Education Sector Reform Research Articles

Primary school physical education and sports coaches: evidence from a study of School Sport Partnerships in north-west England

Drawing on interview data from a study of one School Sport Partnership (SSP) in north-west England, this paper examines (from the perspective of teachers): (1) some of the ways in which the SSP programme facilitated the increasing use of sports coaches to deliver aspects of physical education (PE) in state primary schools in England and (2) how coaches were accommodated within existing curricular arrangements. The use of coaches was found to be widespread and normalized, especially in extra-curricular PE which was often a coach-only zone. In some schools, coaches delivered all aspects of PE provision without the presence of teachers regardless of when the subject was delivered, and in other schools teachers were present but often acted in a supervisory capacity. This raised questions about the degree to which teachers were meaningfully involved in the planning and delivery of sessions and whether the use of coaches was likely to enhance teachers' confidence in, and specialist knowledge of, PE. Grounded in discussions of the differences between teaching and coaching pupils, teachers felt that coaches made a valuable contribution to the delivery of individual sports but often experienced particular difficulty in controlling pupil behaviour and classroom management, and that their lack of knowledge about pupils limited learning. It is concluded that it is only possible to adequately understand the trend towards using sports coaches and other non-specialists in PE by locating them within the context of broader social processes, especially the globalization of education policy and practices supported by shifts towards the privatization and marketization of education and other public sector reforms occurring in neo-liberal economies.

Libraries supporting national development goals in Namibia

The paper describes the strategy of the Namibia Library and Archives Service (NLAS) to transform the public/community library network. The opportunity to transform the library network emerged when the Namibian education sector received major funding to develop its strategic framework for the implementation of education sector requirements for Vision 2030, Namibia’s development strategy. In 2002 the Ministry of Education invited the World Bank to assist in developing strategies that will overcome the challenges in the performance of the education sector. Although the library network is part of the mandate of the Ministry of Education, the World Bank team did not identify libraries as a critical area to be developed but recommended leaving the countrywide library network out of the education sector reform. The paper describes the strategy that NLAS applied to get the library sector accepted into the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP) and to secure funding for a countrywide library sector turn-around strategy, changing the focus of public/community libraries from recreational reading to institutions supporting education, research, economic empowerment and everyday information needs.

Literacy and numeracy skills and education sector reform: evidence from Ghana

Several African countries instituted education reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, there is only little evidence on the effectiveness of these programs. Additionally, most previous studies of the determinants of literacy and numeracy have considered the proficiency in only one language and, possibly, numeracy. This paper examines both of these issues for the case of Ghana, analyzing the trends in and determinants of four different literacy skills and numeracy. A comparison of outcomes before and after the 1987 Education Sector Reform indicates that literacy and numeracy skills levels increased following the Reform, and more so for English literacy skills than for Ghanaian literacy skills, thus confirming prior expectations. The results from linear probability models of literacy and numeracy outcomes indicate that, consistent with the objective of the Reform, the productivity of primary education in terms of literacy and numeracy increased, while the productivity of other levels of education remained constant or decreased. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of school quality and other community level factors in the creation of literacy and numeracy and therefore also the importance of incorporating these factors in empirical analyses. The results indicate that the focus of the 1987 Education Sector Reform might have been too narrow, so that future education policy in Ghana may want to focus on strengthening the quality of education above the primary level, also.

A Study on the Delivery Systems of Teaching and Learning Contents for Education System Reform of Developing Countries

The world has witnessed a phenomenal growth in information and communication technologies (ICT). The development of new broadband communication services, convergence of telecommunication with computers and recent developments in the field of communication protocol have fostered challenges as well as offerings in the wide-ranging use of ICT to support the creation of dynamic and interactive teaching and learning environment. By emergence of ICT, most of education and training institutions are struggling to integrate ICT and education and training systems. It is so important to apply proper delivery systems for utilization of the computerized teaching and learning contents in the classrooms. It will be a preliminary activity for building open and flexible distance teaching and learning systems in developing countries. In this paper, we would like to suggest and recommend the proper delivery systems for utilization of the computerized teaching and learning contents in the classrooms for education sector reform in developing countries.

