Search

This paper examines how international education (IE) as a tool of government foreign policy is challenged in an era of new geopolitics, where China's growing ambitions have increased rivalry with the West. It compares U.S. and Canada as cases first, by examining rationales and approaches to IE in both countries, second, IE relations with China before conflict and third, current controversies and government policy responses to IE relations with China. The paper concludes identifying contextual factors that shape each country's engagement with IE, but suggests that moving forward, the future of IE in a world of new geopolitics is likely to be far more complex and conflictual.

This article examines the rise and fall of a golden age of engagement between American and Chinese institutions of higher education. We assess the political context, examine institutional and demographic variables associated with successful initial joint efforts, and explore why current relationships are unraveling. The authors do not assume alignment in the interests promoting initial cooperation between the United States and China but a convergence of mutual interests. The paper discusses operational realities underpinning support for engagement (a need for coordination in organizational infrastructure, faculty support and what are referred to as "administrative nuts and bolts") associated with meaningful and long-term agreements. We present evidence of a dramatic decline in Sino-U.S. cooperative endeavors in post-secondary education and suggest that a new paradigmatic shift is underway and consider what this might mean for future engagement efforts. Finally, the paper poses recommendations to American institutional leaders for next steps to continue engagement with China.

Educational and cultural exchanges are the cornerstone of U.S. public diplomacy and an integral component of foreign policy. To further this policy objective, the Department of State designates U.S. government, academic, and private sector entities to conduct educational and cultural exchange programs pursuant to a broad grant of authority from the Congress. This paper provides an overview of the Secondary School Student Exchange Visitor Program and presents data describing the 2006-2007 academic year. It offers observations of the current state of these programs and their participants. It also identifies pitfalls that may lead to unsuccessful programs and seeks feedback on how best to avoid them. The Department of State intends that this paper be a first step in an industry-wide dialogue that will encourage best practices and successful programs. (Contains 16 footnotes.)

This publication is intended for three primary audiences: international development professionals who want to define "workforce" for program design purposes, those who seek information about field activities, and those who want to reflect on the implementation of successful, high impact programs--whether they were broad-based or sector-specific projects or local activities. The goal is to provide readers with options and strategies for connecting diverse sets of development objectives through international workforce initiatives. Following a brief introduction, the first chapter briefly reviews international workforce initiatives' historical roles in United States economic and political diplomacy and how they became part of the practice of development assistance. The chapters that follow provide definitions and design principles. The annexes contain more than 80 profiles of projects the Academy for Educational Development (AED) is currently or has recently implemented that have had workforce components. Most of the examples used come from projects implemented in partnership with the U.S. government, projects funded by the United Nations (UN), the Group of Eight (G-8), private foundations, and national governments are also included. Annexes contain: (1) AED Workforce Initiatives--Project Profiles ; (2) AED-Managed Global Technical Assistance Programs; and (3) Profiles of AED Projects with Workforce Components by Category.(Contains 23 endnotes.) [Primary support for this publication has come from AED's Leadership and Institutional Development Group and the AED Center for Enterprise and Capacity Development (CECD).]

To continue to compete successfully in the global economy, play a leadership role in the world, and enhance national security, the United States must ensure that its citizens develop a broad understanding of the world, including other languages and cultures. This paper intends to stimulate discussion among senior federal policymakers and interested organizations about how the federal government and other organizations in the field of international education can best raise awareness on the importance of international education, encourage increased investments in international education, and identify and disseminate best practices in international education. After describing efforts made since the signing of President Clinton's international education policy directive in April 2000, the paper proposes a road map for future work in the directive's 10 core areas: (1) increasing and diversifying study and internship abroad; (2) attracting foreign students and scholars to the United States; (3) addressing obstacles to exchange; (4) supporting the development of international awareness, knowledge, and skills in classrooms and campuses; (5) coordinating and supporting U.S. government-sponsored agencies; (6) developing comparative information on educational performance and practice and sharing expertise with other countries; (7) strengthening cross-national academic partnerships; (8) building international expertise in U.S. institutions; (9) promoting the wise use of technology for international education; and (10) ensuring that results are measured and reported in conformance with Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). Within each of the 10 core areas, the paper describes briefly what the federal government is already doing and what the executive branch proposes to do as part of the international education initiative. The paper ends with an invitation for public-private collaboration and examples of the kinds of activities that interested groups and individuals might undertake. (BT)

This paper reviews the key issues and methodologies involved in the replication of social programs, as they pertain to non-profit sector development in the United States and in international development. The related process of knowledge transfer and dissemination, as well as the more specific strategies involved in replication and going-to-scale are examined. Strategies discussed include the franchise approach, mandated replication, staged replication, concept replication, and spontaneous replication. The universalist and contextualist approaches are also discussed. A principal argument of the paper is that there are few effective and sustainable programs reaching out to large numbers, and that these are difficult to establish. The progress of replication efforts is often measured in terms of criteria such as the effect on participants, the numbers reached, the spread of project sites over a region, or the volume of services extended. Advances are seldom gauged against overall needs in a given country or region; the result is that program impact is often localized and may not significantly affect the total target population. Politicians, researchers, donors and policymakers are advised to use caution in evaluating proposals, as not all of them consider the broader impact of the program. (JPB)

