Return intention of students from four developing countries

Students from Iran, Nigeria, Taiwan, and Venezuela studying at 30 U.S. universities in 1979 were compared with regard to their perceived likelihood of remaining in the United States permanently. Their perceived likelihood differed by country of origin. They also differed by country as to their choice of reasons that might make them remain in the United States and their anticipated satisfaction with the home country situations upon returning home. Within each country group, the students' perceived likelihood differed little in terms of selected personal characteristics, but differed significantly in terms of their choices of possible reasons for remaining in the United States. The reasons chosen reflected students' perceptions of the politico-economic situations of their countries.

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Zusammenfassung Studenten aus dem Iran, Nigeria, Taiwan und Venezuela, die 1979 an US amerikanischen Universitäten studierten, wurden miteinander verglichen, für wie wahrscheinlich sie es hielten, auf Dauer in den USA zu bleiben. Die von ihnen selbst empfundene Wahrscheinlichkeit unterschied sich je nach Herkunftsland der Studenten. Je nach Land unterschieden sich auch die Gründe der Studenten, in den USA zu bleiben und für ihre antizipierte Zufriedenheit mit der Lage, die sie bei ihrer Rückkehr in ihre Heimat vorfinden würden. Innerhalb jeder Gruppe von Ländern wichen die von den Studenten empfundenen Wahrnehmungen im Hinblick auf ausgewählte persönliche Eigenschaften nur geringfügig von einander ab, jedoch gab es erhebliche Unterschiede bei den von ihnen angeführten persönlichen Gründen, in den USA zu bleiben. Diese Gründe spiegelten wider, wie die Studenten die wirtschaftlich-politische Lage in ihrer Heimat einschätzten.

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Résumé Des étudiants provenant de l'Iran, du Nigeria, de Taiwan et du Venezuela inscrits dans 30 universités américaines en 1979 ont été comparés eu égard à leur perception des chances qu'ils avaient de rester définitivement aux Etats-Unis. Leur perception de cette probabilité différait selon le pays d'origine. Ils différaient aussi par pays selon leur choix des raisons qui devraient les retenir aux Etats-Unis et selon la satisfaction attendue des situations prévalant dans leur pays à leur retour. Au sein de chaque groupe représentant un pays, la perception de cette éventualité par les étudiants différait peu en fonction de certaines charactéristiques personnelles, mais elle différait davantages selon le choix des raisons possibles qui les poussaient à rester aux Etats-Unis. Les raisons présentées par les étudiants reflétaient leurs perceptions des conditions politico-économiques de leurs pays.

     

Staff development needs and provision in Commonwealth countries: Findings from a Commonwealth of learning training impact study

The mission of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) to provide staff development in open and distance education within the Commonwealth countries is noted. The paper then draws upon selected findings from the COL Training Impact Study (a study of 114 training events provided by COL over a 10-year period) and discusses the respondents' views on the needs and forms of provision that can be employed in providing staff training in open and distance education.     

Policies for teacher education in developing countries

This chapter discusses the context of the 1990 s in which teacher education policy has been formulated. The focus is on three of the areas that are pushing for change: a conceptual shift from teaching to learning, a focus on effective school results, and the implementation in many countries of systemic education reforms. Though reference is made to conditions and constraints affecting teacher education in developing countries, the discussion emphasizes policy in the Latin American region. Consideration is given to conditions for implementation and sustainability of what appears on paper as interesting policy orientations. The importance of networking and interchange is seen as an important factor for broadening policy formulation and learning from experiences in teacher education reform.     

Teacher education researches in developing countries: a review of Indian studies

Teacher education research in India is predominantly a post‐independence phenomenon, which gained momentum between 1950 and 1960. By the end of the 1960s, 85 doctoral themes had been approved by various Indian universities, out of which 40% of the researches were undertaken by Bombay University, the first university to institute a doctoral programme in education in the country before independence in 1947. A review of researches in teacher education is followed by an analysis that identifies those aspects of the Indian education system that most need attention.     

Education in developing countries: the view from Mount Olympus

In a recent issue ofProspects we published a review of the World Bank's recent publication,Education Sector Working Paper. This publication represents a major policy statement by the Bank on the subject of education and significant (not to say radical) departure from previous policies. It is a document all the more important in view of the enormous funding power of the World Bank and the undeniable influence of its policies on national governments and even on international organizations. TheEducation Sector Working Paper, which has been generally welcomed in international circles, is certainly not without its critics both in the developing countries and in the industrialized world. We feel that at a time when there is a push for examining educational policies and concepts on an international level, we can contribute to the debate by publishing some criticism and rejoinder centring around the World Bank publication, much as we did in 1973 and 1974 on the subject ofLearning to Be, the report of the International Commission on the Development of Education. In this issue, therefore, we open the discussion with an article by Peter Williams, originally written for a one-day review meeting to consider the World Bank publication, held on 19 May 1975, at the University of London Institute of Education, and which he revised forProspects. The institute hopes to publish a report of its meeting, together with the papers, before the end of this year. Peter Williams' critique seems to us to be particularly interesting because it is based on the author's disagreement with the prevailing pessimism in the world, reflected by the World Bank, on the state of education in the developing nations. As always, our readers are warmly invited to contribute their reactions in any form they choose.     

Educational services for the mentally retarded in developing countries

(1) A consideration of educational services for the mentally retarded in developing countries should take place within the context of existing educational systems and the problems of educational growth. (2) Para-medical teams/primary health care workers can assist in the identification of handicapped persons. (3) Teachers should be helped to develop basic assessment procedures. (4) Much more importance should be attached to the role of voluntary agencies. (5) Governments should consider the integration of the mildly and moderately retarded and the provision of a special education element in teacher training courses. (6) Many problems confront the Community Rehabilitation Programmes which are being promoted by the WHO.     

Basic Problems of Continuing Engineering Education in Developing Countries: transfer of technology from developed to developing countries by CEE

This paper deals with three basic areas concerned with CEE in developing countries: