Educational Policy and Development
| Published date | 01 July 1990 |
| DOI | 10.1177/019251219001100308 |
| Date | 01 July 1990 |
| Author | Benjamin Levin |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
385
Educational
Policy
and
Development
BENJAMIN
LEVIN
ABSTRACT.
Educational
policy
in
developing
countries
has
often
been
designed
in
imitation
of
current
practice
in
the
industrialized
world,
even
though
that
practice
is
itself
the
subject
of
a
great
deal of
criticism.
Current
aid
practices
have
reinforced
the
imitative
approach
to
educational
development.
It
is
possible,
however,
for
both
developed
and
developing
countries
to
learn
from
the
mistakes
of
developed
systems,
and
to
derive
lessons
emphasizing
such
attributes
of
educational
systems
as
flexibility,
articulation,
recognition
of
experimental
learning,
the
provision
of
alternatives,
and
close
cooperation
with
the
community
as
being
important
elements
of
educational
policy.
Introduction
Education
has
been
a
major
area
of
activity
for
most
developing
countries,
as
well
as
for
multilateral
bodies
and
international
development
agencies.
Large
amounts
of
money
have
been,
and
continue
to
be,
directed
towards
strengthening
education
in
developing
countries.
For
example,
the
Canadian
International
Development
Agency
(CIDA)
has
just
published
a
formal
statement
of
development
policy
which
gives
high
priority
to
human
resource
development,
including
education
(CIDA,
1987).
The
World
Bank
and
other
multilateral
agencies
have
also
funded
significant
education
projects
in
many
parts
of
the
world.
Moreover,
education
also
consumes
a
very
large
portion-and
is
often
the
single
largest
item-in
the
ongoing
expenditures
of
developing
countries.
Recent
Unesco
data
(Unesco,
1984)
show
developing
countries
allocating
20
percent
or
more
of
total
government
expenditure
to
education.
Whereas
in
1970
developing
countries
spent
about
one
dollar
for
every
12
spent
on
education
in
the
developed
world,
by
1982
the
ratio
was
1:6.
Similarly,
per
capita
spending
on
education
in
developing
countries
rose
from
one-nineteenth
of
the
developed
world
level
in
1970
to
one-eleventh
in
1982
(Unesco,
1984).
For
the
most
part,
activities
in
education
have
been
aimed
at
the
building
of
educational
systems
and
infrastructures
which
are
modeled
at
least
loosely
on
the
existing
systems
of
developed
countries.
That
is,
developing
countries
have
sought
to
build
systems
of
education
involving
schools
with
certified
teachers,
vocational
and
non-vocational
secondary
systems,
and
universities.
They
have
invested
also,
to
the
extent
resources
have
permitted,
in
such
ancillary
activities
as
teacher
training,
curriculum
development,
and
textbook
production.
Of
course,
the
basic
nature
of
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