-educators to understand and adapt to the actual contexts in which the teachers work. Finally, we suggest reasons why there are so many instances of failed reforms in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender inequality exists within higher education in the UK and Germany. In the UK only 15.3% of professors in pre- and post-1992 universities were women (2003), whilst in Germany only 8.6% attained the highest grade of professorship (2003). The research uses existing data sets combined with theoretical constructs to investigate the reasons for gender inequality in British and German higher education. It examines and evaluates equality legislation in action, it teases out the social and epistemological aspects of gendered behaviour within the work situation of female academics and it investigates why female academics have a more difficult time gaining promotion in German than in British universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family literacy programmes have become increasingly popular with policy-makers as a means of addressing low levels of adult literacy. It is believed that such initiatives will help to address social exclusion and aid greater economic participation by those in deprived communities or from disadvantaged sectors of society. The growing interest in such initiatives comes at a time of international concern over general levels of literacy, as highlighted by the United Nations literacy decade 2003-2012 and in Europe by the Lisbon Agenda. In this article, which draws on the findings from a cross-European study of family literacy programmes in England, Ireland and Malta, we argue that disparate agendas characterizse policy and practice. We conclude by considering the implications for the future of family literacy programmes in promoting social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the Cuban education system, which is well known for its focus on inclusion and equality of opportunity, but also for its focus on political and ideological conformity. The economic crisis in Cuba has led to an educational crisis as well, both in terms of teacher shortages and a decrease in quality and in political/ideological commitment. In 2001 a comprehensive transformation of the education system in Cuba was introduced. This transformation followed in the wake of 'the battle of ideas', a campaign introduced to mobilize the youth for the defence of the revolution. The article critically examines the ideas and ideology behind the transformation policy and discusses the problem of ideological exclusion, despite the inclusiveness of the system (free education). Education in Cuba has not received a cent from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund since the revolution, but is still reputed to have one of the best school systems (if not the best) in the developing world. The article discusses this claim (what is meant by best?) and examines the lessons to be learnt from the Cuban educational experience. Its uniqueness in a global perspective - what the author defines as cultural capital more or less universally distributed - represents an alternative educational route that ought to be studied carefully by other countries in both the south and north. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a speech by Keith M. Lewin, president of the British Association for International and Comparative Education, entitled "Diversity in convergence: access to education for all," delivered during the association's biennial conference held in Belfast.

Refugee1 young people are an educationally diverse group. However, unlike groups such as Gypsy/Roma and Travellers, in the UK they do not attract targeted educational funding. In addition, neither the UK integration or refugee educational strategies nor the Higher Education Funding Council for England's strategic plan refer to higher education as a progression route for young refugees, as distinct from other minority ethnic young people. Our research with young refugees has shown that many have specific issues affecting their educational achievements, including interrupted education, experience of trauma, concerns about status and English language difficulties. Our findings also show that that despite these multiple disadvantages many view higher education as a route out of poverty and discrimination and are highly aspirational and motivated. We argue that homogenizing the support needs of young refugees along with those of other minority ethnic students is both inappropriate and insufficient and the continued failure to focus on them as a specific widening participation group will perpetuate their continued absence from the UK higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clubs will do peer education; the clubs will be a forum for affected students to share their experiences. (HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor, Ministry of Education, 4 October 2004) The clubs extend what we do in the communities. We train the leaders so that they can do peer education. (AIDS health official, 2 October 2004) In this article, we make the case that HIV/AIDS clubs in Ugandan schools provide valuable information to students who may not have easy access to health services. As one club motto suggests, the clubs 'talk what others think you can't talk'. The innovative peer education methods, which include drama, popular culture and community outreach all have great appeal to youth, and provide unique opportunities for female students to raise gender issues and develop leadership skills. We conclude that innovative adaptation of the Ugandan model may complement other HIV/AIDS educational programmes in Africa and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the changes in Russian higher education policies and the role of international organizations - the World Bank and OECD - in promoting education reforms in this