This paper explores the perceptions of three groups of teacher education trainees in Ghana--those beginning training, those completing training, and those with two years' experience in schools. A structured instrument was used to assess responses to statements about the status of teachers and teaching, teacher control, preferences for posting and…

This paper examines some aspects of teacher education policy change in South Africa. It contextualises the changes by firstly examining the apartheid teacher education system and then mapping the changes that have occurred in teacher education in South Africa since 1994. Using a case study of the Further Diploma in Educational Management at the…

The paper summarises information gathered through MUSTER [Multi-Site Teacher Education Research project] on the characteristics and career patterns of college tutors in Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi and Trinidad and Tobago. The findings confirm that teachers become trainers in haphazard ways, that their induction and professional development is…

This case study of the transformation of teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa is a reflection on the pressures and priorities that characterise curriculum design and development in a society undergoing rapid change. It focusses on the varied sources behind the process of curriculum transformation, indicating how an historically…

This paper traces the professional growth of science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago through their involvement in the production of context-based resource materials relevant to the lives of their students during workshop sessions. Grounded theory methods were used to analyse pre- and post-workshop questionnaire responses, tape-recorded group…

This paper uses the device of imagining Education personnel at the World Bank engaging in study and discussion that causes them to rethink their 1999 Education Sector Strategy document. The Bank's educators discuss issues that lead them to see that the World Bank's assumptions of human capital theory are deficient. Having studied the severe…

This paper discusses some results of South African (SA) grade 12 pupils on an international test of mathematical literacy, administered in the framework of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Three questions are…

This paper reviews the development of education governance in South Africa during the 1990s. It outlines ambiguities within and between competing policies, tracing the historical trajectory and explaining its outcome. Apartheid governance, the attempts to reform it, policy options originating within the anti-apartheid movement, and the law passed…

This article discusses the value and feasibility of carrying out evaluation research on teacher development and uses as points of reference the author's experiences in two countries, Sri Lanka and Mexico. In Sri Lanka, an evaluation study was designed to understand the effectiveness and costs of teacher development at the elementary level linking…

With special reference to the People's Republic of China (PRC), this paper examines relationships between law, education reform and social transformation that have been under-researched. The argument is that, despite national leaders' high expectations, the use of law to effect or consolidate educational reform in the PRC is affected by both legal…

China's "minban" (people-managed) schooling was an important instrument for delivering educational and political values to poor areas during Mao's era. Despite national policy aimed at eliminating poorly-qualified minban teachers by 2000, rural communities have been reluctant to dismiss such teachers, given the rural teacher shortage and the…

A central premise supporting educational decentralization is that community members best understand local conditions and are best placed to make local educational decisions. A survey of 643 educators, parents, and community leaders in 18 rural Ghana communities found that all groups lacked well-formulated attitudes about school practices and…

Examines effects of privatization policies on rural girls' education in Tanzania's Kilimanjaro region. Results of a study of parent wealth and education, surveys of female secondary students, and interviews with out-of-school young women show that privatization has made secondary school attendance more difficult for poor girls. Such attendance has…

Examines school-community relations in a Botswana settlement of Basarwa, remote rural nomads with a minority language and culture. Surveys of parents and students in grades 5-7 indicate that all held positive educational attitudes and believed schooling would help children to find future employment, but that schools were authoritarian and operated…

Finds that, among 2559 Botswana seventh graders, national Primary School Leaving Examinations scores were higher for students with female and more experienced teachers than for those with male and less experienced teachers; this was true for mathematics, English, science, social studies, and overall scores. Contains 26 references. (SV)