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This research is mainly concerned with the costs of computers in schools in developing countries. It starts with a brief overview of the information revolution and its consequences. It then briefly examines some of the arguments for the use of computers in schools in developing countries, before reviewing previous work undertaken on the costs of such provision. An analysis of this literature indicates that the costs of equipment (hardware and software) may account for only 16 to 20% of the total cost of computer provision (excluding salaries) over five years. The cost data gathered at school/telecenter level, as a part of this research, is then analyzed. A framework that yields data on housing, equipment, training, running and external support costs was developed and used to gather this data. The data is categorized into Basic, Basic plus and Deluxe provision. Basic and Basic plus provision use second-hand /refurbished equipment, with Basic plus provision also providing raining and support. Only Deluxe provision purchases new equipment. In addition to this, a rural school, community based telecenter provision and commercial provision are looked at. The data supplied is analyzed with various figures being produced for the different categories. The paper then raises other issues which can affect computer provision and utilization including the processes of allocating provision, training of teachers in the use of ICT and models of provision. Conclusions are then drawn and recommendations made. A glossary of acronyms and technical terms is provided. Eighteen tables are included. Appendixes include: efficiency calculations; centrally financed government provision; details of community-based telecenter provision supplied by the U.S.; adjustments made to data received; and reflections on this research and what can be learned for future research. (Contains 10 references and 18 tables.) (AEF)

The report presents results of two seminars, held in Miami (Florida) and Cambridge (England), in which representatives of two groups, The European Association for International Education and the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs: Association of International Educators, met for intensive discussion of the methods for and design of research on foreign educational systems. This inquiry emerged from the need to improve credential evaluation for admission, placement, and transfer of students across systems. The first seminar focused on content needed in a monograph describing a country's educational system, and resulted in a generic model outline or table of contents, which was tested and refined using the examples of Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. The second seminar group tested the model outline further against Ghana and South Africa, and continued to discuss and develop a generic model for planning and executing a research project, from problem identification to production of the monograph. The model outline and recommended research strategies are presented here, with notes on adaptations for projects in the five countries noted. Appended materials include a worksheet for gathering information, background papers on research methods, designs, and strategies, participant reports and observations, and a list of seminar participants. (MSE)

Since 1989, the United States Agency for International Development (AID) Africa bureau has operated under an Agency-wide Congressional Basic Education earmark, which specifically required the creation of five new basic education programs in sub-Saharan Africa between 1989 and 1991. The Bureau exceeded that goal by initiating primary education programs in Mali in 1989, in Guinea and Ghana in 1990, in Benin, Malawi, and Namibia in 1991, and in Uganda in 1992. These programs join ongoing assistance efforts in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland. Most of these programs, especially the more recent ones, exhibit substantial policy content and careful coordination with other donors. Each aims to help African countries increase the efficiency, equity, and quality of primary education. However, the tremendous variety that exists across the continent requires different approaches to educational reform. This report illustrates both the strategic consistency running through all of the Africa Bureau's educational programs and the variations that address country-specific problems and goals. The report has two main sections: (1) a brief general description of the problems facing African education and data illustrating these problems; (2) 11 country-specific descriptions of A.I.D.'s bilateral educational programs which either ended in or continued beyond 1992. (CDIE)

Literacy is power--the power to improve one's life and shape one's community. All people should know how to read and write, yet 771 million people (18 percent of the world's population) are illiterate. The programs described in this booklet address this challenge. They are samples of a few of the many hundreds of excellent programs around the world that are designed to empower people through literacy. The booklet describes programs in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

This report considers lessons learned from a multi-part research investigation into United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) civic education programming. To better understand how and under what conditions civic education contributes to the development of a more active and informed democratic citizenry, USAID initiated the study in the Dominican Republic, Poland, and South Africa to measure the impact of adult and school-based civic education programs focusing on participants' democratic behaviors and attitudes. Results show that civic education programs for adults can have a significant, positive impact on certain key aspects of democratic behaviors and attitudes. Civic education appears to contribute to greater rates of political participation among program participants, particularly at the local level. Civic education programs appear to have minimal effect on changing democratic values, such as political tolerance, and, in fact, appear to have a negative impact on some values, such as trust in political institutions. Findings for school-based civic education programs mirror those for adult programs, although the impact of civics training was generally weaker and more inconsistent for students than for adults. The key finding to emerge, applying to both adult and school-based programs, was that course design and quality of instruction are critical to the success of civic education programs. The report has six parts: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Civic Education, Democracy, and USAID's Approach" (School-based Civics Programs; Adult Civic Education; USAID Programs; Key Variables in Civic Education Programs); (3) "Report Findings" (Adult Findings; School Findings); (4) "Recommendations and Lessons Learned"; (5) "Conclusion"; and (6) "Want to Know More?" (BT)

