The Rationalization of Educational Development: Scientific Activity among International Nongovernmental Organizations

Abstract

Educational development organizations and related global movements emerged and expanded during the twentieth century. Today, most activities in the educational development field are characterized by a scientific outlook that schooling can be transformed using measurable and generalizable knowledge, and most of its leaders believe that experts can transport this knowledge internationally across diverse contexts. University-level certificates are now available for individuals who wish to become credentialed international development experts, and a cadre of professionals has been trained to apply the procedures of academic research to educational development. Scientific approaches to educational development have thus acquired great legitimacy in the modern world. The organizations and professionals pursuing scientific, expert, and knowledge-based activities have become a powerful international force and are increasingly the key players shaping global policies and practices in educational development, as evident from the global benchmarks laid out in the Education for All movement, as well as in international testing programs. In this article, I analyze the characteristics of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) that pursue scientific, expert, and knowledgebased activities. Although scientific activities are immensely influential in the contemporary world, we have a poor understanding of which organizations engage in scientific activities and what types of organizations avoid or even reject them. Are such INGOs usually based in Western countries or headquartered worldwide? Are scientific activities compatible with alternative charitable and service provision approaches to educational development? Little is known about the types of organizations that are shaping educational development worldwide through their engagement in scientific, rationalized activities. Educational development INGOs can be defined as those seeking to improve education in developing countries. They are neither government nor for-profit agencies, and they have ties to more than one country. One prominent example, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), operates primarily in Bangladesh and secondarily in Afghanistan, both coun