Education and social cohesion: developing a framework for education sector reform in Sri Lanka1

There is increasing interest in understanding and describing the links between education and ‘social cohesion’. However, the theoretical and empirical base for understanding these links is limited. There is also a shortage of practical tools for education policy‐makers and planners, to help them assess the impact of policies and investments, and to plan for future reform. This paper describes the initial development of an analytical and planning framework for addressing education and social cohesion within the context of a sector‐wide approach to education reform in Sri Lanka. A brief literature review suggests three inter‐connected domains in which links between education and social cohesion might be usefully analysed, together with three working hypotheses: (i) political economy/governance: education affects social cohesion through transparency and participation in education policy formulation, planning and management; (ii) equity/equality of opportunity: education affects social cohesion through the distribution of education resources, opportunities and outcomes; (iii) teaching/learning: education affects social cohesion through the development of certain competencies in students. Drawing on this analytical framework, research conducted in Sri Lanka is used to identify a set of interventions to promote social cohesion, with corresponding baseline, process and outcome indicators as benchmarks for measuring the progress and impact of intended policy measures. This process is described within the context of a ‘sector‐wide approach’ to education reform, intended to bring together the activities of the government and external partners within a single comprehensive medium‐term planning and budgetary framework.     

The study of butterflies

In this part of the series on butterflies, we look at the types of variations found within species as well as their causes.