The Education Dilemma

Book excerpt: The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s focuses on the questions on the adequacy of the Western European and North American model of formal schooling exported to developing countries. The selection first offers information on an overview of the policy issues in the 1980s, future of formal education in developing countries, and factors which promote school achievement in developing countries. Discussions focus on the effect of schooling variables on achievement; comparison of the importance of schooling inputs and home background; educational production function and its limitations; and theories of learning and schooling. The text then examines preschool age investment in human capital, policy implications of instructional technology, and the impact of American educational research on developing countries. The publication takes a look at common assumptions about education and employment, education and employment after independence, and the influence of education on migration and fertility. Topics include education and migration, fertility and education, socializing effects of educational institutions, educational and individual entrepreneurship, and education and access to labor market. The manuscript also surveys education, class conflict, and uneven development and investment in education in developing nations. The selection is a valuable reference for educators and researchers interested in the application of the Western European and North American model of formal schooling to developing countries.