In the drive to achieve universal primary education as one of the Millennium Development Goals, there is an increasing recognition of the urgency of focusing on teacher education to both meet the demand for more than one million qualified teachers required to achieve this goal within sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to combat the sometimes poor…

An old saying about learning that has been passed down from generation to generation in Vietnam states, "The success of learning is determined by intelligence but the passing of an examination is determined by luck." Whether this idea is simply to comfort those who fail or not, it sheds light on the Vietnamese psyche on learning as well…

Economic development in Latin America has trailed most other world regions over the past four decades despite its relatively high initial development and school attainment levels. This puzzle can be resolved by considering the actual learning as expressed in tests of cognitive skills, on which Latin American countries consistently perform at the…

This book grew out of the experience of a European Union Thematic Network of the same title, and focuses on aspects of the complex and varying relationships between globalisation, Europeanisation and Education. The volume is divided into two parts: Part One: Governance and the Knowledge Economy, focuses on how the discourses of a Knowledge Economy…

This article examines China's senior high "Thought and Politics" ("sixiang zhengzhi") texts, analyzing how these seek to legitimize the regime's developmental strategy. It is argued that their overriding emphasis on the strengthening of the state is premised upon the imperative of securing China's position within global order…

This paper reports on a research project investigating the role of universities in South Africa in contributing to poverty reduction through the quality of their professional education programmes. The focus here is on theorising and the early operationalisation of multi-layered, multi-dimensional transformation based on ideas from Amartya Sen's…

Since 1989, when it became legally possible for private higher education to operate in New Zealand, the sector has grown to become a significant part of the country's higher education system. This paper explores the private penetration, traces the changes that have occurred in private higher education, and evaluate the sector's position in New…

This synthesis report provides a historical look back over the past 15 years of alternate assessment, from the early 1990s through the mid 2000s, as reported by state directors of special education on the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) state surveys, and augmented by other research and policy reports published by NCEO and related…

In this review, the authors trace the evolution of mentoring programs in the United States in business and academe, provide insight on the challenges associated with the study of mentoring, and identify the limited research-based studies of faculty mentoring programs that currently inform our understanding of this professional development practice…

Every state in the United States, under the NCLB act, has set state standards and is testing all students in grades 3-8. Students are given printed questions to which they write answers with a pencil on an answer sheet. These written tests are usually given to determine the academic achievements of students. This paper traces the early history of…

The 1972 Report of the Government's Committee of Inquiry into Teacher Education and Training (James Report) suggested radical changes, many of which conflicted both with the interests of existing providers and with emerging policies on the organisation of higher education. Its proposals concerning in-service education, whilst generally welcomed,…

This article describes the regional impetus to early childhood curriculum development in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries and discusses its prospects for effective implementation. The historical context in which pre-school education has evolved is outlined. Regional research evidence for the enrichment of early childhood experience and for…

This paper explores opportunities and challenges presented by the development of graduate skills in Australian universities. We challenge the dichotomy that conceives of a fundamental disjuncture between the idea of universities as institutions of vocational education and the more traditional conception of universities as key institutions in the…

This article considers social and educational policy responses to increasing ethnic diversity in the Republic of Ireland and related concerns about the intensification of racism in Irish society in the "Celtic Tiger" era. Drawing on approaches which emphasise the extent to which discourses on "race" and multiculturalism are…

Purpose: This paper seeks to conduct an in-depth study of international trends in private higher education and focus on the Indian scenario. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology adopted is conceptual, analytical and comparative. Findings: Though there has been better acceptability of private higher education institutions in India today…