Describes Australian financial aid for education to Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Nauru, and its impact on access to education, higher education options, "nationalization" of education, and educational quality. Concludes that Australian aid serves Australian interests and does not address crucial…

Analyzes the relationship between radical social transformation and educational reform in Algeria, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Mozambique, and Nicaragua. Examines seven policy areas before and after transformation: centralized control, access to education, tracking, curriculum, personnel, language of instruction, and literacy. (28 references) (SV)

Surveys of outstanding secondary school principals in the United States and Japan examined career paths, career goals, roles and responsibilities, and attitudes about qualities of educational leadership and the principal's role in producing an effective school. Japanese and U.S. principals had remarkably similar values. Contains 44 references. (SV)

Examines the growth of recognition of adult illiteracy in Western Europe and North America since the early 1970s. Discusses the invisibility of the problem, types of illiteracy identified in schools, importance of literacy across the curriculum, links between illiteracy and poverty, and involvement of international organizations. Contains 36…

Edmund King's writings and research on postcompulsory education in England and western Europe encouraged innovative policies in British further education. Educational opportunities for students aged 16-19 have broadened to include both academic and vocational courses in an effort to ease the school-to-work transition. (KS)

In the 1970s, Edmund King's postcompulsory education research program in five European countries identified the educational needs of the 16-20 age group and influenced related national policy. During the 1980s, King led a research commission and a World Council International Network resulting in a common framework of themes for comparative…

Despite increased participation of 16- to 19-year olds in postcompulsory education in Europe, the following problems exist: (1) lack of agreement about the design of upper secondary curricula; (2) oversupply of technically qualified students resulting from increased technical and vocational education; (3) underemployment of graduates; and (4) lack…

The upward differentiation of occupation-specific education and training to postcompulsory levels in developed nations has been replicated in newly industrializing countries and is being considered by some developing countries. These educational reforms comprise structural changes in sponsorship, finance, delivery, and locus of occupational…

Worldwide expansion of enrollment in postcompulsory education has contributed to an ambiguous "post-adolescence" life stage as young adults transition into adult citizenship. Possible pathways at the end of compulsory schooling have diversified, particularly in developed countries under the influence of vocationalism. Young adults need more…

In European countries, postcompulsory general education programs leading to higher education have traditionally been separate from vocational training programs leading to employment. Recent reforms have led to cooperation and sometimes integration between general and vocational programs and their school-leaving certificates. (KS)

Comparisons of data for Italy and other European countries show that Italy has lower educational attainment for the 25-64 age group, shorter length of compulsory schooling, and less inservice training for employed adults. The Centre for the Study of Social Investment in Italy identified needs for functional literacy, supplementary and vocational…

Prior to the 1980s, Chinese students were educated to submit themselves to national needs based on a rigid manpower plan. Recently, the gradual emergence of a market economy has led to the development of vocational high schools, the possibility of individual choice in careers, and the fading out of job allocation. (KS)

Discusses some areas of particular interest in the study of education in the South Pacific islands: educational development in small, recently decolonized nations; mismatch between policies of donors of international aid and the needs of developing nations; importance of understanding the context of education; and misapplication of educational…

Describes principal characteristics of traditional education in island societies before Western contact, patterns of Western exploration and colonization, and origins of formal Western education in the region. Identifies critical contemporary educational issues: choice of educational delivery systems, establishing the locus of authority,…

Considers the development of culturally relevant curriculum in Pacific Island nations. Discusses the legacies of colonialism in island education, the contrast between alien Western curriculum provided in schools and traditional knowledge transmitted by nonformal means, and the notion of curriculum for "literacy" in indigenous cultures. (SV)