Human Capabilities Approach Research Articles

A Historical Review of the Role of Education: From Human Capital to Human Capabilities

ABSTRACT Human capital theory is the dominant theory of education in economics. Earlier writers such as Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and Alfred Marshall highlighted a variety of roles for education, but human capital theory, which was formalised in the 1960s only examined labour-productivity improving skills. Other dimensions of education, which add complexity to the economic analysis of education, have been overshadowed by the focus on quantifying education’s economic value. These other dimensions include education’s role as a driver for individuals to improve their personal lives and avoid poverty. John Kenneth Galbraith and Amartya Sen supported this broader notion of education. Sen combined a multidimensional approach to education with the human capability approach, which centred around the person rather than the worker. This review highlights that crucial aspects of education have been disregarded during the formalisation of a unitary theory, and therefore are missing in empirical research.

Perpetuating precarity in theory and in practice: a case study of work-integrated learning in the non-profit sector in Northern Canada

ABSTRACT Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a process of curricular experiential education within a workplace or practical setting. WIL is portrayed as a win-win, yet this research suggests that WIL perpetuates precarity and deepens inequalities between students, between different types of employers, and between geographic regions. Using the Human Development and Capabilities Approach (HDCA), this study investigated how eight diverse non-profit organisations (NPOs) in northern Canada are positioned to support students to develop personal agency through WIL. Most WIL research is urban-centric, focused on for-profit industries and framed within Human Capital Theory (HCT), making this study an outlier. Using a case study approach underpinned by critical and social realism, this study explores the ways in which WIL enables and constrains the development of agency at individual, social, and institutional levels. The research shows inconsistencies in current approaches to WIL. The increasingly precarious positioning of NPOs within the labour market threatens their ability to offer students (future) decent work. The institutional and policy environments that undergird WIL do not acknowledge the distinctness of non-profit organisations within a neoliberal economy and this makes invisible other dimensions that affect decent work, such as the regulatory environment, collectivisation, and the ‘contracting regime.’

Research on the Development of Equitable Education in China from the Human Capability Perspective

“Capability” is an important conceptual tool for addressing educational inequity (EI). This paper analyzes the existing limitations of developing educational equity in China from the human capital perspective and proposes the human capability approach as a way to improve it. This paper begins by a policy review on China’s education equity measures, revealing a troubling emphasis on resources allocation and a “top-down” governance. In response, we propose an actionable research approach as a means to improve multi-stakeholder collaboration in educational equity reform and to further the development of student capabilities. The study also presents a case study to illustrate the process of using “capability” and actionable research methods to promote educational equity, demonstrating the necessity and effectiveness. We also note that education inequality is a delicate and complicated topic that requires joint, flexible and innovative efforts.

Say Yes to Education—Buffalo: A Human Capabilities Approach to College Access and Local Economic Development

In December 2012, researchers from the University at Buffalo partnered with Buffalo Public Schools and Say Yes to Education—Buffalo to assist students and families with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The community had just announced a last-dollar tuition guarantee for all public and charter high school graduates. Students had to apply for federal and state financial aid to be eligible. We use the human capabilities framework described by St. John to examine the contributions of this specific intervention and the broader collective impact strategy. In this study, we employ difference-in-difference regression analysis to examine the effects of a FAFSA completion intervention and find that providing support to students and families to complete the financial aid process increased FAFSA completion rates by more than 60%, year over year. In addition to considering the outcomes of this intervention, we report lessons learned in the process of establishing a university-community collaboration to improve postsecondary opportunity and economic development. We find that effective collaboration takes time and a shared commitment to understanding and addressing problems of practice in schools.

The human development and capability approach: A counter theory to human capital discourse in promoting low SES students’ agency in education

This discursive article discusses some of the inherent and durable problems associated with human capital discourses in education. While human capital is regarded as a core element in ensuring international competitiveness, this discourse greatly jeopardizes the ability of lower SES students to acquire agency through schooling. This is due to its two self-contradictory assumptions: a profit-based ideology and a neglect of the influence of social structure on educational inequality, which greatly contribute to educational inequity. We argue that educational inequity can be improved through two complementary perspectives, which address the influence of structural constraints on educational results, as argued by Bourdieusian academics, and which optimize the advantages of agency, as proposed by the human development and capability approach.

