Examines differences among 29 developed nations in educational differentiation and sorting of students for specialized curricula. Compares countries with differentiated and nondifferentiated education systems with respect to costs per pupil and the scores of students in grades 7-8 on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).…

Traces the history of nonformal education in Latin America since the 1920s, highlighting community-based programs, literacy education, vocational training, extension education, popular education, community schooling, and female-dominated social movements. Suggests citizenship education, the needs of indigenous populations, and urban youth…

Rates of primary enrollment, female primary enrollment, private school enrollment, and literacy during 1960-92 were analyzed for 39 sub-Saharan African countries. Throughout the period, strongly Christian countries had higher enrollment and literacy rates than strongly Islamic countries, regardless of economic level, type of state, or colonial…

Describes four types of immigrants to The Netherlands since World War II and three phases of educational policies aimed at compensating for their educational disadvantages. Discusses the disappointing outcomes of compensatory education, bilingual education, intercultural education, and preschool and early school programs, and describes the…

Background for understanding the experience of Muslim immigrant students in French schools. Discusses the philosophy of equal education as equal access to the same knowledge (defined exclusively by the state and teachers); lack of teacher accountability; examination-based selection; and church-state separation. Describes government responses to…

Examines policies and programs at the University of Cape Town, an English-language South African university, and the University of Stellenbosch, an Afrikaans-language university, aimed at diversifying their faculties' racial composition. Assesses underlying assumptions, overall objectives, and effectiveness in recruiting and retaining Black…

Notes changing concerns in the field of comparative education that led to the birth of the journal Comparative Education in 1964. Discusses Nigel Grant's contributions on the journal's editorial board for over 30 years, his role in enlarging awareness of comparative studies as pivotal to developing educational policies, and his sensitivity to the…

Outlines several ways of looking comparatively at democratic educational systems. Examines narratives of democratic education in American educational history; nation-building as a primary policy objective; and conceptual weaknesses of the model of elite, mass, and universal education. Sees current trends toward educational efficiency and quality…

Traces the status of comparative education within educational studies since 1945. Compares the development of educational studies as a university subject and the role of comparative education in educational studies in four leading Nordic universities: the University of Copenhagen, University of Stockholm, University of Helsinki, and University of…

Reflects on Nigel Grant's contribution to the development of comparative education as a scholarly field, as a researcher, writer, and teacher of countless students. Discusses the history of university scholarship and the teacher-student relationship since the first European universities, contemporary debates about the purpose of education, and the…

Examines the Scottish university tradition and the origins and particulars of Scottish-Anglo differences in higher education. Discusses the 19th-century growth of Scottish universities, which lacked formal entrance requirements; students' rights and power in the university; academic degrees awarded; relationship with the state; and student…

Examines the principal needs for educational reform in Poland as outlined in the reformist programs of Polish political parties, the opinions of Polish educational experts, and reports by international organizations. Outlines elements of national reform proposed in 1998 to expand secondary and higher education, equalize educational opportunities,…

Examines Catalan's remarkable revival in Catalonia (Spain) in the past 20 years. Discusses the 1978 referendum designating "autonomous communities," their languages having co-official status with Spanish; increases in Catalan usage in many sectors and among the young; Catalan usage in education; and challenges related to bilingual education,…

Discusses the questionable survival of minority languages worldwide and of the Celtic languages in the United Kingdom. Examines governmental policies concerning the teaching and school use of Welsh, Scots Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic in their respective regions. Outlines some general principles to guide policies related to minority language…

Traces the history of usage of two indigenous languages of Scotland: Gaelic, used largely in the Highlands, and Scots, which developed in parallel with English and is often unrecognized as a separate language because of mutual comprehensibility. Examines changing attitudes toward these languages in educational policy and practices, and current…