Fostering educational participation in pastoral communities through non-formal education: the Ghanaian perspective

This paper is an investigation of the impact of the Shepherd School Program, a non-formal basic education program implemented in seven pastoral communities in northern Ghana. The paper argues that non-formal basic education programs can have an important impact on the educational development of a community. However, for this to be possible, the context of such programs must answer to communities’ social, cultural, economic and other immediate needs.     

Explaining learning gaps in Namibia: The role of language proficiency

In a multilingual context, this study investigates the role on mathematics achievement of the provision of instruction in the home language. It compares characteristics of 5048 Grade 6 learners in 275 Namibian schools. The outcome variable is the standardized SACMEQ mathematics score collected in year 2000. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to partition the total variance in mathematics achievement into its within- and between-school components. The results do confirm the significant role of low language skills on the overall low mathematics scores, which may question the effectiveness and equity of the current bilingual policy.     

Education collaboration to promote school participation in northern Ghana: A case study of a complementary education program

This study explores the perceived benefits and challenges of the collaboration model of a complementary education program which operates in marginalized communities in northern Ghana. The scope of the paper includes the background, collaboration as a transformative process, research methodology, findings, and discussion. The study revealed that: (a) the collaborative partners’ “shared values” were a major drive of the collaboration; (b) the collaboration model was fluid, contextual, and an unstructured process; (c) the process provided new strategies promoting school participation in northern Ghana; and (d) the collaborative partners’ idiosyncrasies posed a major challenge to the collaboration.     

Private schooling for low-income families: A census and comparative survey in East Delhi,India

A census and survey of schools in the slums of East Delhi, India, explored the nature and extent of private education serving low-income families, and compared inputs to public and private schooling. Around two-thirds of all schools were private unaided, with more unrecognised private than government schools. Teaching activity was found to be considerably higher in private unaided than government schools, although teacher absenteeism was lowest in government schools. Most inputs showed either comparable levels of provision in government and private unaided schools, or superiority in private unaided schools. Possible implications are explored, concerning targeted vouchers, increased regulation and self-regulation.     

Schooling progress,learning reversal: Indonesia’s learning profiles between 2000 and 2014

We examine the relationship between schooling completed and mathematics learning from 2000 to 2014 by developing learning profiles for Indonesia. Using nearly-nationally representative survey data, we find a large gap between students’ ability and standards set by the national curriculum. Learning declined over 14 years, a loss of a fourth of a standard deviation. To put this loss in context, the average child in grade 7 in 2014 achieved the same numeracy mastery as the average child in grade 4 in 2000. The reduction in learning was widespread, affecting all subgroups. Junior and senior secondary enrollment increased over this timeframe, but this decline was not due to changes in student composition.     

Universal,but not free: Household schooling costs and equity effects of Uganda’s Universal Secondary Education policy

A general consensus regarding universal schooling policies is that they have boosted enrollments while ignoring the quality of learning, although there is burgeoning research interest in the extent to which such policies have contributed to more equitable educational delivery. This paper analyzes household and school level effects of Uganda’s Universal Secondary Education (USE) policy, launched in 2007. We rely on data drawn from the Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS) rounds in 2005 and 2009–11, which are included as part of the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS). We find that receipt of the USE capitation grant has increased substantially for most pupils, and is associated with a 60% reduction in household spending on education per child, at the lower secondary level. At the same time this relationship does not differ by wealth or by region. Further, we do not find evidence to suggest the policy boosted school attendance or retention, at the lower secondary level. Overall, our findings suggest a need for greater attention to the equity effects of universal education policies.     

On global absences: Reflections on the failings in the education and poverty relationship in Latin America

This paper explores some of the aspects of the relationship between education and poverty as it has been constructed by international organisations and national governments in Latin America. The analysis is carried out from two separate angles. On the one hand, the paper highlights the main failings that underlie the positive and hoped-for relationship between investment in education and the reduction of poverty. On the other, it demonstrates how a good number of these failings can be attributed to an underestimation of the inverse relationship, i.e. the effects that poverty has on education. Though this analysis can be understood from a general perspective, evidence from Latin America is used to illustrate the consequences of these global absences.     

Water,sanitation, and primary school attendance: A multi-level assessment of determinants of household-reported absence in Kenya

This cross-sectional analysis examined the influence of school and household water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions on recent primary school absence in light of other individual, household, and school characteristics in western Kenya. School latrine cleanliness was the only school WASH factor associated with reduced odds of absence. The marginal effect of household characteristics, such as distance to water source, child involvement in water collection, and presence of a latrine, differed by gender. Demographic features were more important predictors of absence, suggesting that interventions to improve attendance must consider existing differentials attributable to gender, socio-economic status, and other household characteristics.     

