Register of the Philip Hall Coombs papers

Finding aid prepared by Beth Goder
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2019
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu


Title: Philip Hall Coombs papers
Date (inclusive): 1952-1983
Collection Number: 80193
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English, French, and Polish
Physical Description: 6 manuscript boxes (2.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Speeches and writings, correspondence, and printed matter, relating to international education, and education in developing countries.
Creator: Coombs, Philip H. (Philip Hall), 1915-2006
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1980.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Philip Hall Coombs papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical Note

1915 Born, Holyoke, Massachusetts
1937 Graduated from Amherst College
1939-1941 Taught economics at Williams College
1941-1943 Economist, United States Office of Price Administration
Circa 1943 Served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II
1945-1946 Economic Advisor, Office of Economic Stabilization
1947-1949 Professor of Economics, Amherst College
1950-1952 Executive Director, International Materials Policy Commission (Paley Commission)
1952-1960 Director of Research, Fund for the Advancement of Education, and Program Director for Education, Ford Foundation
1961-1962 United States Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
1963 Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
1963-1968 Director, International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris
1964 Author, The Fourth Dimension of Foreign Policy: Educational and Cultural Affairs
1965 Co-author, Education and Foreign Aid
1968 Author, The World Educational Crisis: A Systems Analysis
1969 Director of Research, International Institute for Educational Planning, United States
1970-1992 Served as vice chairman and chairman of the International Council of Economic Development
1972 Co-author, Managing Educational Costs
1973 Co-author, New Paths to Learning for Rural Children and Youth
1974 Co-author, Attacking Rural Poverty: How Nonformal Education Can Help
1975 Co-author, Education for Rural Development: Case Studies for Planners
1980 Author, Meeting the Basic Needs of the Rural Poor: The Integrated Community-Based Approach
1985 Author, The World Crisis in Education: The View from the Eighties
1987 Co-author, Cost Analysis in Education: A Tool for Policy and Planning
2006 Died

Scope and Content of Collection

The Philip Hall Coombs papers include speeches and writings, correspondence, and printed matter related to international education and education in developing countries.
Philip H. Coombs was an American educator who served with organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), and the International Council of Economic Development. In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Coombs to the position of United States Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. The papers includes Speeches and Writings Coombs wrote while in this role, as well as writings from throughout his career related to topics in education, including non-formal and rural education.
The Subject File includes correspondence and reports documenting Coombs's work related to non-formal education in Bangladesh. Also included are proceedings and reports of the International Conference on the World Crisis in Education.
The collection includes Printed Matter related to education and clippings about Coombs.

Related Collections

International Institute for Educational Planning records, Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Subjects and Indexing Terms

International education
Education -- Developing countries
Educational assistance, American
United States. Department of State
International Institute for Educational Planning

 

Speeches and Writings 1958-1976

Scope and Contents

Includes typescripts and printed copies of speeches and writings related to education, as well as correspondence and notes. Includes speeches and articles written while Coombs served as the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 1

"Basic Education for Meeting Basic Human Needs of the Rural Poor," typescript undated

box 1, folder 2

"Can Communication Satellites Overcome Crippling Educational Deficits in the Poorest Nations?" typescript undated

box 1, folder 3

"A Fresh Look at the World Educational Crisis," typescript undated

box 1, folder 4

"Opportunities for New Collaboration on Rural Education and Development by International Agencies," typescript undated

box 1, folder 5

"Organizational Strategies for Implementing the New Goals of Rural Development," typescript undated

box 1, folder 6

"The Pursuit of Excellence Education and the Future of America," Rockefeller Report on Education, panel report, printed copy 1958

box 1, folder 7

"How the Ford Fund Makes a Grant," printed copy 1960

box 1, folder 8

"The Technical Frontiers of Education," printed copy 1960

 

Speeches and articles as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs 1961-1962

box 1, folder 9-12

Printed copies 1961-1962

box 2, folder 1-2

Typescripts 1961-1962

 

Council on Foreign Relations 1962-1967

Scope and Contents

Includes correspondence, memoranda, notes, and printed matter for a book related to the Council on Foreign Relations, possibly The Fourth Dimension of Foreign Policy: Educational and Cultural Affairs.
box 2, folder 3

Correspondence 1962-1963

box 2, folder 4-5

Sources for book 1962-1967

box 2, folder 6

"The Adjustment of the Educational Structure to the Requirements of Economic Development," Education in Developing Countries, printed copy 1963