Parental Understanding of Mental Health in Early Childhood Development: A Human Capabilities Approach

Parental Understanding of Mental Health in Early Childhood Development: A Human Capabilities Approach

So you say our work is essential: Essential workers and the potential for transformative learning in the wake of COVID‐19 social and economic disruption

At the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic, some US workers became “essential” overnight and were, therefore, ineligible to work from home. Millions of these workers put their lives at risk to keep society functioning. So, why do we undervalue those we cannot live without? This article explores the transformative potential of learning in and about essential work in the wake of social and economic disruptions of a pandemic. We ask, what potential does this current moment hold to repair the western social and economic order predicated on the precarity of essential work? We review human flourishing within a human capabilities approach and borrow feminist's notion of repair work that evokes transformative learning in individuals and society. Finally, we consider how the perspective of “learning to repair” along the spirit of uBuntu and generative Communitas can enhance transformative learning theory and practice.

‘This Helps You See Life Differently’: Evaluating Youth Development and Capability Expansion in Remote Communities of Honduras

Youth in rural Honduras experience barriers to accessing education, vocational training, and social supports for their formative development. This study evaluated over 18 years of youth-specific development interventions implemented by a Honduran organization in two rural municipalities. The study draws on 94 semi-structured interviews and demographic data from 1596 program participants. Three impact pathways were identified through which respondents experienced positive outcomes from program involvement: transformative participation; meaningful collaboration; and low-risk experimentation. The findings parallel known development theories and empowerment frameworks, including the Human Development and Capabilities Approach and Positive Youth Development, thus supporting the effectiveness of these approaches in facilitating youth development and capability expansion in remote Honduran communities.

Cooking autonomy: a multilevel conceptual model on healthy home cooking.

The empowerment of home cooking has been recently approached in the literature as pertaining to cooking skills and the capacity to overcome social, physical, and economic obstacles. However, thus far no studies have related the State's role in this important health-promoting home practice, namely healthy cooking. We aim to elaborate on the concept and develop a multilevel conceptual model of cooking autonomy (CMCA) in order to relate the State's role in healthy home cooking. This is a theoretical-conceptual study consisting of three phases: conceptual elaboration, expert panel consultation, and content validity of the CMCA developed in this study. A comprehensive literature review worked as the theoretical and conceptual basis, featuring Amartya Sen's human capability approach. A total of 28 experts issued their opinions in listening workshops and interviews. Cooking autonomy was defined as the capacity to think, to decide, and to act to prepare meals from scratch, influenced by interpersonal relations, environment, cultural values, access to opportunities, and guarantee of rights. The CMCA has six levels, differing according to the degree of participation of an individual. We also present two charts with examples of the agent's practices and actions that can be developed by the State in the public policy sphere. As a pioneering model in the international literature, the CMCA provides the conceptual basis for the development of studies and interventions on cooking autonomy, focusing not only on individual skills, but also on the role of public policies for healthy home cooking.

Disaster resilience through right based and capability perspectives of ngos: A case study of 2004 tsunami in Nagapatinam

Manifestation of disaster in the form of wide devastation and huge losses of life is a cause of concern, as it amounts to irreparable damages to the lives and property of the people. The chaos brought about by disasters in addition to breaking down the existing social structure, threatens the very survival and increasing the vulnerability of the community. However, human suffering and almost total disruption of community can be minimized with a well coordinated disaster management system, having well functioning warning systems combined with preparedness on the part of the vulnerable community. Disaster management strategies and risk reduction mechanisms can be effective in protecting the lives and livelihoods, only if it is focused on the needs of the people. In this regard, NGOs play a vital role in meeting the needs of the people. NGOs take a participatory approach in mitigating and managing disasters and respond to the priorities of local people and help them in building their capacities to manage future catastrophe. Thus, this paper intends to make an analysis of the role of NGOs in disaster resilience. The paper contemplates on the competencies deployed by NGOs in this direction. It further throws light on the good practices of NGOs, particularly their initiatives to promote livelihood, towards disaster resilience. The paper aims at developing a positive perspective into disaster management, using the theories of Human Right-based Approach and Capability Approach.

The Relevance of Martha C. Nussbaum's Human Rights Capabilities Approach for Today's Psychoanalytic Inquiry.

