In our present research we address the question of whether it is valid to apply the Quality Assurance and Evaluation (QAE) umbrella concept, which was formulated to explain new phenomena in European educational governance, to similar developments in Brazilian basic education. This led us to reflect on the possible pitfalls and potential strengths…

This article revisits a topic central to the past and the present of comparative education: the theme of "transfer". It outlines four ideas. First, that comparative education as a field of study, having begun in the study of "mobilities", became diverted by other anxieties. Second, the article notes that the theme of…

Historians of comparative education have ordinarily viewed the development of that field as having progressed in stages, from impressionistic traveller tales to systematic investigations, with each stage eclipsing the previous one in rigour and acceptability. In this essay, I show that this common "Darwinian" view is simplistic and distorts the…

This article argues that a philosophical approach to education needs a comparative dimension and that a comparative approach to education needs a philosophical dimension. An analysis of the proper relationship between a philosophical and a comparative approach to education is developed with reference to needs, difficulties and opportunities.

Examines the World Bank's 1995 policy statement, "Priorities and Strategies for Education: A World Bank Review." Reviews the bank's evolving policy of the past 35 years. Interprets the statement in light of recent structural adjustment strategies and end of the Cold War, which have sharpened bank attitudes about economic, social, and…

The Baiga of central India are known for their extensive knowledge of the forest and healing. Healing knowledge is transmitted orally from male expert practitioners to novices. Features of this instruction, which is experiential and geared to the apprentice's levels of interest and ability, raise questions about the feasibility of including…

Uses France and England--because of their radically different institutional and ideological traditions in education--to illustrate common trends in educational accountability. Explains general trends affecting advanced capitalist societies at the present time, e.g., the use of corporate management approaches in education and the adoption of…

Identifies similarities and differences in the French and British models of colonial education in sub-Saharan Africa. Draws on the statements of policymakers in official reports and government studies to highlight the "signposts" of colonial educational policy--phrases referring to policy goals and to moral claims and cultural…

Describes the "Nordic model" of small-scale, child-centered, equal education found in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Discusses challenges to this model from growing unemployment, increasing institutionalization of children's lives, and economic integration with the rest of Europe. Outlines Nordic hopes for future European…

In Gujarat, India, illiterate Rabari nomads see formal education and literacy as irrelevant to pastoralism, but as providing possible alternatives if the pastoral life dies. Access and school culture present many difficulties. The hegemonic values of the international initiative Education for All and associated national policies ignore the…

Suggests that the Japanese educational system's lack of concern about vocationalism is related to low unemployment, lifetime employment patterns, and popular perceptions that the system produces literate students and rewards traditional Japanese values. Outlines academic and vocational elements in the formal education system. Includes 40…

The changing political and security situation in Indonesia since 1949 has made religion a compulsory subject at all educational levels. This paper looks critically at the assumptions underlying this policy. Its scope is limited to administration and control, educational objectives and curriculum, morality and values, and teacher education. (Author)

Compares the beliefs, goals, and teaching methods of French and English elementary school teachers working in areas of disadvantage to illuminate how teachers in the two countries resolve the dilemmas involved in providing equal educational opportunities to all children. Research before and after recent educational reforms indicates the central…

Explores the manner in which ideology and hidden assumptions, educational policy perspectives, and reform proposals are interrelated in current education reform discussions in Papua New Guinea. Discusses reforms aimed at improving access and retention in primary schools and at restructuring secondary education, and contradictory principles related…

Describes availability and purpose of Japanese kindergartens and pre-school programs. Relates Japanese child rearing practices to expectations for the child in pre-school. Summarizes typical pre-school activities and their relation to nationally stated goals which focus on successful participation in group life, cooperation, self-reliance, and…