The first six to eight years of a child's life, known as early childhood, have been globally acknowledged to be the most critical years for life-long development of children, when the pace of development is extremely rapid. Early experiences at home, in communities, and at other care settings play a crucial role in brain architecture development…

This article argues for a citizen social science methodology in which residents from the sites of inquiry play a central role in key activities of the research process and beyond: research design and data collection, presentation and publication of findings, and design and implementation of urban interventions that address challenges to quality of…

Research continues to support the many teaching and learning benefits of one-to-one laptop learning. Benefits range from improved student engagement and teacher-student interactions to the attainment of 21st century skills and the transformation of teacher practice. Additional benefits include improved student writing skills, increased teacher…

The community development program, initiated in 1952, failed, in the author's opinion, because no sustained attempt was made to involve the people in the development process. Discussed are: program objectives, implementation, administrative structure, an evaluation of 15 program aspects, a community development strategy, and the failure of the…

The Alberton Project was a three-year community capacity building project that ran from 1999 until 2002. It aimed to revitalise the local community surrounding the small Victorian town of Yarram. Evaluation of the project involved participant observation, monitoring of media reports, surveys and interviews. Outcomes are reported with reference to…

The case histories of water and sanitation schemes described in this volume can best be understood by identifying the moments at which critical hurdles were encountered and surmounted. The first case study, which concerns Bangladesh, discusses promising prospects that existed amid the pollution and the technical and managerial expansion of the…

The following papers were produced by participants and resource persons on specific issues of planning, management and implementation of literacy and post-literacy strategies: "People's Participation and Mobilization: Characteristics of the Literacy Campaigns in China" (Yanwei); "Strategies for Mobilization and Participation of…

This manual combines best practices for involvement of supervisors and counterparts in programming, training, and volunteer activities from the three regions of the Peace Corps. Its intent is to offer ideas for participatory development to supplement the work being done with partners at posts. It is designed to help associate Peace Corps directors…

The report describes the development and operation of a communal laundry center, or housewife club in Netivot, Israel which provides laundry facilities, a social meeting place, and a variety of classes and services for users. The proposal for the club grew out of the difficulties facing the district social welfare bureau in solving the laundry…

This is a descriptive case study and evaluation of Radio Santa Maria, which provides the Dominican Republic's rural adult population with basic education programs. The report examines the station in the light of five fundamental lifelong education goals: flexibility in the educational process, linkage of educational resources, relating of formal…

This document presents and discusses the 12 family literacy standards for family literacy programs in Saskatchewan, Canada, that were developed during a 2-year process by Saskatchewan's Family Literacy Best Practices committee. The document is: (1) an educational tool to develop greater understanding of effective literacy practices; (2) a program…