This study features the concept of "context" and how various macro, meso and micro features of the social system play themselves out in any setting. Using South Africa as an example, it explores the features that may constrain or enable professional development, quality teaching and the work of teaching and learning centres at eight…

Adult literacy is a crucial element of community and economic development in South Africa and many developing countries striving to meet Millennium Development Goals. However, few governments invest the recommended 6% of education budgets on programmes for adults. Without resources, volunteer educators and international supporters rely on their…

The number of the world's food insecure rose at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Despite these negative developments, however, a 2010 United Nations report argues that food security could be improved if development efforts are supported by government programs that target smallholder farmers. This report is significant…

The growing population of young people in the world today makes them an indispensable factor in international, regional, national and local development today. The UN World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) and the African Union's African Youth Charter all attest to the concern development stakeholders pay to youth development. This paper…

The Skills for a Changing World project presents evidence of a movement of education systems globally toward a more explicit focus on a broad range of skills that our 21st century society needs and demands. This movement can be seen in the vision and mission statements of education systems as well as through their curricula. Although clearly…

Some 133 million young people (half of Africa's young) are illiterate; many have few or no skills. Such figures tell their own story: African youth need vocational training. This brief reports that technical and vocational systems in Africa are poorly funded and managed, and advocates for the integration of skill-development strategies into…

Positive intercultural attitudes and civic action are increasingly important for youth around the world given the economic, social justice, and environmental challenges they face. Among U.S. youth and emerging adults, ethnic identity and self-efficacy are related to positive intercultural attitudes and may prompt civic engagement. Youth's efficacy…

The underlying assumption to this paper is that learners' ability to appreciate the relevance of school science and its importance to socio-economic development of their communities to a large extent depends on the quality of instruction they receive from their teachers. A popular conundrum is that no country is greater than the calibre of its…

Human capital theory holds that a higher education will be pursued to the extent that its pecuniary rewards outstrip its costs. This notion is founded on the neoclassical economic assumption that expected earnings conditional on educational investment are accurately anticipated by those considering such investments. However, the evidence in…

African and coloured students continue to perform poorly both at public schools and institutions of higher learning. There are two main reasons for their weak performance -- a lack of literacy and numeracy skills, and being under-prepared. This article reports on two findings of a study that was conducted at two high schools in the Western Cape…

"Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. With more than 125 charts and 145 tables included in the publication and much more data available on the educational database, "Education at a Glance 2017" provides key information on the output of…

There is no doubt that universities have a vital role to play in promoting lifelong learning. This publication presents possible ways of expanding and transforming higher education to facilitate lifelong learning in different socio-economic contexts. Nine articles address the various dimensions of the role of higher education in promoting lifelong…

"Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" is the authoritative source for accurate information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; the financial and human resources invested in education; access, participation and progression in…

"Education at a Glance" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; the financial and human resources invested in education; access, participation and progression in education; and…

For many years, mathematics has been conceived as abstract, a product of western values and divorced from people's everyday lives. This has contributed to the fact that rural and economically disadvantaged communities fail to see the link between school mathematics and their real world experiences. Nonetheless, it goes without question that…