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Is learner-centred education appropriate for all societies and classrooms? Learner-centred education (LCE) is a travelling policy, widely promoted by international agencies and national governments. Arguments in favour of this pedagogical tradition refer to theories and evidence from cognitive psychology, claiming that all learners can benefit equally from its judicious use. Beyond the benefits to the individual however, lie a set of assumptions about learner-centred education as a foundation for the building of democratic citizens and societies, suitable for economies of the future. These promises have been questioned by critics who doubt that it is appropriate in all cultural and resource contexts, and there is considerable evidence in the global South of perennial problems of implementation. In the light of these debates, is LCE still a good development 'bet'? This book provides an authoritative and balanced investigation of these issues, exploring the contextual factors from global movements to local resourcing realities which have fuelled it as a discourse and affected its practice. In the light of the theoretical underpinnings and research evidence, the book addresses pressing questions: to what extent is learner-centred education a sound choice for policy and practice in developing countries? And if it is a sound choice, under which conditions is it a viable one? The book is divided into three key parts: Learner-centred Education as a Global Phenomenon Learner-centred Education in Lower and Middle-income Countries Lessons and Resolutions This book provides a much-needed fresh analysis of the concept and practice of LCE. It will be valuable reading for academics and post-graduates with a focus on comparative and international education, along with policy-makers in developing countries and development agencies.

The third and final in a series, this text bridges the conceptual foundations of capacity development and the difficulties and practical realities in the field. It demystifies the process of capacity development to make it more user-friendly. The book has two parts. The first shows how long-standing development dilemmas can be turned into opportunities for capacity development and societal transformation. It proposes a set of principles to guide the search for context-specific approaches as the norm, and based on these default principles the authors explore relevant issues in comprehensible stages through a capacity lens. The second part is a compilation of experiences and lessons from around the world, to showcase promising initiatives and innovative solutions. It forms a casebook of insights and good (rather than best) practices on how development stakeholders can turn development dilemmas into opportunities tailored to the needs of their societies.

A necessary volume of essays working to decolonize the digital humanities Often conceived of as an all-inclusive \"big tent,\" digital humanities has in fact been troubled by a lack of perspectives beyond Westernized and Anglophone contexts and assumptions. This latest collection in the Debates in the Digital Humanities series seeks to address this deficit in the field. Focused on thought and work that has been underappreciated for linguistic, cultural, or geopolitical reasons, contributors showcase alternative histories and perspectives that detail the rise of the digital humanities in the Global South and other \"invisible\" contexts and explore the implications of a globally diverse digital humanities. Advancing a vision of the digital humanities as a space where we can reimagine basic questions about our cultural and historical development, this volume challenges the field to undertake innovation and reform. Contributors: Maria José Afanador-Llach, U de los Andes, Bogotá; Maira E. Álvarez, U of Houston; Purbasha Auddy, Jadavpur U; Diana Barreto Ávila, U of British Columbia; Deepti Bharthur, IT for Change; Sayan Bhattacharyya, Singapore U of Technology and Design; Anastasia Bonch-Osmolovskaya, National Research U Higher School of Economics; Jing Chen, Nanjing U; Carlton Clark, Kazimieras Simonavičius U, Vilnius; Carolina Dalla Chiesa, Erasmus U, Rotterdam; Gimena del Rio Riande, Institute of Bibliographic Research and Textual Criticism; Leonardo Foletto, U of São Paulo; Rahul K. Gairola, Murdoch U; Sofia Gavrilova, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography; Andre Goodrich, North-West U; Anita Gurumurthy, IT for Change; Aliz Horvath, Eötvös Loránd U; Igor Kim, Russian Academy of Sciences; Inna Kizhner, Siberian Federal U; Cédric Leterme, Tricontinental Center; Andres Lombana-Bermudez, Pontificia, U Javeriana, Bogotá; Lev Manovich, City U of New York; Itay Marienberg-Milikowsky, Ben-Gurion U of the Negev; Maciej Maryl, Polish Academy of Sciences; Nirmala Menon, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore; Boris Orekhov, National Research U Higher School of Economics; Ernesto Priego, U of London; Sylvia Fernández Quintanilla, U of Kansas; Nuria Rodríguez-Ortega, U of Málaga; Steffen Roth, U of Turku; Dibyadyuti Roy, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur; Maxim Rumyantsev, Siberian Federal U; Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru; Juan Steyn, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources; Melissa Terras, U of Edinburgh; Ernesto Miranda Trigueros, U of the Cloister of Sor Juana; Lik Hang Tsui, City U of Hong Kong; Tim Unwin, U of London; Lei Zhang, U of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