Recent world developments have created an opportune time for nations to vigorously pursue a policy of converting the huge portion of their economies that traditionally have been devoted to military expenditures to more socially productive uses. This paper outlines a strategy for such a conversion, and discusses the issues that must be confronted in such a process. Specific aspects of conversion include: (1) misconceptions about lessening military spending; (2) building a conversion coalition; (3) the paths forged by China and the Soviet Union; (4) upheaval in Eastern Europe; and (5) grassroots initiatives in the West. It is concluded that the gathering pressure for disarmament suggests that conversion will be a topic gaining importance during the 1990's. A number of statistical tables, charts, and maps appear throughout this paper, and 127 endnotes are provided. (DB)

This handbook explores Europe's nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have been working for change in South Africa and now are engaged, or planning to engage in the economic, social, and human resource development of a democratic South Africa. The purposes of the document are to: (1) illuminate for both donor agencies and groups seeking support the complex framework in which the NGOs operate; (2) clarify sources of financial, technical, and informational assistance for sustainable development programs in South Africa; and (3) draw lessons from development policies and experiences taken from the narrative. After an introduction, the report presents the institutional framework, describing both the intergovernmental organizations and the international nongovernmental networks of which it consists. This is followed by the core section of the document, a country-by-country description of European NGOs working with or for South Africa, arranged alphabetically by country from Belgium through the United Kingdom. A concluding section highlights recurring development issues and implications. An attached glossary provides a list of abbreviations for the NGOs discussed in the text. (LBG)

Twenty papers review past activities and future prospects for philanthropic activity in specific social areas. The report is part of a five volume series examining the relationship between nonprofit institutions and their donors. The purpose of the series is to provide impetus for ongoing research and to focus public attention on the significance of the voluntary sector. Volume II, Part I explores privately-financed activities in areas of elementary, secondary, and higher education; the sciences, health; social welfare and social policy; the arts; environment; and public and international affairs. In general the papers examine the changing roles of philanthropy and government in each area and the prospects for the future. Philanthropic profiles of five U.S. cities are included also. These discuss survey methodology, donor allocation findings, and issues such as: Are local foundations meeting their responsibilities to the community? and What would be the impact of changes in federal tax laws affecting the deductibility of charitable donations? (Author/AV)

The nations of the capitalistic world devote a high percentage of their exports to trade with other nations in that group, while the underdeveloped nations send most of their exports to the capitalistic nations. The low wages in underdeveloped countries are critical for the maintenance of their position as dominated, for these low wages allow the dominant industrial countries to receive goods at relatively low cost and also to reduce the internal mass market of the underdeveloped countries to a minimum. In a colonial period, education is used by the capitalist countries to produce elites in the dominated countries. Today universal education policies in the underdeveloped countries keep these countries in a state of underdevelopment, for the costs of education and the growing unemployment rates of the educated in urban areas perpetuate a state of dependency. For the individual rural family, belief in advancement via education hinders the individual production and accumulation process and also creates a number of family liabilities in the form of children who cannot function within the existing rural society because they have never learned the required skills. By teaching things which have no obvious usefulness, institutionalized education plays a major role in creating the required mentality of a working class which can be and is controlled by the dominant classes in both the capitalistic and underdeveloped countries. (JC)

Analysts of U.S.-Soviet balance of power usually focus on relative military strength. But other factors determine a country's overall power and influence. Among the most basic is a country's capacity to feed its people. By this measure the Soviet Union appears to be in deep trouble. Massive spending has increased Soviet military strength in recent years, but the country has become weaker agriculturally. While the two superpowers now appear roughly equal in military strength, the advantage in agriculture has shifted dramatically toward the United States. The U.S. exportable food surplus is climbing, while Soviet dependence on food imports is growing. The dramatic shift in the agricultural balance of power between the two countries has been decades in the making, but contrasting food surpluses/deficits have been highly visible only in the last decade or so. As deterioration of Soviet agriculture continues, the need to import food will become even greater. The relationship between grain flow from the United States to the Soviet Union constitutes a new economic tie between the two countries, one that could eventually transform their political relations as well. (JN)

Intended to provide background for study and discussion, this publication gives updated information on development in sub-Saharan Africa and provides a basis for understanding U.S. policy toward this vital region. The strengths, problems, politics, natural resources, and language and ethnolinguistic groups of this area of the world and the international and regional organizations active here are discussed in detail. Extensive data tables include information on the population, culture, education, labor force, imports, exports, estimated U.S. economic assistance, date of independence, type of government, and chief of state and/or head of government for each of the 46 independent countries south of the Sahara. The 55-item bibliography is divided into three sections: reference and introductory material, historical and cultural background, and contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. (AA)