At the policy level, the World Bank and other aid agencies evidence a practical orientation, emphasizing problems described as solvable by expertise and improved use of capital. In reality, tension exists between educational planning based on positivistic, technical rationality and political interaction grounded in situational considerations. (JHZ)

In response to limited central government resources available for education, Pakistan has attempted to decentralize educational financing and management. Lifting prohibitions on private schools has brought dramatic increases in enrollments. Preliminary evidence shows improved average quality of schooling, but effects on internal efficiency or…

Studies education's relationship to migration by examining migratory patterns and educational characteristics of those who had moved and chosen not to move in three mestizo and two Indian communities. Shows that much variance in migration that appears to be explained by educational experiences is a product of preexistent background variables. (JHZ)

Reports on research combining quantitative data and qualitative case-studies to examine factors affecting standards in Papua New Guinea's provincial high schools. Concludes that school effects are relatively more important in developing than in developed nations and that only some school effectiveness literature can be generalized to the Third…

Interviews with head teachers gathered information to study the relationship between academic achievement and variables such as availability of classrooms, furniture, and books in Botswana primary schools. In contrast to some studies carried out in the West, research supported the view that school facilities are integral to academic achievement.…

Characterizes modern ashram schools as examples of Indian philosophy translated into practice. Describes essential features of the schools including the concept of dharma, proximity to nature, student-teacher relationship, holistic approaches, performance of menial chores, simplicity, meditation, recitation, intellectual and cognitive skills, and…

Reviews changing attitudes towards the schooling of Black South Africans as revealed in a study of texts and statements by leading White politicians and historians. Discusses dominant schools of educational thought in South Africa focusing on the nationalist/conservative, the liberal, and the radical/neo-Marxist. (JHZ)

Shows how Tunisia's national educational program is implemented unevenly in different regions with resulting disadvantages for rural populations, especially rural girls and women. Specifies ways the politics and public policy appear to influence regional differences in educational outcomes. Examines educational, economic, and political…

Identifies factors that influence the choice of teaching as a career in the small island community of Malta and distinguishes between the factors that sustain or diminish Maltese teachers' occupational commitment. Reports on data derived from a 1982 national investigation among a representative sample of 186 teachers. (JHZ)

A survey of 577 secondary students was conducted to determine pupils' attitudes towards teaching as a profession. Teaching in general, and secondary teaching in particular, was more attractive to females, to students from rural schools, and pupils whose parents had low academic qualifications. (JHZ)

Drawing from interviews with key-informants in planning and policy-making institutions at central and local levels, reports on 1985 education reform programs. Highlights some of the most drastic aspects of the reform and discusses specific issues in basic education, technical/vocational education, and higher education. Notes variety and…

Uses Israel as an example to examine three variables--size, organizational mode, and political value system--and their effects on educational policy making and planning at a national level. Argues that in Israel's case small size, centralization, and democracy interact to create a new type of planning behavior termed the enlightenment approach.…

Delineates the political movements and tensions within Austria that thwarted plans for comprehensive schooling and led to a decision in 1982 to abandon the idea of major, structural educational reform. Looks at reasons for the existence of the current selective school system and improvement measures being tried. (JHZ)

Presents--as a case study--Spain's role in the history of Comparative Education during the nineteenth century. Deals with outstanding political and scholarly contributions as well as processes underlying and leading to the development of a specific, scientific study of foreign systems of education. (JHZ)

From the assumption that all social reality can be usefully viewed as the processes whereby people act and interact in everyday life, this paper argues that the macroanalysis characterizing most comparative education research must be replaced by systematic observation and analysis of the microcosmic world of everyday school life. (Author/SJL)