Abstract
Australia's programme of educational assistance to developing countries is devoted overwhelmingly to higher education, which accounts for over three quarters of the country's assistance to the educational sector. This article considers the rationale for this and shows that Australia's policy in this area is driven primarily by commercial considerations. The country's educational assistance to the Pacific Island Countries serves to illustrate this point. The author advocates increased assistance to programmes of basic education. She argues that a focus on basic education has greater relevance to developing countries, and that there is a need to rethink Australia's priorities in allocating educational assistance.
Zusammenfassung
Australiens Programm über Bildungshilfen für Entwicklungsländer konzentriert sich im wesentlichen auf die höhere Bildung, für die mehr als drei Viertel der Hilfestellung des Landes auf dem Bildungssektor aufgewendet wird. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Gründe dafür und zeigt auf, daß Australiens Politik zu diesem Thema hauptsächlich von kommerziellen Interessen gesteuert wird. Hilfeleistungen für die pazifischen Inseln im Bildungsbereich verdeutlichen dieses Argument. Die Autorin befürwortet ein gesteigertes Interesse an Grundbildungsprogrammen. Sie argumentiert, daß eine Schwerpunktsetzung auf die Grundbildung für Entwicklungsländer von größerem Nutzen sei, und daß Australiens Prioritäten bei der Zuweisung von Bildungshilfen zu überdenken seien.
Résumé
Le programme australien d'assistance pédagogique aux pays en voie de développement est réservé pour une part considérable à l'éducation supérieure, celleci représentant plus des trois quarts de la coopération pédagogique de ce pays. L'article en analyse la raison d'être et démontre que la politique australienne dans ce domaine est animée en premier lieu par des considérations commerciales, à l'appui de l'exemple fourni par l'assistance pédagogique dans les Iles du Pacifique. L'auteur plaide pour un soutien qui s'orienterait bien davantage sur les programmes d'éducation de base. Elle argumente que les pays en voie de développement ont un besoin primordial en éducation de base, et que l'Australie doit donc réviser ses priorités en matière de coopération pédagogique.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AIDAB 1991.Australian Development Cooperation in the Education and Training Sector. Canberra: AGPS.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) 1988.Education and Development in Asia and the Pacific. Manila: ADB.
Blewett, N. 1991.Australia's Overseas Aid Programme 1991–92. Canberra: AGPS.
Department of Employment, Education and Training 1987.Annual Report. Canberra: AGPS.
Department of Employment, Education and Training. 1991a. Programmes and policies for foreign students in Australia.Higher Education 21: 379–388.
Department of Employment, Education and Training. 1991b.Annual Report. Canberra: AGPS.
Fagerlind, I. and Saha, L.J. 1983.Education and National Development: A Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Fields, G.S. 1982. Educational Progress and Economic Development. In: L. Anderson and D.M. Windham, eds.,Education and Development. Massachusetts: Lexington Books.
Jones, P.W. 1986.Australia's International Relations in Education. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Love, A.R. 1991.Development Co-operation. Paris: OECD.
Luteru, P.H. 1990. Aid and Education in Small Systems: A South Pacific Perspective. Paper presented at Planning and Management of Education and Human Resource Development in Small Systems Workshop, Institute of Education, University of London, 21–23 May 1990.
Parkinson, N. 1976.Education Aid and National Development. London: MacMillan.
Phillips, H.M. 1976.Educational Cooperation between Developed and Developing Countries. New York: Praeger.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1991.Human Development Report 1991. New York: Oxford University Press.
United States Agency for International Cooperation (AID) 1982.Basic Education and Technical Training. Washington, DC: AID.
Watson, K. 1982a. Educational neocolonialism — the continuing colonial legacy. In: K. Watson, ed.,Education in the Third World. London: Croom Helm.
Watson, K. 1982b. Colonialism and Educational Development. In: K. Watson, ed.,Education in the Third World. London: Croom Helm.
Woodhall, M. 1987. Government Policy Towards Overseas Students: An International Perspective.Higher Education Quarterly 41: 119–125.
World Bank. 1991.World Development Report 1991: The Challenge of Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
World Conference on Education for All. 1990.World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs. New York: UNICEF House.
Additional information
The views expressed in this article are those of the author rather than of any organization for which the author has worked.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Byrne, A. Australia's programme of educational assistance to developing countries: The place of basic education. Int Rev Educ 40, 455–468 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102823
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102823