country. General and specific recommendations offered by the World Bank and the OECD expert teams to improve Russian higher education are analysed to determine if any of their suggestions have been considered and applied in recent government policies. We explore the mechanisms though which new policies are implemented at the institutional and national levels. Finally, we suggest that higher education institutions and the Russian government experience coercive, mimetic, normative and discursive pressures emanating from these global policy actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A closed-form questionnaire was used to explore the ideas of school students about the composition of air, the causes and consequences of air pollution and the extent to which the students would accept various courses of action to reduce air pollution. Items for the questionnaire were derived from the results of interviews and an earlier open-form questionnaire. More than 3000 students aged 11 to 17 years and from Australia, Hong Kong and the UK were surveyed. There was a degree of similarity between students from the different countries in their knowledge about air composition and air pollution. In terms of attitudes, however, there were differences in students' opinions about the acceptability of actions to improve air quality. Path analysis of the data appeared to show that Hong Kong students are more amenable to education as an instrument to influence their attitudes. For the other countries, the acceptability of actions for environmental protection was related to the degree of concern about air quality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture impedes educational transactions between developed countries, and is often an area of tension when developing countries try to borrow models, or have models imposed upon them. This article uses the German Dual System as a case for examining issues surrounding the adaptation of borrowed models. Since attempts at borrowing models can fail for cultural as well as non-cultural reasons, a contention here is that culture needs to be unpacked and laid bare, to avoid it becoming the too easy answer for failure. Borrowed models have a greater chance of taking hold, if the conditions that forged them are understood, and if conditions of the receiving country are likewise internalized. Limits imposed by culture have to be recognized. Four approaches to cultural borrowing that conceivably can reduce the tensions are proposed namely, partial borrowing, pilot borrowing, customization and conceptual borrowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the representation of Chinese identity in museums in the People's Republic of China, comparing this briefly with the portrayal of local and national identities in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In particular, the article looks at the implications for museums of the shift in emphasis within state ideology from socialism to patriotism - a shift that has been particularly marked since the early 1990s. Museums in contemporary China are officially designated as 'bases for patriotic education', but the content of the 'patriotism' that they are meant to promote remains in many respects vague or problematic. One of the key tensions here is that between a deep-rooted assumption of equivalence between 'Chinese' and 'Han' culture and history, and the multicultural reality of the contemporary People's Republic - including as it does a range of non-Han groups such as Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongols. The progressive abandonment of socialism has in some ways exposed these contradictions more starkly in recent years. Meanwhile, the homogenous and totalising official vision of Chinese identity in general, and Han identity in particular, is contested either at the popular or the official level (or both) in the largely Han communities of Hong Kong and Taiwan. In a rapidly commercialising and modernising China, the promotion of a state-centred patriotism has become a key instrument for the regime in its efforts to preserve its legitimacy, and museums represent a key element in this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present-day Moldova there is a perpetuation and continuity of Soviet academic culture, in which history is viewed as 'a science' and not subject to a multiplicity of interpretations. A relatively small and interconnected group of historians dominate the academy and subsequently the textbook writing. They wield a great deal of power in socializing national subjects. The special place of historians in society creates an obstacle for effective civic education in the Moldovan classroom because it creates educational hierarchy, which is detrimental to the development of those skills and virtues that are considered essential for democratic society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses issues pertaining to language policy in Zimbabwean education beginning with the establishment of formal education under colonial rule. English is the official language of business, government and education, and the dominant language in the media. Official policy, before and after independence, has been characterised by continuities, rather than change, providing limited support for the development of indigenous languages. Furthermore, the capacity to support the development of indigenous languages has declined in recent years. The curriculum policy has progressively served to provide avenues for engaging and locking into limited networks of opportunities within and outside the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of increasing recruitment of overseas students by British higher education (HE) institutions, there has been a growing need to understand the process of students' intercultural adaptation and the approaches that can be adopted by British academic institutions in order