Analyzes institutional responses to homelessness among children and youth in the United States and Brazil as a means of understanding the workings of the neoliberal state, both in developing and developed nations. Highlights a major contradiction of neoliberalism--its promotion of symbolic political and social inclusion, while simultaneously…

Compares the strategies, procedures, and outcomes of educational reform under Argentina's military autocratic government (1976-83) and the civilian democratic government that followed (1983-93). Points out that the harsh change strategies employed by the military regime proved ineffective, even disastrous, but the participative strategies of the…

Examines the role of the state in South African university affairs during the apartheid era (1948-90). Suggests that interactions between the state and universities were more volatile than is generally portrayed in the literature and were especially so during the 1980s when the state struggled unsuccessfully to overcome popular challenges to White…

Case studies of northeast Brazil and northeast Thailand highlight the importance of a subnational approach to comparative research. Compares geographic and economic conditions, regional culture, ethnicity and gender issues, migration patterns, religion, literacy, and educational underdevelopment. Points out that neglect of a region and its people…

Traces the history of Cambodian education, 1945-95, including heavy investment in urban secondary and higher education after independence, Khmer Rouge destruction of the educational system, rapid educational expansion in the 1980s despite the lack of qualified teachers, and present international aid programs to train teachers. Discusses…

Analyzes the role of higher education in China and Taiwan as an agent of both political socialization and economic modernization in the context of economic and social transformations, 1949-95. Examines how cultural traditions, a national belief system, nation building, and foreign relations help maintain a 200-year-old tension between…

Identifies similarities and differences in the French and British models of colonial education in sub-Saharan Africa. Draws on the statements of policymakers in official reports and government studies to highlight the "signposts" of colonial educational policy--phrases referring to policy goals and to moral claims and cultural assumptions…

In Botswana, precolonial Tswana spirituality gave way to European secularization. This, plus related changes in labor patterns, government, and educational practices, led to the transformative educational philosophy that now separates the Tswana from the environment and traditional religious beliefs. This cultural fragmentation underlies the…

During the early colonial period in Cyprus, British officials ignored Cyprus's distinctive characteristics (widespread Christianity and "European" character) and pursued the universal British colonial policy of education "adapted to the (perceived inferior) capabilities and conditions of clients." By 1930, however, political conditions caused a…

Examines transfer of the college credit allocation system, prevalent in American higher education, into a Chinese context. Case study of use of the credit system at Shenzhen University, southern China, indicates that cultural, environmental, and structural factors contribute to the transfer's ineffectiveness. Specialization and narrow curriculum…

In four rapidly developing east Asian nations, educational similarities include strong national curricula and highly competitive selective systems. However, the countries differ in educational funding sources; access to education, particularly tertiary education; extent of state control; relative emphasis on general and technical education; nature…

Explores alternative arrangements for adult access to higher education in England and Wales, France, and Germany, and examines the impact of such arrangements on the relationship between the state and higher education. Draws on Weiler's theory of compensatory legitimation to explain why the noise about such policy innovations is louder than the…

This book on education and challenges in the Pacific Rim contains 12 papers as follows: "Introduction: Education Issues in the Pacific Rim" (Keith Sullivan); "We Can Change Tomorrow by What We Do Today: Aboriginal Teacher Education in Canada" (Lynn McAlpine); "Judging Education: Implications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms"…

Analyzes Chinese policy toward secondary English curriculum during five time periods, 1956-present. Focusing on links between politics and education and on the role of a centralized bureaucracy gives only a partial picture of curriculum development, which also includes a widening base of stakeholders, increasing sensitivity to teacher concerns,…

Traces the emergence and tenuous survival of social studies as a school subject in Hong Kong, 1971-present. Begun by the colonial government for political socialization purposes, social studies was reoriented to prepare students for their future as Chinese citizens. However, adoption of social studies and how it is taught has varied widely in Hong…