Background: For a majority of the world's children, despite substantial increases in primary school enrollment, academic learning is neither occurring at expected rates nor supplying the basic foundational skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The significant lag in academic achievement tells us that simply making formal education…

This study examines how communities participate in schools across diverse contexts in developing countries and the results attributed to community participation. It reviews evaluations of participatory approaches to education in developing countries to answer two basic questions: 1) How do communities participate in school in developing countries?…

The paper reviews a select body of literature that focuses on the role of teachers, schools, and communities at the local level in creating quality education in less-developed countries. The review asserts that understanding what is happening in schools and classrooms is a precondition for shaping more effective quality improvement strategies.…

One in a series of studies of lifelong learning, this paper discusses the cultural and educational needs of selected urban and rural communities in Senegal and Ghana, emphasizing grassroots initiative and the community's analysis of its own needs. Information is drawn in part from surveys, public meetings, and interviews in three communities:…