A study of 140 first- and second-grade classrooms and 1,925 students in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Ceara examined teaching practices and teacher behaviors in the classroom and their effects on students' early literacy achievement, as well as the influences of student, home, teacher, and school characteristics on literacy scores. (SV)

Supported by Save the Children, the Mali Community School project helped fund school construction in previously unserved villages and accommodated community priorities: instruction in Bambara rather than French, integration of local knowledge into traditional subject areas, and school schedules adapted to agricultural needs. Project evaluation…

Using Lickona's framework of morality, surveys of 1,650 Japanese students and 1,240 U.S. students in grades 5-8 examined student perceptions of moral expectations at home and school and of their own behaviors. Unexpectedly, determinants of moral behavior in the two societies were essentially the same, with school providing the primary influence on…

Research strategies related to data collection and data analysis were identified through content analysis of 427 articles in three comparative-education journals, published between 1985 and 1995, and 112 articles published between 1964 and 1966. In recent years, the strategies used have become more diverse, the geographic focus of research has…

Review of "Women, Education, and Development in Asia: Cross-National Perspectives" (Grace Mak, editor) and "Girls' Schooling, Women's Autonomy and Fertility Change in South Asia" (Roger Jeffery, Alaka Basu, editors) discusses the unpredictable impact of schooling on women, a critical gender-based perspective on human capital theory, effects of…

Draws on ethnographic observations, historical sources, and official documents to examine the historical and contemporary connections among the Mexican "secundaria" (junior high school), the broader ideological and political-economic context of Mexican educational development, and concepts of adolescence in both expert discourse and popular…

Describes how social and economic conditions in Papua New Guinea in 1995 led to an emerging ambivalent attitude toward education among villagers. Illustrates how local conceptions of schooling changed when promised links between education and modernization went unfulfilled, leading villagers to valorize "traditional" identity and subsistence…

Examines trends in urban and rural China, 1949-90, for elementary- and secondary-school enrollments, number of teachers, and educational attainment of males and females. Demonstrates that shifts in the political context of educational policy between a socialist egalitarian agenda and a liberal competitive model have carried real consequences for…

Discusses how the changing status of South Korea in the world economy has affected the movement of Korean human resources in science and technology. Examines trends in overseas study by Korean graduate students, the migration of highly educated personnel, and the recent repatriation of Korean scientists and engineers. (SV)

The editorial, "Some Aspects of the Educational Change Dynamic: Setting School Autonomy and Evaluation in Context" (Cecilia Braslavsky), explains the focus of this issue. This "Open File: School Autonomy and Evaluation" section contains: "Introduction to the Open File" (Norberto Bottani; Bernard Favre); "IPES The System of Indicators for Secondary…

Draws on Weber to argue that clear and persistent differences between French and English primary education arise from deeply embedded cultural traditions through which fundamental value orientations are mediated and that these contrasting value orientations represent secularized educational versions of French Catholicism and English Protestantism.…

Classroom observation and student group interviews in two French and two English elementary schools suggest that student understanding of such educational values as authority, thought, the nature of student control over learning, and educational goals and how to achieve them are related to national culture and affect student motivation. Contains…

Compares the beliefs, goals, and teaching methods of French and English elementary school teachers working in areas of disadvantage to illuminate how teachers in the two countries resolve the dilemmas involved in providing equal educational opportunities to all children. Research before and after recent educational reforms indicates the central…

Compares educational policies and practices related to developing the linguistic competence of young immigrants in France and England, with particular reference to Toulouse and the London borough of Brent. Discusses segregationist versus integrationist approaches, effectiveness of second-language instruction, and provision of mother-tongue…

Examines the implementation of Canadian federal policy on multicultural and antiracist education in Ontario and British Columbia. Focuses on the perspectives of 42 "active players" in the field of race equity education, including teachers, faculty, administrators, and activists. Emphasizes the influence of local political and historical conditions…