What is Education Policy?

Last week… Introduction to Comparative Education Use of comparisons to inform policy analysis with regards to educational opportunities for girls. Key concepts and indicators to model an education system. Educational ideas have been ‘transferred’ for a long time, including the idea that all should be educated.

Comparative education Comparative studies Education Abroad International Education Development Education Comparative Pedagogy Intra-educational And intra-cultural studies International pedagogy Study of work of International organizations Halls typology of comparative education

John Amos Comenius 1592 to 1670

Joseph Lancaster 1778-1838

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Systematic comparisons are more recent What is the number of students in the primary schools in the commune or district? What is the proportion of the total number of these students to the total population? Approximately how many students are grouped under a single director or teacher? At which age are children admitted to the primary schools? Are children of both sexes admited to the same school and until what age? How are students assessed and for what purpose? How are students streamed? Is there peer education? How much time is devoted to literacy and math instruction? At what age do children leave primary school? Marc Antoine Jullien in 1816

The aims of comparative education Describes what might be the consequences of certain courses of action, by looking at experiences in various countries Contributes to the development of education theory Supports educational planning Helps to cooperation and mutual understanding among nations

Shows what is possible by examining alternatives to provision at home Offers yardsticks by which to judge the performance of education systems Describes what might be the consequences of certain courses of action, by looking at experiences in various countries Provides a body of descriptive and explanatory data which allows us to see various practices and procedures in a very wide context Contributes to the development of an increasingly sophisticated theoretical framework in which to describe and analyze educational phenomena Serves to provide authoritative objective data which can be used to put the less objective data of others who use comparisons for a variety of political and other reasons to the test Has an important supportive and instructional role to play in the development of any plans for educational reform Helps to foster cooperation and mutual understanding among nations by discussing cultural differences and similarities and offering explanations for them Is of intrinsic intellectual interest as a scholarly activity as other comparative fields.

1 2 3 4 5 Required Under Constraint Negotiated Under Constraint Introduced Through Influence Borrowed Purposely Imposed 1 2 3 4 5 Totalitarian/authoritarian rule, etc. Defeated/occupied countries Required by bilateral and multilateral agreements Intentional copying of policy/practice observed elsewhere General influence of educational ideas/methods Source: Phillips and Schweisfurth 2007

Transnational Space Multilateral (Intergovernmental) Organizations UUNN Multilateral Development Institutions. World Bank. UNESCO. Regional Banks. Bilateral Development Agencies (JICA, USAID, CIDA, GTZ) International Non-Governmental Organizations (Faith based Organizations, Save the Children) Consulting Firms, Think Tanks and Universities Interest Groups

Equality of Educational Opportunity The likelihood that any person in a given country can enroll in an educational institution, be supported to learn at high levels, complete and proceed to the next existing level and type of education, independently of characteristics other than effort and ability, and in particular independently of their social class of origin, race, gender and location of residence.

How do we measure progress? Inputs Per pupil Spending Processes Structures, Curriculum Outputs Educational Attainment, Literacy Outcomes Employment and Productivity, Political Participation, Social Capital

Key Indicators Gross Enrollment Rates Net Enrollment Rates Repetition Rates Student Flows –completion rates— Learning Skills

Dimensions of educational inequality: ·        Racial Inequality ·        Gender Inequality ·        Casts Inequality ·        Socio-economic inequality ·        Regional inequality

What is equality of educational opportunity? Conservative Definition (Position in the social structure determines education chances) Liberal Definition (Equality of Treatment) Progressive Definition (Equality of Outcomes requires inequality of treatment. Positive Discrimination).

