ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to acquaint the reader with the features of developing countries and their cultural, social, economic, and organizational characteristics, with special attention given to the poor living conditions of many developing countries and particularly to their educational systems. Subsequent to a brief debate about theories of modernization, several models of national cultures developed by scholars in comparative political science and sociology and anthropology are presented. The chapter concludes by analyzing the contradictions between current neoliberal elements of educational reforms outlined in Chapter 2 and the main characteristics of national cultures in developing countries, conceptualized in models of national cultures.
