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This paper examines new approaches to program evaluation and explores their possible utility in Latin American educational settings. Part 1 briefly discusses why new ideas for evaluating educational studies are needed. Part 2 examines seven new evaluative approaches as follows: (1) "Concept Mapping," a type of structural conceptualization; (2) "Participatory Self-Evaluation," designed by United Nations development programs; (3) "Social Cartography," an interpretive tool based on textual analysis and spatial patterning; (4) "Intertextual Evaluation," based on post-structuralist literary theory, establishing useful criteria for program evaluation; (5) "The Analogy of the Soil Scientist," a sociocultural approach for program planning and evaluation; (6) "Evaluation and Organizational Learning," a cybernetic conception including dialogue, experimentation, and team work; and (7) "Organizational Perspectives," an evaluative approach employing five perspectives : managerial hierarchy, street-level bureaucracy, organizational development, conflict and bargaining, and chance and chaos. Part 3 compares and contrasts the seven approaches and discusses their applications to Latin American programs. (Contains 10 figures and 44 references.) (RIB)

The effects of recent political and social changes in Hungary on that country's educational system and society and on Hungarian educators are examined. Responses to five interview questions put to 18 Hungarian educators representing the university, secondary, and elementary levels form the basis of the findings presented. The questions were: (1) What are the most significant changes occurring in education in the past year? (2) How are economic and political factors in Hungary influencing educational policy and/or grassroots movements? (3) How do teachers compare educational changes in Hungary to changes in other Eastern European nations? (4) What opposition to change exists and to what extent? and (5) Is any minority group large enough to have a voice in educational change? The analysis of the responses revealed a general resistance to and distrust of change both among Hungarian teachers and among the population at large. A 14-item list of references is included. (DB)

This study examines a Nicaraguan educational reform movement, initiated at universities located in Managua and Leon, which sought to promote social and economic change and the practical use of the natural sciences at the undergraduate college level. The study identifies major stakeholders in these science reform efforts and their diverse ideological orientations; and describes in detail the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the reform. Also included are assessments of the project goals, activities, linkages, and outcomes. Four ideological perspectives held by reform participants, or stakeholders, are heuristically represented; and the usefulness of a critical pragmatic approach to educational reform explanation is discussed. The study begins with a description of the research framework. Next, the historical and economic background of the relationship between Nicaragua and the United States is presented, followed by a discussion of the state of education in Nicaragua prior to and after the 1979 revolution. Finally, the creation of the Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities is explained, its implementation described, its outcomes (problems and achievements) listed, and its implications for development theory and practice considered. Contains 45 references. (GLR)

The different ways in which researchers have conceptualized Latin American education are identified. Written for an encyclopedia of educational research, this entry does not seek to describe and compare education "as it is" in some 28 Latin American republics. Rather it characterizes and compares how Latin American education has appeared to Latin American and other researchers over time. Four qualitatively different ways have been used to characterize Latin American education: (1) functionalist; (2) radical functionalist; (3) interpretive; and (4) radical interpretive. These approaches and the accompanying research are discussed in detail. A 59-item bibliography is included. (DB)

How and why the expansion and reorientation in Cuban higher education has taken place is noted, and continuing problems and emerging trends are assessed. Few developing countries can match Cuban achievements in higher education, which has advanced to levels characteristic of developed societies. Ideological orientations of historical trends are presented. The current system, which by 1986 had over 45 university facilities enrolling 268,000 students, is discussed. Rapidly expanding enrollment is a response to Castro's commitment to provide all Cuban citizens with higher education. Numbers of academic staff greatly increased following 1975/76 reforms; and status differences between staff, professors, and students have been reduced. The concept of academic freedom does not exist. With higher education tightly integrated into Cuba's economy, university graduates move easily into technical/professional work in state ministries, agencies, and organizations. One major problem in Cuban higher education is the attempted creation of a revolutionary socialist consciousness in all students. This attempt to orient Cuban youth, who know the revolutionary struggle of the 1950s only as history, has led to a chronic problem of low academic achievement and inadequate skills development. It is unsure how long Castro will be able to pursue a counter policy of ideological rigidification with the emergence of new technical elites in the Soviet Union. The extent to which university students will continue to endure oppressive ideological indoctrination remains to be seen. Chapter IV of Cuba's Constitution ("Education and Culture") is included. Contains 50 references. (SM)