Scope and Contents

Includes note
box 2, folder 7

"Education's Role in the Developing Nations," Saturday Review, printed copy 1963

box 2, folder 8

The Fourth Dimension of Foreign Policy, printed copy 1964

box 3, folder 1

"Educational Planning in the Developing Nations," printed copy 1965

box 3, folder 2

"What Major Tasks Face Educational Planning in the Next Decade?" printed copies 1965

box 3, folder 3

"The International Institute for Educational Planning," printed copy 1966

box 3, folder 4

"Major Tasks Facing Educational Planning," Development Digest, printed copy 1966

box 3, folder 5

"Panel On: The 'Brain Drain' From Developing Countries," Society for International Development Conference, typescript 1966

box 3, folder 6

"The Global Revolution," The Education Digest, printed copy 1967

box 3, folder 7

"Major Problems Facing Educational Planning in the Next Decade," printed copies 1967

box 3, folder 8

"Raising Educational Productivity," annotated typescript 1967

box 3, folder 9

"Strategy for Building a Successful Planning Process," typescript 1967

box 3, folder 10

"What Do We Still Need to Know About Education Planning?" chapter 3, World Year Book of Education, printed copies 1967

box 3, folder 11

"The Challenge to Educational Planning," International Development Review, printed copy 1968

box 3, folder 12

"The Education Industry," Development Digest 1968

box 3, folder 13

Review of The New Media in The Journal of Educational Administration, printed copy 1969

box 3, folder 14

"The Need for a New Strategy of Educational Development," Comparative Education Review, printed copy 1970

box 3, folder 15

"Pour adapter la pédagogie aux besoins du XXe siècle il faut briser les barrièrs de la vie académique," printed copy 1970

box 3, folder 16

'Nécessité d'une nouvelle stratégie du développement de l'éducation," printed copy 1971

box 3, folder 17

"The Planning of Non-Formal Education: Some Initial Thoughts," typescript 1971

box 4, folder 1

"The Planning of Out-Of-School Education: Some Initial Thoughts," IIEP conference, typescript 1971

box 4, folder 2

"The World Education Crisis," printed copy 1971

box 4, folder 3-4

Bellagio Conference on Education and Development, typescript, notes, proceedings 1972

box 4, folder 5

"Opportunities for New Collaboration on Rural Education and Development by International Agencies," typescript 1973

box 4, folder 6

"Should One Develop Nonformal Education?" printed copy 1973

box 4, folder 7

"Summary Chapter of Draft of Final Report on Non-Formal Education for Rural Development Prepared for the World Bank," UNESCO, typescript 1973

box 4, folder 8

Review of Education for Rural Development: Case Studies for Planners, printed copies 1975

box 4, folder 9

"Can Communication Satellites Overcome Crippling Educational Deficits in the Poorest Nations?" printed copies 1975-1977

box 4, folder 10

"Education for Rural Development: Some Implications for Planning," IIEP/SIDA Seminar, typescript 1975

box 4, folder 11

"Report to UNICEF Jakarta on Non-Formal Education Activities in Indonesia," typescript 1975

box 4, folder 12

Review of New Paths to Learning for Rural Children and Youth, Shishu Diganta, printed copy 1976

box 4, folder 13

"Nonformal Education: Myths, Realities, and Opportunities," printed copy 1976

 

Subject File 1952-1975

Scope and Contents

Includes correspondence, reports, notes, conference proceedings, and printed matter. Includes materials related to education in Bangladesh and the International Conference on the World Crisis in Education. Arranged alphabetically.
box 4, folder 14

Amherst reunion, booklet and letter 1952

 

Bangladesh

box 4, folder 15

Draft five year plan observations 1973

box 4, folder 16-17

Ford Foundation, correspondence, notes, writings 1973

box 4, folder 18

Notes undated

box 4, folder 19

Visit in 1973, Coombs and Manzoor Ahmed

box 5, folder 1

Visit in 1974

box 5, folder 2

Ford Foundation and Fund for the Advancement of Education 1960-1975

box 5, folder 3

Indonesia 1972-1973

 

International Conference on the World Crisis in Education

box 5, folder 4-7

Proceedings 1967

box 6, folder 1

Program 1967

box 6, folder 2

"Report of the Conference Chairman" 1967

box 6, folder 3

Report in Polish 1968

box 6, folder 4

"The World Education Crisis," report by Coombs 1967

box 6, folder 5

Miscellaneous 1969-1970

box 6, folder 6

UNESCO/UNICEF Co-Operation Programme, "Basic Education in Eastern Africa," draft report 1974

 

Printed Matter 1956-1983

Scope and Contents

Includes articles, booklets, clippings, pamphlets, and serial issues related to education.
box 6, folder 7-8

General 1956-1983

Scope and Contents

Includes annotated copy of "A Beacon of Hope--The Exchange-of-Persons Program," U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs report
box 6, folder 9

Clippings about Coombs 1966