Educational Policies: An International Overview

Vasko, T. (1985). Educational Policies: An International Overview. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-85-065

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Abstract

The process of education is as old as the human race. All through human history this process has become increasingly formalized and socialized (one milestone being, for example, the introduction of compulsory education). These steps made the responsibility of education for the future of the whole society (a Nation) more explicit. In spite of the fact that this responsibility has not been questioned for centuries, there are many very recent documents monitoring the disquieting state of the educational process which may not fulfill this responsibility. These signals are coming even from countries which devote considerable resources to education.

Because of its importance, education is an inherent part of development strategies in most countries, industrially developed or developing. Appropriate institutions (ministries) are designing policies aiming to influence the behavior of individual actors in education processes in the desired direction. The efficiency of individual measures taken in achieving the selected objectives is difficult to predict because the educational process at large is a complex social phenomenon where several disciplines are involved. The resulting semantic and methodological differences make it sometimes difficult to achieve a fruitful communication through interdisciplinary barriers. Because cultural factors are also involved cross-national, cross-cultural and comparative studies might bring a specific insight into the process. This by no means proves that one could easily transfer experience from one country to another.

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