This paper examines the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in advancing the cause of education for all and livelong learning. After examining the claimed benefits of ICTs for promoting education and schooling, and the characteristics of education and the basic education movement in Asia, the paper focuses on providing a case…

As the ubiquitous force of globalization further erodes the nation-state and political activity increasingly focuses on global issues, there is renewed attention to models of global education. Within this global context, human rights education emerges as a response to the demands of global education. One of the main objectives of the United…

This paper provides an overview of the complex relations among history, education, political economy, and social change in Vietnam. Vietnam has a long history of education and a literate culture. The evolution of Vietnamese culture and society is characterized by both persistence and change. Social and political persistence and change have been…

Schools in Singapore are now tasked to develop the spirit of innovation and enterprise in their students. This is in line with the national vision of "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation". This policy initiative, which began in 2004, is set to change the fundamental nature of education in Singapore. This article discusses the innovation and…

In Japan, there has been an increased concern about family and community participation in the child's education. Traditionally, the role of parents and community in Japan has been one of support and less one of active involvement in school learning. Since the government commenced education reforms in the last quarter of the 20th century, a more…

This paper highlights how a developing country like the Philippines incarnates a learner-centered approach in its overall education framework. Specifically, key policies and strategies relative to curriculum development, pedagogical issues, educational innovation and evaluation, professional development of teachers and school-community dynamics…

This research explored the management devices followed in successful schools in the Indian context. In-depth case studies of three successful Navodaya schools were carried out. The schools were identified on the basis of the academic performance of students in the last three years in the national examinations and their participation in…

Describes the development of a new institutional infrastructure for service coordination in a Chicago university-community-school partnership project. Examines convening and goal-structuring processes, institutional interests and reward systems, relations to external environments, communication linkages, and institutional conventions.…

Reports findings from an exploratory investigation of a comparatively low dropout rate in a predominantly Mexican American school district (Calexico, California). Although many features contribute to the district's ability to retain students, these are best understood as interrelated parts of a complex system. The most important factor appears to…

Key components of American educational reformers' results-oriented strategies include creation of world-class standards, curriculum frameworks, and "voluntary" national tests. Similar reforms already exist in England under the 1988 Education Reform Act's mandated national curriculum and assessment system. This article describes the British…

Local school districts do not figure prominently in contemporary school reform efforts centered at state and school levels. This article examines how two school districts responded to an expanding state role in instructional policy making. Case studies underline districts' key reform role and suggest that state and local instructional policies are…

Devising better definitions and measures of school choice practices and policies would improve understanding of choice and help evaluate its prevalence and effects. This article proposes system/district-level indicators of school choice that could operationalize the concept and produce valuable interdistrict comparative information on choice…

Analyzes ordinary women's role in shaping school reform in their community, highlighting interplay of class conflict, regionalism, and gender roles in reform efforts. The women protesting the Odyssey Project framed the debate as a juncture between a national, elitist reform movement and a local grassroots countermovement protecting children,…

Shows how gender assumptions and inequalities influence how we define the literacy problem, value literacy skills, and perceive relations between adult literacy learners and teachers. Draws on various sources to describe and critique the gendered cornerstones of literacy education, focusing on how women's literacy activities become devalued and…

Examines the relationship between collective bargaining and educational reform efforts and explores educators' differing viewpoints, based on a survey of 135 educational professionals from 55 schools sampled in 5 states. Principals viewed bargaining as obstructing reform; union representatives saw bargaining as facilitating reform. Teachers…