This report offers an array of steering mechanisms to help advance South Africa's higher education goals (equity and redress, efficiency, development, and accountability). Building on the experiences of other nations, the paper proposes both base formulas and non-base funding mechanisms that, combined, suggest that such policy-driven steering devices are not only possible, but also desirable in these times of rapid change and increasing instability for higher education. The paper uses three examples (the use of 3-year rolling averages, the realignment of government contribution factors, and the use of a performance-based mini-formula) to demonstrate how these proposals might impact the distribution of base funds. It also illustrates how a new non-base funding stream of performance-oriented mechanism could be developed. The paper focuses on: the higher education funding context in South Africa; a description of steering mechanisms; the overarching purposes of steering; and policy-driven steering mechanisms. The paper concludes that development of the new funding system must be simultaneous with the restructuring of the entire institutional landscape. Appended are: data on South African higher education trends and influences, a glossary of abbreviations, and a table on alternative calculations of subsidy students. (Contains 31 references.) (SM)

A study examined the impact of civic education programs on political participation and democratic attitudes among adults and high school students in South Africa. The study represents an extension of a similar assessment of civic education programs in the Dominican Republic and Poland. Questionnaires were administered by a professional survey company to samples of individuals who had been trained in different civic education programs. The questionnaires were designed to measure individuals' participation in politics, their knowledge about the political system, and their adherence to a series of democratic norms and values such as tolerance, trust, and belief in their ability to influence the political process. Respondents (n=15,550) were from 44 areas in 8 of South Africa's nine provinces. Overall findings showed unequivocally that civic education can matter for the development of democratic political culture, but it can do so only when it is conducted in the ways that are identified in this study. It is strongly recommended that policymakers take these findings into account when designing future civic education programs. Following an Executive Summary, this study report is divided into seven parts: (1) "Overview of Study"; (2) "Study Methodology"; (3) "Results: South African Adults"; (4) "Results: South African Students"; (5) "Qualitative Findings"; (6) "Recommendations for Civic Education Program Design"; and (7) "Conclusion." Appended are the survey questionnaire; the full regression results for adults; and the full regression results for students. (Contains 26 references.) (BT)

This report summarizes research on interventions intended to improve four key breastfeeding behaviors: early initiation of breastfeeding, feeding of colostrum to newborns, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 0-6 months, and continued breastfeeding through the second year and beyond. It clarifies what is known about improving these practices in order to guide program planners and managers. Over 50 studies worldwide were identified that had an intervention designed to influence one of the four behaviors and reported data on one or more of those behaviors. Results indicated that only 1 of the 51 studies examined the impact of national policy changes, and few examined the impact of prenatal education in isolation from other interventions. Some results suggested that prenatal education, when combined with other interventions (e.g., training of health providers and access to outpatient breastfeeding support clinics) related to improved breastfeeding practices. Many studies documented the impact of changing hospital practices, noting that counseling and discharge packs supporting breastfeeding, and training of hospital staff in lactation management, dramatically impacted exclusive breastfeeding rates. Most studies suggested that peer counseling and social support positively impacted initiation of breastfeeding, giving of colostrum, and exclusive breastfeeding. Evidence regarding the impact of postpartum counseling and guidance by health workers was mixed. An appendix presents detailed tables on interventions to improve breastfeeding behaviors. (Contains 115 references.) (SM)

This project attempts to identify the major problems underlying education reform in South Africa and compares them with similar challenges facing the District of Columbia public education system. Narration for the slide program is based on interviews, formal and informal meetings, lectures, and briefings. Slides of various schools and communities provide additional insights into the organization, inhabitants, and functions of specific environments and populations. The paper provides a geographic overview, a historic overview, and an examination of apartheid conditions; it also examines current challenges in politics, economics, health, and education. (EH)