The Relevance of Martha C. Nussbaum's Human Rights Capabilities Approach for Today's Psychoanalytic Inquiry.

Effectiveness of Internships as Pedagogical Practices in Promoting Employability Skills Amongst Graduating Students in Selected Social Science Degree Programmes in Zambia

<p style="text-align: justify;">To explore their role in enhancing graduate employability, the study investigated the effectiveness of student internships as pedagogical practices in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students in four Social Science Degree programmes of selected universities in Zambia. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 162 participants through the questionnaires and interview guides using a mixed-methods approach. The participants included different actors in the labour industry as critical informants; graduating students taking Social Science Degree Programmes; Lecturers, and Employers. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using the SPSS version 24 and Atlas. Ti. Version 8, respectively. This study employed the Human Capability Approach and Human Capital theories. Findings indicated that although internship practices were considered an essential component in the social science degree programmes for skills development, their effectiveness in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students varied from one programme to the other. The findings have implications on how universities and the labour industry could work together to design and implement internship experiences for students in social science degree programmes that are more effective in promoting the acquisition of employability skills in Zambia.</p>

A social investment perspective on labour market policies for vulnerable groups

This article conceptualises the notion of “social investment’ within the context of social protection and active labour market policies. This paradigm is confronted to the neoliberal ‘making work pay’ paradigm and the conservative workfare doctrine build on the idea that a stronger work ethos needs to be inculcated through reduced rights and more duties. The social investment paradigm advocates generous social protection combined with enabling investments and is thus perfectly congruent with social inclusion objectives. The empirical analysis shows remarkably small effects of both types of policies in the past 15 years: ALMPs have had small positive effects on employment, but also on exits into inactivity. The most positive employment effect of ALMPs is a redistribution of employment opportunities towards older, female and less educated groups. The Re-inVEST research analyses in-depth participatory case studies of policies targeting disadvantaged groups in different European countries, using an ‘enriched’ social investment model, building on a human rights and capabilities approach. The findings indeed show very wide differences in quality – and a lot of room for improvement. In order to improve their effectiveness as well as inclusiveness, the right to decent ALMPs should be put on the policy agenda.

Stakeholders’ Perspectives on the Barriers to Accessing Health Care Services in Rural Settings: A Human Capabilities Approach

Background:Despite efforts to achieve universal access to health care by various stakeholders globally, most developing countries continue to face serious health delivery challenges, especially in rural areas.Introduction:These inhibit individuals and communities’ ability to obtain health care services when needed and the freedom to use health care. Although issues of access to health care have been widely researched in South Africa, a detailed account on access to health care in particular communities is necessary for developing interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of that community. Understanding the accounts of stakeholders to the perceived barriers to access to health care services can help comprehend the issues that hinder people from accessing health care. Therefore, this study explored the stakeholders’ perspectives on the barriers to accessing health care services in rural settings in South Africa.Methods:A qualitative approach was used to guide the collection and analysis of the data. Data were collected from a sample of stakeholders selected from three rural areas in South Africa and analysed through thematic analysis. According to the stakeholders interviewed, there are some barriers that exist in the community that impede access to health.Reusults:These are limited or lack of health care facilities and personnel, shortages of medicine, distrust in the health care providers, opening hours of health care facilities and financial constraints, which resulted in the perceived poor health status of the people in those rural areas.Conclusion:This study calls for multifaceted health care reforms and strategies to address infrastructure deficiencies, human resources and medicine shortages to ensure equitable provision of high-quality public services. These strategies or measures must be tailored to the specific needs of rural communities.

Towards a Human Capabilities Conscious Enterprise Architecture

This conceptual paper argues that enterprise architecture (EA) should move towards a conscious human-centered conception of the enterprise. Employing the conceptual methodological approach of theory synthesis and drawing on the extant literature in enterprise architecture as well as pertinent social and organizational theories, we suggested foundational propositions that could holistically serve as a theoretical lens for (re)viewing the foundations of EA within a progressive conscious enterprise agenda. The novel contribution of the paper is the introduction of human capabilities approach (HCA) as a method theory, to supplement systems and stakeholder theories, for design and evaluation of enterprise architecture in the modern enterprise. The paper concludes by showing the implications of the propositions for practitioners and researchers.