to facilitate and support these students' learning experience in the UK. Drawing upon one-year of in-depth qualitative research investigating the experience of a small cohort of Chinese postgraduate students' in a British university, I explore the three-fold 'stress-adaptation-growth' intercultural learning process of these participants by focusing the discussions on the their lived experience in the UK. The key argument of this article is that intercultural adaptation is in itself a process of intercultural learning, which has the potential to bring about profound changes in overseas students themselves, transforming their understanding of the learning experience, self knowledge, awareness of the Other, and values and worldview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article elaborates the concept of educational projects, a term that signifies consistent constellations of institutions, financial resources, social actors, ideologies, theories of knowledge and attendant pedagogies that shape local cultural practices of schooling. The article demonstrates the utility of the concept of educational projects for comparative and international educational studies by examining competing educational projects in Brazilian literacy programmes for youth and adults. In conclusion, the article argues that the concept of educational projects provides a theoretically rich comparative tool for the field of comparative and international education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses a case study of rural education in Ghana to investigate an important element of the decentralisation agenda – community participation in schooling. Drawing on a theoretical framework derived from Bourdieu, it argues that schooling and community life are two distinct and differently structured fields. The research demonstrates how this acts as a severe constraint on attempts to mobilise community social capital for the improvement of the school. The position is further complicated by specific postcolonial socio-cultural conditions and a view of community that does not correspond with people's experience. The article concludes by arguing that if community participation is desirable in itself, then the state, through the school, should be active in trying to create it, rather than looking to the community to develop the school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential of cross-national achievement studies through a critical reflection upon the experience of South Africa's participation in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). There are a growing number of multi-country and international achievement studies. While recognizing the limitations of these studies, this article considers how far these studies can be an effective tool for the generation of in-country information that can usefully inform policy and practice. It is argued that improvements can be made by using a simpler methodology for the analysis and presentation of information; better ways of analysing the influence of domestic dimensions of poverty, inequality and social stratification; and improved strategies for assessing progress over time against national baselines. The article concludes with a set of questions for systems to consider when thinking about participating in international or multi-country achievement studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pearlette Louisy raises issues of pressing concern for the future of Caribbean education. Here, I elaborate on some of the dilemmas that she raises. Interwoven in this discussion are sketches of potentially positive scenarios in a globalising future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a revised version of the 2003 British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) Presidential Address delivered at the 7th Oxford International Conference on Education and Development . The processes of globalisation have been viewed by some as a major threat to the qualitative research tradition in education. Two main aspects of the impact of globalisation on qualitative research are addressed here. Firstly, it is argued that given the vital role of culture in mediating global policies at different levels, qualitative research still has a very important role to play. Secondly, it is argued that the knowledge and information revolution associated with globalisation has created an increasingly positivist climate that represents both a challenge for, and a challenge to, comparative education as it is currently conceived--particularly in the UK. This is illustrated by the growing international interest in systematic review methodology and its associated privileging of quantitative research strategies, such as randomised controlled trials, in evidence-based policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the music taught and its associated cultural values in Shanghai and Taipei primary and secondary schools. Both owe their cultural ascendancy to traditional Chinese music and western musicology. How do the music education systems of these two Chinese communities reflect their respective public cultures and political ideologies? Data from a sample of 3204 Shanghai and Taipei Chinese school students showed that tensions between classroom music activities and pupils' musical preferences arose from the difficult preservation of cultural and political identity in both Mainland China and Taiwan. Dilemmas concerning the use of music for patriotic and ideological purposes are also discussed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the effects of educational expansion on the functioning of the labor market. Production of qualifications and growth in skills; Dynamics of the European education systems; Factors influencing educational processes; Impact of educational expansion on jobs, remuneration and social position of the more highly qualified generations.

