This report gives an overview of education challenges facing the developing world and discusses the technologies available to address them. It aims to provide guidance to decision-makers designing, implementing or investing in education initiatives.  

The report focuses on the potential of recent information and communications technology (ICT) such as mobile phone and laptops, and examines conditions that can influence whether technology interventions are successful. It also focuses on the world's poorest countries.

The authors put forward seven principles for effective use of technology in education, which include a focus on identifying the problem before introducing a technology to address it, and considering whether the design and implementation of the technology will allow it to last over time. The report concludes that ICTs can bring quality learning to some of the world's poorest and hard-to-reach communities.

This report presents 17 case studies of good practice in coastal management across island territories of the Asia-Pacific region. These illustrate examples of locally tailored, evidence-based and cost-effective actions at a local, provincial, national and regional level.

For each case study — including efforts in the Cook Islands, Fiji and the Solomon Islands — the report provides background information, intended outcomes and how they were addressed, what was achieved and lessons learned.

The report concludes that communities in the region can make progress with integrated coastal management to deal with primarily land-based threats facing coastal areas. It highlights the importance of enhancing the role of government and strengthening enabling environments; multi-sector partnerships; scaling-up small initiatives and achieving cost effectiveness; and providing information through education, awareness, monitoring or research.

This booklet, published by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), aims to inform policymakers about how Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) — an educational tool that uses learners' experiences for practical teaching — can encourage girls to participate in science and mathematics. It addresses current misconceptions about girls' aptitude for science, and ineffective teaching methods at primary schools in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report provides an overview of girls' education in Sub-Saharan Africa and describes IBSE, its features, and where it has been implemented. It suggests that integrating IBSE into the school curricula can help to increase girls' participation in science and mathematics. The Academy urges policymakers to endorse IBSE and offers guidance on how they can support pilot projects to implement it in primary schools.

This training manual aims to help science educators, career advisers and school staff to encourage more girls to pursue science and technology (S&T) careers in Africa. Specific objectives include promoting a positive image of women in science, making educators aware of gender stereotypes related to science careers, improving girls' access to science education and ensuring that teachers have the tools they need.

The manual is divided into six main units, each targeting a different audience. For each unit, the manual describes the purpose, target groups, learning outcomes and course content, together with suggested workshop activities for each topic. The workshops enable educators to explore gender issues around science and technology in depth. This manual is available in English, French and Portuguese.

This report presents gender-differentiated statistical data on higher education student enrolments and graduations, human resources for science and technology (S&T), publication output, funding allocation, and scientific ratings given to individual researchers by the National Research Foundation (NRF).

The study finds that South African women's participation in science education has increased, and gender parity in funding for higher education and research has improved, even in the fields of engineering and applied technologies. But women are still a minority, particularly at higher postgraduate levels, and remain behind their male counterparts in access to S&T employment, scientific publications, and NRF ratings. The report recommends action such as promoting research on 'gender responsiveness' and tackling the unequal distribution of public resources.

This World Bank report describes the role higher education plays in building developing countries' capacity to participate in a knowledge-based world economy and outlines policy options to promote economic development. It confirms the shift in the World Bank's attitude to education support as a driver of socioeconomic growth.

The authors ask why higher education is important for development, how developing countries can best utilise their higher education systems, and how the World Bank and other donors can support local governments. They argue that knowledge is essential for development — and higher education is essential to create and apply knowledge.

They conclude that developing countries risk marginalisation because of their weak higher education systems, and stress the need for government and donor support.

This World Bank report examines higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa, asking how it can stimulate economic growth in the region. Drawing on international experience and regional case studies, the authors argue that there is an urgent need for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to invest in human capital and knowledge — and therefore higher education — to create a viable and growth-promoting industrial system, and cope with threats such as disease, population growth and climate change.

They discuss how and why human capital investment can lead to socioeconomic growth and review current practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors propose a number of good practices to help countries in the region strengthen their higher education systems quickly and effectively.

Recommendations include developing a national strategy for developing human resources, reforming funding mechanisms for higher education, giving institutions decision-making powers, encouraging diversity and developing postgraduate programs to boost local research capacity.

This opinion article highlights the need for donors to support higher education in poor countries. The authors, Jos H. C. Walenkamp and Ad Boeren from the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education, discuss how higher education and research can reduce poverty. They argue that it stimulates economic growth and increases a country's aid-absorption capacity.

They briefly state current aid agency and devolping country government attitudes to higher education and highlight brain drain as a particular problem that dissuades donors from investing in this area. They make a number of recommendations for the international donor community, suggesting that it unties bilateral aid, coordinates efforts and gives recipient governments responsibility to monitor and manage activities in their own countries.

These selected proceedings from a regional research seminar in Morocco, hosted by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), examine the state of higher education in Arab states. They highlight the impact of globalisation on local systems and discuss the role of funding agencies in supporting them.

The authors tackle a range of issues including the nature and extent of the 'knowledge gap' in Arab societies, current funding patterns and implications for future support, and the effects of international agreements such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services. Munir Bashshur, member of UNESCO's regional scientific committee for Arab states, presents a summary report of the conference, in both English and Arabic.

This paper from the Association of Commonwealth Universities outlines the commitments and activities made by major international partners — specifically the G8 countries — to developing African higher education between 2000 and 2004.

Projects are analysed by topic — from human resources development to HIV/AIDS to science and technology — and region. The authors highlight trends in donors' strategies for supporting African higher education, presenting development portfolios and case studies from France, Germany, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others. They suggest improvements in aid delivery, including collaboration between donors and increased communication about individual donor strategies. They also call for more networking and collaboration across higher education institutions within Africa, while noting that these face financial constraints.

The authors conclude that there is a particular need for donors to provide more support to science and technology projects — as a crucial driver of socioeconomic development.

This paper, written by researchers at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Columbia in the United States, examines various aspects of higher education in developing countries including its impact on economic development.

The authors discuss the growing demand for higher education in developing countries, analysing the contributing factors and presenting examples of different country responses. In particular, they examine the trends in China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Some broader challenges facing developing countries, including governance, brain drain, equity and access, and regulation and accreditation are outlined. They also examine the role the international community — including major donors such as the World Bank — has played in supporting higher education in the developing world.

The authors highlight the general lack of data on higher education and call for more research on how, and even whether, higher education works in developing countries.