Mental health care services in rural South Africa: a human capabilities approach

ABSTRACT It is estimated that a significant proportion of people living in South Africa have a mental illness and do not have access to mental health services. This relates to barriers that contribute to help-seeking behavior. Semi-structured interviewers were conducted with a sample of 11 stakeholders and 35 parents. Data were thematically analyzed and results revealed that participants had limited knowledge of what mental health is. Also highlighted was the lack of structural and human mental health care resources, and stigmatization. Addressing the issues related to mental health care services could contribute to ensuring that people have access to good health.

Exploring the Role of a Colombian University to Promote Just Transitions. An Analysis from the Human Development and the Regional Transition Pathways to Sustainability

Universities are central organisations that can act as promoters and amplifiers of regional just transitions. In this paper, we analyse how a Colombian regional university, the University of Ibagué (UI), is playing this role through two initiatives: (1) a governance experiment piloted between 2018 and 2019 that constructed an aspirational vision for this university through the definition of eight human capabilities; (2) a formal curriculum regional programme named Peace and Region (P&R) established in 2010 as a service-learning strategy for undergraduates in their final year. To analyse the contribution of these two initiatives towards a just transition, we built a specific analytical framework based on the human development and capability approach and Regional Transition Pathways to Sustainability (RTPS). Exploring both the content and the process of building the list and perceptions of the different actors involved in the P&R programme, we found that both initiatives have a strong directionality that resonates with the normative ambition of a just transition. Moreover, in both processes, people involved have expanded human capabilities, and co-produced holistic and transdisciplinary knowledge through the interaction of academic and non-academic actors. From an RTPS perspective, the programme captures regional complexity and moulds micro-dynamics to socially fair and sustainable paths.

Education Expectations and Income Level of Families: An Assessment within the Framework of Human Capabilities Approach

This study aimed to examine the education expectations of the parents of compulsory education students (primary, secondary and high schools) according the income levels within the context of the human capabilities approach. The study used a qualitative phenomenological research design. The study group consisted of 128 parents of students. Convenience sampling, which is one of the purposive sampling methods, was employed in the study. The descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that parents mostly had social and individual expectations. However, they were found to differ by income groups. The most frequently expressed expectation, on the other hand, was having a good job and serving the nation and country.

Talking Back to the Research: Indigenous Wellbeing and Resilience Narratives from Urban Australia

ABSTRACT Resilience is instrumental in understanding the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples in colonised countries. Investigator-driven, quantitative descriptive studies can limit capacity for Indigenous people to “talk back” to the research process with their own perspectives of wellbeing and resilience. A Human Development and Capabilities approach can elicit self-determining definitions of wellbeing. This study presents findings from qualitative life history interviews of the self-defined health trajectories from a group of 11 Indigenous adults living in an Australian urban setting. In contrast to the prevailing deficit discourse, interviewees spoke about their strength and resilience. Common areas of health and wellbeing discussion such as socioeconomic disadvantage, family dysfunction, stress, problematic alcohol use and mental illness became transformed into narratives of never being without, the opportunity for upwards social mobility, the importance of family as positive role models and social support, abstinence, learning from past experiences and coping through challenges. Historical context, intergenerational trauma and racism impact wellbeing, yet are often not measured in large quantitative studies. Findings support affirmative action initiatives to reduce socioeconomic disadvantage to improve wellbeing. Narrative-based capability approaches provide contextualisation to how Indigenous people navigate through significant life events to maintain wellbeing.

Footprints of a Winning Idea: Three Decades of the Human Development Paradigm (1990–2019)

ABSTRACT The rise and fall of international development paradigms has long captured the interest of scholars, but interpreting whether a paradigm is winning or losing depends largely on how we measure its success. In this research note, we contribute to this debate by assessing the influence of development paradigms via comparative bibliometric analysis. Focusing on the human development and capabilities approach (HDCA) promoted by the Human Development Reports (HDRs) of the United Nations, our analysis reveals how the HDCA has emerged to become an influential paradigm of development over the last three decades. As the HDCA has fared impressively well vis-à-vis numerous alternative development paradigms and approaches including Marxism, modernisation theory, dependency theory, “pro-poor growth” and “aid effectiveness,” we conclude that despite being relatively new, the HDCA has become one of the most influential approaches to development in the world today.