Who are the custodians of Pacific ‘post-2015’ education futures? Policy discourses, education for all and the millennium development goals

Abstract

This article discusses influences of Education for All (EFA) and the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education policies in the Pacific sub-region in the context of ongoing ‘post-2015 development agenda’ deliberations, focusing on Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. It is based on doctoral work undertaken as a component of an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, partially supported by the former Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and continuing postdoctoral research.Pacific postcolonial nations’ engagement with EFA and the MDGs was compared through a critical discourse analysis of multi-scalar education policy formation processes. The research identified paradoxical influences of global approaches, and multi-level processes. While such frameworks at once facilitated educational debate and legitimized broader education policy participation, they also supported a status quo in mainstream donor and state dominance of educational development agendas. There is some evidence of wider national participation in the emerging ‘post-2015′ policy processes, but the extent of its influence on multi-level policy deliberations globally and regionally is yet to be seen. Many of the education issues currently being raised in both nations, and regionally, have endured since colonial occupation and independence. This article focuses on educational relevance and gender issues in education, and positions them in relation to the concept of ownership within post-colonial political dynamics and multilevel discursive contexts for participation, which I interpret as being of continued importance to understanding these enduring education concerns.