The cultural politics of constructivist pedagogies: Teacher education reform in the United Republic of Tanzania

This article examines recent educational reforms in Tanzania by looking at the cultural politics of pedagogical change in secondary and teacher education. It presents an ethnography of a teachers college founded on the principles of social constructivism in a country where formalistic, teacher-centered pedagogy is the norm. Using data collected through a year of participant observation, it argues that the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of teachers’ practice need to be considered alongside efforts to reform the country's educational system. It offers contingent constructivism as an alternative to the international consensus on a single model of excellent teaching.     

Educational reform in North Cyprus—Towards the making of a nation/state?

The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) aspires to take its place in Europe and the global ‘knowledge economy’. In order to do so, it needs not only to be politically recognised as legitimate and to develop the kinds of economic and governance structures that signify a functional state, but also to produce a cultural imaginary of itself as a nation. In this paper, we mobilise Appadurai's theorisation of deterritorialisation, flows and context generation in order to examine the ways in which the implementation of educational reforms in TRNC might contribute to this ambition. We show that the ethnoscape and financescape combine to make education reform difficult, with specific challenges arising from the mixed commitment of the workforce, the capacity of the education bureaucracy to align support with policy mandates, and the ‘fit’ between the policy and local needs. We conclude by suggesting that TRNC faces the dilemma of working with cultural heterogeneity: Appadurai identifies this as a key ideoscape challenge for all nation/states.     

School and teacher performance incentives: The Latin American experience

This paper discusses performance evaluation and the introduction of incentives into education in Latin America from an analytical and methodological perspective. The aim is to describe ongoing strategies and learn from practical experiences in this field. The cases analyzed reveal that school-level evaluations and collective incentives adapt better to the characteristics of the educational process and the potential for teamwork, while individual evaluations pose some difficulties. Several evaluation systems currently in use emphasize educational inputs and, in some cases, mainly compliance with rules and procedures, irrespective of education results (output). If the factors considered in assessing school performance do not correlate well with educational achievement, the incentives vanish. Hence, the importance of emphasizing output and ensuring that if measures are included for inputs and processes, these must line up with educational achievement.     

Qualitative inquiry into local education administration in Pakistan

The level of educational development in Pakistan is low. A decentralisation reform was introduced in 2000 to improve the delivery of basic education by designating the local government body with primary responsibility for administering it. A qualitative field study on local education administration at the North West Frontier Province found problematic issues which may be significantly hampering efficient and effective delivery of education, such as the transfer of teachers. Conversely, the informality of the interpersonal relationships was found to be a potential asset for advancing stakeholder networking and improving the delivery of educational services.     

Are the MDGs enough? Donor perspectives and recipient visions of education and poverty reduction in Rwanda

Achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs) forms the central focus of many donor agencies’ policies, resulting in a renewed focus on basic education. This paper explores the different perspectives of donors and the Government of Rwanda (GoR) with regard to education and training. GoR discourse mirrors the international poverty reduction agenda, yet it is looking well beyond this goal. Striking a balance between providing basic education in line with the poverty reduction agenda and providing higher levels of education and training to attain broader socio-economic goals results in an internal struggle between different policy priorities and viewpoints, and an external struggle with donor agencies whose influence over policy processes is considerable. Nevertheless, a closer look at individual donors in Rwanda reveals that their actual activities demonstrate a less than clear focus on the MDGs, begging the question of just how pertinent the MDGs are.     

Educational reform in Turkey

There are a number of reform initiatives underway in Turkey but some of these, which are concerned with curricular and structural changes, have encountered serious difficulties. This paper begins with a brief summary of school effectiveness and school improvement research guiding many educational reforms. It then gives some information about school demographics in Turkey, and the country's performance in some international benchmarking studies. It continues with the shifts introduced as a result of recent curricular reorganisation in Turkey and, subsequently, with various issues related to their implications. Finally, the efforts to legislate some structural changes and the major controversies arising are presented.     

Challenging common sense: Cases of school reform for learning community under an international cooperation project in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam

This paper aims to discuss the challenges in the process of building a learning community in Vietnamese primary schools. Five lessons emerge from the cases. First, changing teachers’ beliefs is time-consuming. Second, because of the reluctance of teachers to change, large-scale delivery of the educational project should be critically revisited with regard to its effectiveness. Third, learning community requires the building of trust among actors, including external resource persons. Fourth, external resource persons should continue learning sincerely to gain teachers’ trust. Fifth, the concept of sustainability should be revisited as something that is never-ending and that cannot reach perfection.