Equality of Educational Opportunity Equality of Outcomes (Social and Cultural Capital) Options in Life. Equality of Learning Outputs Equality of Processes Equality of Inputs Equality of Access

Equality of Inputs Per-Pupil expenditures Teacher characteristics Instructional Resources Physical facilities  Learning outputs and outcomes from prior levels. The role of school segregation

Equality of Processes Instructional Practices Teacher responsiveness Time on task Fit between curriculum and student background Language of instruction

Equality of Outputs Results tied to curriculum objectives Academic Skills Educational Attainement

Equality of Outcomes Equal Freedom Equal Capabilities (not functionings) Equal Social Capital Equal Cultural Capital

Opportunity to Learn First, opportunity to enroll in first grade in school. Second, the opportunity to learn sufficiently in that first grade to complete it with enough command of basic pre-academic skills to continue learning in school. Third, the opportunity to complete each education cycle. Fourth, the opportunity that, having completed the cycle, graduates have skills and knowledge comparable to those of other graduates of the same cycle. Fifth, that what was learned in the cycle serves the graduate to have other type of social and economic opportunities, to expand their life chances.

Today… 1. Analyze a policy document. A Global Compact for learning. 2. Review the Eightfold Path 3. Discuss the role of transfer in innovation 4. Examine the role of modeling for transfer

A Global Compact for Learning Core argument What is the problem? What are the solutions?

Bardach’s Eightfold Path What if we had to develop the global compact, and decided to follow the Eightfold path. What would that process look like? What would we do? How is that different from the process followed to produce the ‘Global Compact?’

The Eightfold Path Define the Problem Assemble some Evidence Construct the Alternatives Select the Criteria Project the Outcomes Confront the Tradeoffs Decide Tell your Story

Repetition. Why worry about it? Isn’t repetition a second chance? An extension of learning time? High Levels –probably higher than reported Consequences to students –time to graduate, impact on self, leads to dropout? Under-age and over-age children Evidence of low levels of academic achievement?

Why do children repeat grades? Because they are not ready to meet the academic expectations of the grade Because their teachers don’t teach effectively Because their parents do not support their academic work Because the curriculum is too demanding Because there are not enough spaces for them in the next grade

What causes repetition? --modeling education processes-- Household factors. Disproportionately among low SES children. Distinction between lower stage repetition and later grade repetition Causal paths: poverty—nutrition—absenteeism BUT demand factors MEDIATED by school factors or in interaction School factors High prevalence in rural, multigraded schools Inbalances in class size among early and upper grades Evaluation standards used by teachers

Trends of Analysis of Repetition Automatic Promotion Raise opportunities to learn Change cultures of repetition Role of cultural context “education systems vary enormously in terms of the incidence, causes and consequences of repetition.” Repetition Rates have systemic causes

Policy Options Comprehensive multipronged strategies home/school (e.g. adult literacy, mid-day meals, better school facilities, more textbooks, inservice training, and greater community involvement in schooling or strategies to improve readiness including nutrition, health and pre-school education; involving communities).

Prioritizing interventions Home based Increase equity (remove fees and scholarships) Increase school fit (parental involvement, local control, enforce laws) Increase school readiness (parent education, community health and nutrition, infant stimulation) School based Increase school readiness (early entry, preschool provision) Increase access (enforce laws, fund school by attendance, eliminate fees, add grades or cluster schools, incentives to attract teachers to rural areas). Increase quality (reduce class size, lengthen school year/day, improve teacher quality, increase supervision, provide free textbooks) Improve assessment (competency based objectives, criterion referenced testing, performance based incentives for schools). Need for Systemic Sectoral Interventions.

Transfer and Innovation What is the argument? What is contextualized transfer? Where does it fit in the Eightfold Path?

Modelling Education Systems Cause= Effect

Commitment to educate all at high levels Schools that are themselves democratic communities Relationships between schools and communities Teachers prepared to value diversity, tolerant and who can model democratic practices Curriculum for democratic citizenship Frequent daily opportunities to learn at high levels, to think, choose and be tolerant 1 2 3 4 5 6

Who should be educated? For what purposes? Teacher selection Initial Training In-service Training School Organization System Administration School Management Curriculum Pedagogy Instructional resources Assessment

In small groups, identify a particular country In small groups, identify a particular country. You are a task force tasked with designing a country approach to implementing the ‘Global Compact’. Model the factors that influence the outcome you wish to change? How would you use contextualized transfer to stimulate educational innovation in any of the areas mentioned in the report?