The debate concerning the various determinants of economic growth has attracted considerable attention. The argument according to which endogenous growth models explain long-term economic growth is often put forward. Particularly, it is held that the production of knowledge by education induces self-sustained growth. In spite of numerous theoretical developments, attempts at empirical verification give contradictory conclusions. The aims of this article are therefore to undertake a critical reading of the theoretical contribution of new growth theories and to present an empirical testing for France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to justify or invalidate the probable endogenous nature of economic growth induced by education. The results are surprising and in contradiction with the hypothesis of new growth theories: human capital returns are decreasing and knowledge produced by education cannot be the engine of self-maintained economic growth. These results induce new kinds of questions: does that mean that there is no causality link between education and economic growth? Econometric tests seems to invalidate this causality relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis examines whether the unique mix of traditional and modern institutions in the Gulf region structures educational opportunity. We begin with a theoretically comparative framework, which emphasizes the blending of cultural capital differentiation with the cross-national adoption of similar models of schooling. We then use historical and cultural data to contextualize our analyses through mini-case studies aligning Gulf State-Islamic ideology within Iran and Kuwait's educational systems, specifically. Using cross-national data, we empirically test these assumptions in comparative context for Iran and Kuwait. Initial results for the hypothesized relationships rely on both descriptive analyses of resource availability and level of curricular influence in each country, as well as measures of students' expectations and attitudes towards schooling. We then expand these initial cross-national comparisons with multilevel regression models that estimate the effects of educational opportunity indicators on the technical processes and outcomes of schooling. In other words, our analyses not only indicate whether this intersection of traditional and modern institutions influences students' opportunity to learn but also provide preliminary empirical indicators of how this might happen by estimating the degree of penetration of Gulf State culture and religious ideology into schools' organizational environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the process of educational decentralization in Malawi. Context of governmental decentralization in Malawi; Quality of primary education provision in the country; Absence of an automatic link between decentralization and the improvement of quality; Support given by the British Department for International Development to the Primary Community Schools Project in Malawi.

Focuses on oral youth culture of adolescent males in rural Jamaica. Sense-making strategies; Bypassing of scripted literacy as an effective means of learning to concentrate on oral and visual media literacy; Youth educational underparticipation or underachievement.

According to research on 'pillarization', some European countries (such as Belgium and the Netherlands) are internally divided into blocs of different religious and political persuasions. In this article, it is indicated that the success of the pillars has never been unambiguous. In domains of professional services, like education and health care, the pillars were successful. Other societal sectors, which function more impersonally, could escape from their influence. Pillars could flourish in societal sectors, whose functioning depends on face-to-face contacts. This explains why 'religious virtuosos' were able to fulfil such a prominent role in the Catholic pillar, and especially in Catholic education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An end-of-century critique of the political and economic assumptions underlying five decades of international development assistance conceives it as a system of structural violence that prevented the people of Africa from realising post-colonial self-reliance. New impoverishment through neo-liberal democratisation and the conditionalities attached to structural adjustment, is reducing the quality of life through cuts in hard won economic, social and educational opportunity and their liberatory potential. Moving beyond schooling for sub-ordinate roles in the new society is the current conceptualisation of humans as depoliticised resources interfacing the machines of capitalist enterprise. This links to aid inspired capacity-building initiatives, which undermine the abilities of organisations and states to sustain essential routines and initiate indigenous innovation. At the same time, the victims of colonial and neo-colonial oppression, particularly women and peasants, as victims of other people's progess and mal-development, have unparalled holistic and ecological knowledge of what the production and protection of life is all about. From a post-victimology perspective, theirs are the new voices for liberation and transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Malawi Primary Community Schools Programme was conceived within the context of a new democracy, a changing policy environment and some of the worst social indicators in the world. It was developed through a consultative process on the tide of the introduction of free primary education. While the programme was part of a long-term social sector development programme which aimed to bring social and economic benefits to the population at large, the Community Schools Programme developed its own strategies designed to have an impact on poverty for a limited number of people in the short term. These are analysed in terms of impact on the poor and influence on other pro-poor policies and strategies. The authors conclude that it is possible for a programme in one sector to benefit the poor and to influence other programmes to be more pro-poor, but that this would be more effective as part of a broader multi-sector strategy. They also conclude that the reported impact was achieved through integration between the processes of construction, education and community participation, rarely mirrored in typical ministry settings, and that there would be value, both to Malawi and others, in documenting and analysing the dynamics and institutional issues which made this possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How are we to educate young people of, and for, these times in a way which takes into account the existential and moral dilemmas of our age? We argue that the current education system fails to address the full implications of historical change in relation to ethics and equity. In what follows, we offer some ways of describing and theorising contemporary life in an age of uncertainty. We offer it as a knowledge base from which teachers, principals and policy makers might draw in creating new morally and ethically sound policy discourses. We follow with some new frameworks for helping students to deal with the altered context of moral and political life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]