Examining the Quality of Practical Learning in Secondary School Technical and Vocational Education Curriculum in Solomon Islands

The Government of Solomon Islands is committed to the achievement of ‘Education For All’ through its various education reform programmes. Central to the Government’s education sector reform is the provision of quality education, which is an important tool to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the education sector goals of universal completion of basic education in primary and secondary education by 2015. To achieve these goals, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development has listed technical and vocational education as one of the three key areas in its Education Strategic Framework. The Framework stresses that in order for Solomon Islands to achieve the ‘Education For All’ goal, it should improve the quality of learning to enhance student achievement in all areas and forms of education. It is against this policy framework that this article sets to examine the quality of practical learning in the secondary school technical and vocational education curriculum. The focus question that guides the discussion is: “how is Solomon Islands resourcing and promoting quality practical learning in its secondary school technical and vocational education curriculum?” The article concludes that the delivery of quality practical learning in the secondary school technical and vocational education curriculum is hampered by a number of factors, important amongst them being the shortage of suitable qualified teachers, the dominance of academic education and lack of learning resources, tools and equipment. As the deadline for the achievement of the ‘Educationa For All’ is drawing near, it is critically important for the Government to put in place a policy intervention to address the key impediments to quality practical learning in the secondary school technical and vocational education curriculum.

Capacity development for education service delivery in Pakistan: Top‐down devolution

AbstractThe historical, political, socio‐cultural and institutional context in the public service of Pakistan is not auspicious for the delivery of social services such as education. The then military regime introduced radical devolution reforms in 2001 that promised improvements in service delivery by enhancing accountabilities and capacities for change in local government. However the political economy of this top‐down devolution has proved contentious. It established new power structures and authorities over resources at local levels but without concurrent efforts to enhance service delivery capacities. This article examines capacity issues in two cases of capacity development in education service delivery in Pakistan's largest province. The Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme (PESRP) was managed by a provincial‐level implementation unit; the Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) of City District Government Faisalabad was a local government project supported by technical co‐operation. Both delivered major improvements in education delivery capacity in just 4 years, after decades of delivery stagnation and worsening education indicators. The sustainability of these initiatives is in doubt, as political economy factors remain a major impediment to devolved service delivery in Pakistan. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Critical Analysis of School Enrollment and Literacy Rates of Girls and Women in Pakistan

Since Pakistan's inception in 1947, the government has made continuous efforts to provide free, universal, basic education to its citizens. This is evidenced by educational plans, policies, and five-year education sector reforms, including partnerships with international agencies and developed countries. However, these efforts have not yielded any gains for the citizens. Pakistan has a literacy rate of 49.9 percent, one of the lowest in South Asia and the rest of the world. Pakistan's male and female literacy rates are 61.7 percent and 35.2 percent. The female literacy rate drops to 25 percent in rural areas, and girls' school enrollment of fifty-five percent drops to twenty percent from Grade 1 to 6. For the purposes of these statistics, a literate person is defined by Pakistan's Ministry of Education as one who can read a newspaper and write a simple letter in any language. Pakistan's population of 167 million is sixty-five percent rural and thirty-five percent urban, with citizens facing multiple interlinked issues affecting their quality of life, such as illiteracy, poverty, and the lack of basic necessities (shelter, gas, water, and electricity). In addition, a culture of feudalism and patriarchy creates structures of power and control that deprive citizens of their rights, including that of education (Farah 2007; Latif 2009). Studies have been conducted on education in Pakistan,1 but they have been limited in scope in terms of girls' education. This article addresses the gap in female literacy scholarship. Its purpose is to critically analyze the state of girls' education in Pakistan in terms of three factors: the reasons for low literacy and school enrollment rates, gender biases in curriculum and textbooks, and cultural norms. Based on this analysis, the article concludes with measures to increase school enrollment and literacy rates for girls and women.

