Nearly 360 million women who live in the countries of Asia and the Pacific are illiterate. In this region, and in much of the world, women have restricted access to education, and are the victims of economic, social, and political marginalization. In recent years, governments have become increasingly aware that the inferior position assigned to…

The Bernard van Leer Foundation sponsors nontraditional, nonschool programs designed to improve the chances that preschoolers will enroll in school. In these programs and other informal education efforts, the community facilitator plays an important role. Typically, the facilitator is a member of the community who works without remuneration as a…

This report begins by describing the American Library Association (ALA) Library/Book Fellows program, which began with a grant from the U.S. Information Agency in 1986. The program has a threefold purpose: (1) to increase international understanding through the establishment of professional and personal relationships and the accomplishment of…

This publication is designed to help students prepare for participation in Model United Nations activities. A Model U.N. conference simulates the activities of a United Nations body, usually the Security Council or the General Assembly and its committees. Participants assume the roles of representatives of Member States to the United Nations…

This document presents information on the Model United Nations Program, including historical background, a description of how the Program works, and three steps for establishing a Model U.N. Program. A list of Model U.N. Publications and resources is included. (DB)

The Family Life Education project in Fiji began in 1985 to deal with the problem of a high percentage of illegitimate births among teenage girls and a high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. The project also hoped to foster the development of understanding and responsible attitudes and moral values in relation to sexual development and…

Basic education for girls and women has been part of UNESCO's and UNICEF's concerns since the early days of the two organizations. Both organizations not only consider access to basic education a fundamental human right, but also see girls' and women's education as vital in enhancing their roles as contributors to and beneficiaries of development.…

This paper examines the strong relationship between American universities and Iranian institutions of higher education from 1960 to 1980 and beyond. A review of comparative literature indicates that these relationships have had a lasting impact on Iranian education. The paper begins with a brief history of education in Persia beginning around 700…

This publication describes activities UNESCO is carrying out and the objectives it is pursuing. The following articles are included: (1) "Education and Human Development" (Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO); (2) "Education and the Future" (Colin N. Power, Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO); (3)…

Literacy education experience shows that literacy is not easily disseminated to adults and that the skills of newly literate people are notable. Dropout, mastery, and retention rates are about 50 percent at each stage, so the effectiveness rate of some projects may only be 12-15 percent. To find causes for the low effectiveness of literacy…

This theme issue of the Bernard van Leer Foundation's "Newsletter" is devoted to approaches to working with disadvantaged children up to 3 years of age. An introduction describes the crucial period from before birth to 3 years, noting that although the mother's body provides the an essential part of the environment, other easily…

The inferior position assigned to Asian women jeopardizes not only their future status in society, but also the future of society itself. The major problems standing in the way of empowerment for women are individual and family related, community, sociopolitical, cultural, and economic. Centralized planning of literacy/civic education programs in…

Research conducted in Kenya had two purposes: to describe the literacy program and literacy learners and to determine the literacy skill levels of participants and to what use they are putting those skills. Researchers collected data from 5 districts in Kenya, including information about the characteristics and functioning of the literacy centers,…

Research conducted in Tanzania had two purposes: to describe the literacy program and literacy learners and to determine the literacy skill levels of participants and to what use they are putting those skills. Researchers spent a month in each of four villages gaining information about the socioeconomic system, communication, development, the role…

This book presents 16 papers on problems and innovations in postsecondary engineering education. An introduction discusses the major issues currently facing engineering education. Chapter 2 briefly reviews the papers which are grouped under topics. Three of thee papers comment on teaching non-technical matters and attitudes. Two papers point out…