The historiographical tradition which developed within the history of education from the 1970s regarded religious organisations as distractions from the "real" task of developing state-funded universal compulsory education. Despite more positive evaluations of voluntary agencies within the history of social policy, since the 1980s, the…

This article explores the nexus between foreign aid and Nepal's primary education in order to understand how aid agencies affect national educational development. It argues that after 1990, when global education targets provided the basic framework for all donor agency funding to primary education and the subsequent use of a sector-wide approach…

Discusses the changing relationships between the Canadian government and voluntary social welfare agencies, with emphasis on the roles of voluntary agencies in light of growing governmental influence. The problems of voluntary agencies are discussed and illustrated. (DP)

Cooperation between the state and the people is essential for the growth and development of the country. Purpose of adult education is to enable an adult, literate or not, to face challenges of life and to make meaningful adjustments with his environment. (Author/RB)

The author directs attention to the historical development of the relations between the government of the Netherlands and the various voluntary organizations in the fields of education and information directed toward adults. Four periods are distinguished, each comprising approximately 50 years. (CH)

Case studies of two British and two Danish community-based organizations show that they developed as a result of both top-down government support and bottom-up community activity, and they operate both in and against the state. Recent reductions in government support threatens the future development of the community base of social policy, even…

Examines the concept of community development and its implications for various sectors of the education service. (DM)

This article delineates the background, the events, and the social processes through which a segment of the Vietnamese population has become an American refugee problem. (Author/EB)

Uses several data sources to analyze the effects of reduced funding for human services on the voluntary sector in relation to services offered, use of professional personnel, reliance on service contracts, financing patterns, compensatory responses, and use of volunteers. Comments on the future status of volunteerism. (JAC)

Explores ways in which predominantly female voluntary organizations are empowered to take on roles and responsibilities. Considers significance of volunteerism under a shift from state to free-market social services, through the eighteenth-century "civil society" concept, and an emerging "third-way" alternative. (SK)

An environmental initiative designed to increase the skill and knowledge levels of Peace Corps staff and volunteers is described. The objectives, accomplishments, strategies, and evaluation of the program are discussed. (CW)

Switzerland is a country where the cantons are autonomous education authorities and where support given by the central government only covers a very small percentage of the cost of adult education. (Editor/RY)

British government-funded research into voluntary sector initiatives revealed a mismatch between statutory and voluntary sector ethos, objectives, and perceptions of practice. The danger in interpreting negative evaluations highlights the importance of the participation of the "researched" in the process. (SK)

The history and current nature of local race relations work in Britain are reviewed in this paper. The development from voluntary local committees in the 1950s through the establishment of the national Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in 1976 is traced. It is shown that the functions of local work have changed from those of information,…

The report by the Queensland (Australia) Advisory Council for Special Education reviews the roles of government and voluntary associations in providing services to the handicapped. An historical review follows a discussion of principles underlying the education of handicapped children. Current Queensland provisions for the education of handicapped…