Articles from 2008/9

 


Education for All

Author: Steve Packer
Sixty years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that elementary education shall be free and compulsory, and that the higher levels of education will be equally available to all on merit. But has this been achieved…

Smart moves   Towards achieving multiple priorities in education

Author: Cream Wright, PhD
Introduction  The Commonwealth is a useful microcosm for reviewing the Education for All (EFA) movement, since its membership is made up of established and emerging donors as well as regular developing countries…

Special needs education   Implementing Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in Commonwealth countries

Author: Florence Malinga
Through its mandate derived from the regular Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers (CCEM) and the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM), the Commonwealth Secretariat is…

Social Learning Package   Education for empowerment

Author: Jyotsna Jha
What need is there for a package on social learning?  What is empowerment? Kabeer (2004) defines empowerment as ‘the expansion in people’s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them’. It is important to…

Is school really a change institution?   Gender analysis of schooling processes in secondary schools

Author: Jyotsna Jha
Education is considered a main tool of transformation: of ideas, social and gender relations, societies and economies. Time and again it has been referred to as one of the most important processes…

Promoting girls’ education   The experience in Nigeria

Author: Alice Akunga
Nigeria recognises education as a fundamental human right and is signatory to the major conventions for the protection of the rights of children (girls and boys) and women. In 2004, the country enacted…

  Gender violence in schools in the developing world

Author: Fiona Leach
Overview  Until the mid-1990s, gender violence was not a recognised problem in schools in the developing world. Nor indeed were gender issues more broadly recognised until 1990, when the international community…

The power of partnership   Working together for secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Adriaan M. Verspoor
Private involvement in secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) affects both provision and financing. Private provision includes elite schools often owned and operated by faith-based organisations…

Becoming inclusive?   A study of private schools in India offering education to children out-of-school

Author: Laura Day Ashley
Introduction  ‘Private school outreach’ has been described by the author as going beyond the private school’s usual remit of providing feecharging education to the middle/upper classes and extending services to provide a free…

Open schooling   Communicating the basics

Author: Sir John Daniel
Introduction  Open schooling has the potential for addressing the challenge of increasing access to secondary education now that Universal Primary Education (UPE) is on the way to being achieved. However, although policy-makers and…

Leadership, administration and   management in the Commonwealth

Author: Petros Pashiardis, PhD
Introduction   At the beginning of the 21st century, we are experiencing a rapidly changing environment; technological, scientific and economic advancements, and globalisation and immigration movements are but a few of the areas adding to…

The provision of teachers and education personnel

Author: Virglio Juvane
As part of the preparation for the 8th Biennale Conference on Education in Africa, held 5–8 May 2008, in Maputo, Mozambique, the Commonwealth Secretariat-led Working Group on the Teaching Profession (WGTP) conducted…

The recognition of teacher   qualifications in the Commonwealth

Author: James Keevy
The challenges associated with the recognition and transferability of teacher qualifications across the Commonwealth are not new and remain closely interrelated with the increased migration of skilled professionals internationally…

Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards  

Author: GOLD Peer Education Development Agency
In 2005, the Commonwealth Secretariat launched the first round of the Education Good Practice Awards, which Ministers had recommended in 2003 to recognise and acknowledge good practices in education…

Challenges and approaches   Expanding learning opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Wim Hoppers and Steven Obeegadoo
Focus on post-primary education  The expansion of post-primary education (PPE) cannot be conceived of as a policy option for African ministries of education for it is already unfolding across the region, although the pace and precise pattern…

Helping farmers prosper   Announcing a new model for partnership  

Author: Sir John Daniel and Dr. Krishna Alluri
Most people in developing countries live in rural areas and depend on farming. We will never create a better world unless we tackle poverty in the rural areas, which means improving the livelihoods of the many…

Early childhood education in New Zealand

Author: Caterina Murphy
This commentary offers a personal view, fuelled by the context in which I live and work as an early childhood teacher, researcher and senior lecturer. It highlights some recent developments in early childhood education…

Exploring the role of ICTs in addressing educational needs

Author: Sir John Daniel, Mr Paul West and Dr Wayne Mackintosh
Introduction  Persistent myths have lessened the impact of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) on education. Fortunately, they are balanced by miracles of theory and practice that are gradually gaining the upper hand…

Digital divide or digital dividend?

Author: Asha Kanwar
We firmly believe that the Commonwealth can contribute meaningfully to measures aimed at bridging and closing the digital divide and are resolved to do so. ICTs provide an opportunity for individuals to learn…

AIDS and education   The planner’s perspective

Author: Françoise Caillods, Barbara Tournier and Michael Kelly
Introduction  In the past 20 years, HIV and AIDS have been rightly considered the world’s most devastating epidemics, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In severely affected countries, HIV and AIDS have reversed decades of…

The first 25 years of HIV   Some key lessons for the education sector in responding to HIV and AIDS

Author: David J. Clarke
The advent of South Africa’s first democratic government in 1994 signalled the beginning of significant policy changes in education, including a notable emphasis on distance education. Distance Education…

Teacher quality in Southern Africa

Author: Mary Metcalfe
Those who have invested large amounts of energy securing national and international commitments to increased access to education have won only a small step in the larger battle of providing access to…