This article traces the construction of the educational dimension of the global development agenda over the period 1990 to 2006. It argues that the multilateral agencies, and notably the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO and UNDP, played vital roles in designing the architecture of this world agenda, supported at a key stage by the Development Assistance…

The absolute priority given by UNESCO to the promotion of universal literacy is understood as a key policy driver shaping the Organization since its inception in 1946. Grounded in human rights, the commitment has taken concrete form in many and diverse ways, but it is as a shaper of ideas that UNESCO's overall contribution is best judged. In…

To set the stage for this theme issue on aid and education in the Third World and on the World Bank's most recent (April 1980) Education Sector Policy Paper, the author presents a brief overview of aid to education and an agenda of major problems which are currently debated. (Author/SJL)

Examines the main thrust of educational policymaking in Bangladesh during 1971-81 and compares policy goals with achievements. Finds there have been failures, but suggests underlying explanations for the persistent gap between policy goals and implementation come from the wider socio-political context in which educational policy is formulated and…

Misjudging the ease of educational-policy implementation is a common planning mistake. A "backward mapping" model, in which policy is informed by specific needs at the lowest level of implementation, was applied to primary school change in India and generated insights about social context, teacher attitudes, training needs, and…

At the policy level, the World Bank and other aid agencies evidence a practical orientation, emphasizing problems described as solvable by expertise and improved use of capital. In reality, tension exists between educational planning based on positivistic, technical rationality and political interaction grounded in situational considerations. (JHZ)

Examines ideological environment that informed the actions of colonial education policy-makers, and its effects on education made available to Africans and their response to the education offered. Suggests three independent factors are closely involved and make vitally important contributions to the unfolding of colonial educational development,…

Examines the role of elite groups in Zambia educational policymaking in the postindependence era, using three major attempts at educational reform as illustrations. Concludes that well-to-do groups have dominated educational policy decisions to preserve their own interests and have obtained gradual reforms in spite of offically declared radical…

Argues that women's education should be a concern of government policymakers and suggests essential policy components: (1) schools that are accessible to women; (2) transportation, childcare, and other conditions that enable women to attend school; and (3) education that is linked to employment opportunities for women. (JHZ)