Education sector reform: The Ugandan experience

In 1998 the Government of Uganda (GoU) began implementing an ambitious reform programme called the Education Strategic Investment Plan (ESIP) in order to effect Universal Primary Education (UPE). This paper offers a perspective on how the GoU has met the challenge of financing education reform, addressed the need to improve the quality of basic education and increased access and equity while improving efficiency at primary and post-primary levels of education. The development model described in this paper privileges good governance and donor co-operation within a Sector Wide Approach. Important lessons have been learned in Uganda including the need for political commitment to universal primary education within a clear conception of whole sector reform. However, the discourse of SWAPs tends to function primarily in the formal sphere and not at the level of the experience of most teachers, pupils and their families, yet it is at this level that national education policies have to be mediated in practice. More attention needs to be given in education sector reform to the processes as well as the context of change.

Ensuring quality during monitoring of the learning environment of government primary schools achieved through the UEI-PDP for teachers and head teachers

A positive change in the learning environment in schools is visible through ongoing professional development of teachers and administrators. Monitoring the professional development program and providing support to teachers and administrators to transfer their learnings into the school environment ensures some measures of quality. Quality issues led to the launching of the Professional Development Program (PDP) for Primary School Teachers (PSTs) of Sindh by the United Educational Initiative (UEI), a consortium of five Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations, working under the supervision of Education Sector Reform Assistance (ESRA). Implementation of the UEI-PDP in four districts of Sindh, is ensured by a team of professionals in each district. Recognising that capacity building of district education employees would improve the educational system in the country, 130 Master Trainers were selected, on merit, from the District Education Office for the training of 17,000 teachers and 3000 Head teachers/administrators over a period of two years. This paper developed the design of a Monitoring Process for a Professional Development Program for Primary School Teachers and Administrators. Data was collected through Pre/Post observations, Interviews, Questionnaires and Reports. Such tools make it possible for the monitoring teams to observe, to inquire further, and, along with the Managers, Master Trainers and School Support Team, seek to explain the progress of the program and take corrective action where indicated. Both formative evaluations as well as summative evaluation techniques are utilized for evaluating the program. The monitoring process that assisted in formative evaluations is described. In order to assist in summative evaluation, data collected through the monitoring process was further developed to categorize the schools where teachers and head teachers are trained. It is hoped that the categorization of the schools may lead to further improvements in those schools which fall in the group for need improvement. It may also initiate further research as to reasons behind why some schools are in the good category and why others fall in the average category.

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.

Jordan: 2004 Article IV Consultation and Second Review under the Stand-By Arrangement--Staff Report; Staff Statement; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Jordan

The staff report for the 2004 Article IV Consultation on Jordan highlights economic developments and policies. General sales tax collections increased strongly boosted by high import growth and improved revenue administration. The government has embarked on a substantial improvement of the education system, with support from an education sector reform loan from the World Bank. The integration of the sales and income tax departments into a unified revenue department will also contribute by strengthening tax collections and enforcement.

The Income Gap in Cognitive Skills in Rural Pakistan

Previous articleNext article No AccessThe Income Gap in Cognitive Skills in Rural PakistanHarold Alderman Jere R. Behrman Shahrukh Khan David R. Ross Richard Sabot Harold AldermanWorld Bank Search for more articles by this author Jere R. BehrmanUniversity of Pennsylvania Search for more articles by this author Shahrukh KhanSustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan Search for more articles by this author David R. RossBryn Mawr College Search for more articles by this author Richard SabotWilliams College Search for more articles by this author World BankUniversity of PennsylvaniaSustainable Development Policy Institute, PakistanBryn Mawr CollegeWilliams CollegePDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 46, Number 1October 1997 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/452323 Views: 42Total views on this site Citations: 23Citations are reported from Crossref © 1997 by The University of Chicago. 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