This case study looks at the way in which the fundamental principles and practices of a well-established model of interactive radio instruction (IRI) were examined in light of the way that South Africa now wishes to teach language and mathematics. At stake was IRI's capacity to reinvent itself and still find a useful role for radio in the context of a much greater role for the teacher and employing a problem-solving, pupil-centered learning methodology. This case study documents the process of changing an instructional design. It includes theoretical concerns; issues around the role of the pupil, the teacher, and media in a multichannel setting; new obligations, such as teacher training, as well as student learning; and the challenge to reevaluate many of the existing assumptions about the role of radio in the classroom. The sections include: "Good Reasons for Second Thoughts"; "Rethinking the Role of the Teacher"; "Designing the New Approach"; "Learning Outcomes and Acceptance"; "Original" and "New" Models: What's the Difference?"; "How Well Do the New Models Work?"; and "Reflection on this Model of Change." (Contains 21 references.) (MAS)

"English in Action," (EIA) an interactive audio instructional system using instructional cassette or radio, when available, was implemented in first and second grade classrooms in South Africa, in 1993 and 1994, respectively. This case study looks at the economics of alternative ways to implement and expand the "English in Action" system, both with respect to the content and delivery mechanisms of the program and with respect to its organization. It identifies several audiocassette and radio broadcast alternatives, together with three different models of teacher development and support. Class sizes vary considerably in South Africa, as do the costs of reaching urban and rural schools, so the study provides costs of the various strategies for a variety of class sizes and geographic locations. Many design choices vary in cost according to how much support is provided to teachers, so materials costs for classroom materials and for teacher development are estimated separately. Costs vary from around R3.50 (approximately US$1) to R30 (approximately US$8.50) per pupil per year for materials acquisition and airtime costs. The cost of teacher development and support varies from R140 (US$40) per year to R640 (US$180) per teacher for the first, more intensive year, and from R83 (US$25) to R214 (US$60) per teacher in subsequent years for continuing teacher support and development. The utility of the study for other countries is not that it demonstrates that EIA costs a certain amount per pupil in South Africa, but that it demonstrates the cost elements that should be considered when looking at the use of multichannel approaches to learning, and how an economist deals with the economic and political uncertainty when predicting the costs of taking an innovation to scale. Five tables and three figures illustrate data. (MAS)

An evaluation of the instructional materials used by high school and college students who participated in the Model United Nations Program showed that the program is uncritical of the United Nations (U.N.) and biased against the United States and the West in general. These materials are strongly promoted by many prominent educational professional organizations. Examples of some of the biases found follow. The core curriculum being taught through the materials is the New International Economic Order (NIEO), which teaches that capitalist nations are exploiting poorer nations and that the solution to this exploitation is the massive redistribution of wealth from the developed nations to the Third World. There is no analysis of the internal problems of developing countries. Other curricula support the U.N. continual condemnation of Israel and South Africa, never mentioning PLO terrorist activities, the training of Angola troops by Soviet advisors, or the extensive U.N. funding of Marxist guerilla groups. Other areas of bias were found in the way the materials treated population, food, disarmament, U.N. peacekeeping, and human rights. A balanced program in international affairs is urgently needed. (RM)

A survey of the status of language usage in South Africa begins with an overview of the distribution among the population of the official languages, Afrikaans and English, and the principle languages of the Black majority: Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Nothern Sotho (Pedi), Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, and Venda. The influence of apartheid policy on language use and the development of bilingualism are outlined. A matrix follows that rates each of the languages on: (1) their usage rating using State Department classifications; (2) increase and decrease trends by the year 2000; (3) chief of state use in addressing the populace; (4) use in armed forces, government, court, and diplomatic communications, written and oral; (5) use as a language of instruction or required language in higher education, on the secondary and elementary levels, and in adult education; (6) use in the popular press, radio and television broadcasting, and film; (7) business and professional use, written and oral; (8) use in intellectual circles; (9) the alphabet situation; (10) their status in literature; (11) use in public signs and notices; and (12) the availability of instructional materials and dictionaries for use by English speakers. Explanatory notes give the number and population percentages using the languages, the type of alphabets used, and specific instructional material titles. A selected bibliography is also included. (MSE)