Argues that the present crisis of basic education for young people in Africa reveals problems that are more fundamental than enrollments, inputs, and costs. Maintains that non-conventional approaches to learning, associated with non-formal and distance education, have important but distinct contributions to make to the reform of mainstream…

Analyzes conditions under which implementation of multi-grade schools might be successful, focusing on the Colombian Escuela Nuela programme. Concludes that capacity building through in-service training is an important determinant of the way teachers approach their task. Suggests that teacher motivation and commitment might explain much of the…

Describes a curriculum development pilot study in a rural village in India, designed to develop and test application of an ecological inventory approach to curriculum development integrating academic and functional skill training. Describes an Integrated Core Curriculum Structure as a guide for designing curricula based on ecological inventories.…

Examines the issues surrounding the cultural transfer of educational practices and institutions between industrialized countries and developing societies. Pays particular attention to adult education. Suggests that such transfers are most successful when the receiving society takes control of the transfer and comes to own it and to adapt it to…

Describes the rationale, development, and administration of the test used for measuring levels of achievement in functional literacy in Guyana. Draws attention to the difficulty of attracting funding for literacy programmes from international aid agencies, given the inflated adult literacy rate that is reported for Guyana in international…

The struggle against illiteracy is a problem of great importance in Turkey, and the democratization and secularization processes have been difficult. Despite strong educational efforts in recent years, Turkey still presents various forms of inequality, such as considerable disparities between men and women, between town and country, and between…

Shows how, among the cultures of the indigenous peoples of tropical South America, the human body offers a language and mechanism central to the process of production, elaboration, and transmission, of knowledge, skills, and emotions. Discusses recent anthropological debates and describes a new discipline known as "anthropology of the child."…

Contends that Westerners are accustomed to learning about the world through our senses of sight and hearing, and that "lower" senses--smell, taste, and touch--tend to be associated with "savagery" or sensualism. Provides a cross-cultural look at the Colombian Desana people who acquire knowledge through full-bodied experience and interpretation of…

Shows how education among traditional communities in Benin is an initiatory process where acquisition of practical knowledge is interwoven with religion and custom. States that rites of passage, tests, and acquisition of appropriate forms of knowledge may mark an individual's developmental stages. Describes several specific forms of education.…

Defines and documents the interplay between indigenous folk knowledge and modern (western) curriculum practice in African schools. Raises questions of cultural identity. Explores the definition of indigenous knowledge, examines dilemmas that undermine efforts to integrate indigenous education in formal school curriculum, and outlines the rationale…

Provides an overview of published anthropological and educational information on the content, values, and methods of education in indigenous communities in Guatemala. Deals with the formation of a new collective identity in Guatemala. Examines the relationship between education in indigenous communities and official, formal education, which is…

Examines the contradictions between Islamic education theory and the Western-based education systems found in most Islamically oriented countries. Uses Egypt as a case study to illustrate the complex and delicate balance policy makers must achieve in meeting the needs of economic development while also affirming their countries' Islamic cultural…

Describes the Kanak culture in New Caledonia, a French colony located in the South Pacific. Explores the educational system in New Caledonia and the role Kanak culture, or la coutume, plays in schools. Examines the implications of didactic and customary learning and customary influences in school that affect Kanak students, learning, and culture.…

Describes the central concept of Mayan culture, the possession of the soul, or ch'ulel, in the process of forming a knowledgeable person. Soul acquisition is important to becoming the ideal person, and to the educational formation of future generations. Looks at the role language plays in culture as memory, thought formation, and learning process.…

Examines three of the apparent deficiencies in the educational system in the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states: a mismatch between traditional and modern learning, an imbalance between indigenous and expatriate labor forces, and the gap between men and women. Concludes that a fundamental change in educational quality is needed. Contains…