This review of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in twenty OECD countries describes the social, economic, conceptual and research factors that influence early childhood policy. These include increasing women’s labour market participation; reconciling work and family responsibilities on a more equitable basis for women; confronting the demographic challenges faced by OECD countries; and in particular, addressing issues of access, quality, diversity, child poverty and educational disadvantage.  Starting Strong II outlines the progress made by the participating countries in responding to the key aspects of successful ECEC policy outlined in the previous volume, Starting Strong (OECD, 2001). It offers many examples of new policy initiatives adopted in the ECEC field. In their conclusion, the authors identify ten policy areas for further critical attention from governments. The book also presents country profiles, which give an overview of ECEC systems in all 20 participating countries.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interactive learning materials on learners’ self-regulated learning processes and learning satisfaction. A two-group experimental design was employed for 285 primary school teachers involved in teacher training. Teachers in the experimental group utilised interactive learning materials along with training videos and guidelines for their self-development at the school level. Teachers in the control group conducted self-development only with training videos and guidelines. The result was analysed using self-regulated learning theory explaining how one’s self-regulation processes affect learning satisfaction. Five self-regulation processes were identified in this study: internal motivation, motivation for better assessment, planning and organizing skills, critical and positive thinking skills, and effort regulation. The analysis was conducted in two steps. First, t-test analysis was used to identify the significant differences between the experimental group and the control group. The analysis revealed: (1) teachers conducting self-development with interactive learning materials were highly motivated to achieve better teacher assessment, (2) teachers with interactive learning materials had higher learning satisfaction. Second, the study further investigated the effect of interactive materials on the relationship between self-regulation processes and learning satisfaction, using moderation analysis. The results showed that interactive materials significantly affect the relationship between motivation for better assessment and learning satisfaction, as well as the relationship between internal motivation and learning satisfaction. These results were complemented by qualitative analysis including interviews and focus group discussions with teachers.

New teaching technologies represent an opportunity to gain access to a global network of knowledge. Potentially it could fully change the location inequalities derived from having studied in different countries. But perhaps that's not going to happen in the near future. Lack of mass basic education on the developing countries, difficulties in the access to technologies, low computing skills, a heritage of isolated knowledge of the local teachers and the importance of face-to-face teaching methods are probably the most important obstacles. The present paper develops all this set of constraints from a particular case study. It has been based on a teaching project supported by the Foreign Affairs Spanish Ministry, and three Universities from Bolivia, Chile and Spain were involved. The teaching experience took place on 2012-2013. The main teaching activity was a \"Seasonal school\" at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA-La Paz, Bolivia) which had two months duration. The school combined face-to-face teaching and a virtual learning environment (VLE). Due to huge different time zones between La Paz and Barcelona, we used asynchronous (time delayed) communication technologies into the VLE. The course tried to help the Bolivian University for a further implementation of Master studies in Economic History. It was taught by professors from universities of three countries: Bolivia, Chile and Spain. Related to the contents of the course, they were the main recent topics in economic and social history, with Latin America as a particular case study. This course was followed by 30 Bolivian students. Some teachers of the University of La Paz also attended the lessons. Three of the best students gained a grant to follow a course in Economic History at the University of Valparaiso, Chile. Finally, the project was closed with a meeting in Bolivia where students and teachers presented the main outputs.

The appalling lack of adequate surgical care for the poor suffers on two counts: firstly our involvement and complacency with achievements in urban centres and secondly because of passive acceptance on part of poor patients and a disinclination on the part of the rural surgeons to document their experience. An effort is made to analyze some of the problems faced, progress achieved and what perhaps needs to be done. Special emphasis is placed on a medical education curriculum which embraces the needs of 70% of our population, on encouraging innovation and \"research\" by the surgeon who is in the thick of providing care to the poor, the implementation of human resources development and on distance learning. Surgical care for the poor is a neglected necessity all over the developing world and merits interchange and cooperation of all surgeons in all countries.

Investing in young children is the responsible thing to do. All children deserve a chance to grow into healthy, educated, and competent people, no matter where and when they were born. While parents bear most of the responsibility for raising their children, especially in the early years of life, governments also have an important role during this critical time of human capital accumulation. For example, governments can ensure that all expectant mothers and young children have access to quality health services and nutrition. They can support parents and other caregivers in providing a positive and stimulating environment for children from birth on by promoting parenting information programs, investing in direct services such as home-based visits, funding daycare centers and preschools, or providing financial incentives to access good quality programs for infants and children. This Early Childhood Development (ECD) guide presents lessons and experiences that have been useful in informing the policy debate about ECD interventions and the design of such programs across the world. Whether the user of this guide is at the initial stage of deciding whether to expand an ECD portfolio or already in the program design stage, the content offers a range of evidence- based options to inform policy and investment choices.

In Low-fee Private Schooling and Poverty in Developing Countries , Joanna Härmä draws on primary research carried out in sub-Saharan African countries and in India to show how the poor are being failed by both government and private schools.