Turning old problems into new problems: the role of young citizens in improving accountability in education in Malawi and Kenya

Accountability is increasingly recognised as the key mediating variable that encourages service providers to deliver efficient and effective local services. In the context of education, accountability strategies do not always explicitly consider young citizens as the primary users of education services. In this paper, a client approach to accountability is compared to a citizenship approach. Drawing on community scorecard and social audit research in Malawi and Kenya, the author explores whether education services are more responsive and accountable when young people access information and exercise their voice. The paper outlines a refreshed ‘accountability framework’ for education, placing young citizens at the centre, and argues that a citizenship-led approach in education governance is likely to be more realistic and effective than a ‘client power’ approach. This article makes an important contribution to the development community’s understanding of what constitutes an effective approach for promoting more transparent and responsive education governance.     

Nature of Interactions Among Young Children and Adult Caregivers in a Children’s Museum

This naturalistic, qualitative study examines the nature of child- and adult-led interactions in a children’s museum. Using dialogic learning as a theoretical framework, the study examines how children and adults engage in interactions while learning at a museum. Findings suggest that children and adults are almost equally likely to lead interactions; however, most child-led interactions are qualitatively different from adult-led interactions. Children are more likely to show-and-tell about their experiences and learn by asking questions and commenting about their play. Adults are more likely to teach by telling, prompting, and reporting a child’s activities. Children and adults also are equally engage in pretend play during their interactions. Leveraging these findings, recommendations are made for museum exhibit space design.     

Soliciting,vetting, monitoring,and evaluating: A study of state education agencies’ use of external providers for school improvement efforts

Journal of Educational Change - Recent United States (U.S.) educational policies—especially the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015—have challenged state education...