Provision Of Public Education Research Articles

Quality and innovation in school leadership preparation in Singapore: the Leaders in Education Programme

Quality and innovation are two key competitive strategies that many organisations pursue to win customers in their business. But the application of quality and innovation is complex in the public provision of education where the bottom-line is not directly measured in financial terms. This paper examines how the concepts of ‘quality’ and ‘innovation’ are adapted in the Leaders in Education Programme (LEP) in an effort to address the professional development needs of Singapore school leaders in meeting current and future challenges.

Catholic Schools in New Orleans in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Changes in the education system following Hurricane Katrina have received considerable attention from scholars in recent years. However, the role of Catholic schools is often overlooked in such discussions of school reform, which most often concentrate on the dramatic changes in the public school sector. This oversight is significant given that some segments of Catholic schools are devoted to serving populations similar to those targeted by emerging charter schools. At the national level, Catholic schools have struggled with declining enrollments and waves of school closures since the mid-1960s. This article aims to consider how well these national trends map onto the case of New Orleans. The authors discuss both how Catholic schools in New Orleans responded to Katrina and how they have changed in the midst of ongoing educational reforms in the city. They suggest that in spite of the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city as a whole, the storm and ensuing changes in the provision of public education have had, with a few notable exceptions, little independent influence on the organization of Catholic schools in the city. Rather, Catholic schools in the city are faced with many of the same challenges being faced by Catholic schools across the United States.

Remaking the Male Body: Masculinity and the Uses of Physical Culture in Interwar and Vichy France, by Joan Tumblety

Remaking the Male Body: Masculinity and the Uses of Physical Culture in Interwar and Vichy France, by Joan Tumblety. Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, 2012. xiv, 257 pp. $125.00 US (cloth). This is a deeply-researched and fully-documented, but not quite definitive study of many of the French proponents and practitioners of physical culture for men between 1920 and the mid-1940s. Based on documentation on the private, public, and military advocacy and provision of physical education in the national library and archives, the army archives, and the police and departmental archives in Paris, Remaking the Male Body presents engaging and informative sections on the marketing of physical culture for men, replete with analyses and illustrations of promotional material, and on physical culture at the Paris World Fair of 1937. Having consulted the holdings on private, public, and military exercise programs in the libraries of the national institute of sport and physical education (INSEP) and of the military school, Joan Tumblety delineates the differences between various systems of exercise, yet recognizes their interactions and similarities. In particular, she shows that implemented programs were often eclectic mixes of different regimens. Drawing on the resources of the municipal archives of Saint-Denis (a red suburb of Paris that promoted physical culture), and other material on the communist and socialist parties' and the Popular Front government's commitment to men's physical fitness, she challenges assumptions that physical cultists were politically rightwing. By extending her study to the Vichy years, she demonstrates that many of the interwar protagonists entered the Vichy administration and shaped some of its policies. Remaking the Male Body introduces many purveyors of physical culture and indicates their motivations: private fitness institutes and gyms, most of them associated with the large number of medical men interested in bodily health and strength; physical educators in the public schools, who started with military battalions in boys' schools to prepare Frenchmen for military duty; the military, sufficiently concerned about high rates of rejection in the yearly medical examinations of potential conscripts, encouraged physical preparation for future soldiers; government officials at the national and municipal level who mandated a series of physical education programs out of concern about national regeneration and military revenge; and political parties and factions from the left to the right. While many political groups shared governmental motives about regeneration and revenge, Tumblety shows that they also wanted to protect their adherents in the period of street battles during the political turmoil of the mid-1930s. Remaking the Male Body analyzes the arguments of these advocates, starting with common fears that (French) masculinity was fragile and could only be regenerated through muscle building. The fear was based upon theories of degeneration due to the softening effect of civilization, including sedentary professions, public transport, excessive food, and overwork, especially intellectual labour in the school system. Tumblety makes a compelling case for the effect of the surfeit of trained medical doctors seeking to make a living in the market. …

Improving osteoporosis management following minimal trauma fracture in a regional setting: The Coffs Fracture Card Project

To improve osteoporosis (OSP) management following minimal trauma fracture (MTF) with few additional resources. Population intervention with serial cross-sectional analysis. Regional setting involving primary care, base hospital and private hospital. Patients with MTF. A 'Fracture Card' prompting OSP management was provided to all patients post-MTF. Patients were encouraged to attend their general practitioner (GP) with this to discuss bone health issues. The 2-year intervention was supported by a public health education campaign. Number of (i) serum 25-OH vitamin D assays, (ii) dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans, and (iii) new Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)-subsidised prescriptions for bone protective therapy (bisphosphonates, raloxifene, strontium, teriparatide, denosumab). The number of serum 25-OH vitamin D assays ordered in Coffs Harbour increased from 329 ± 15 per month (July 2009-June 2010) to 568 ± 21 (July 2010-June 2012; P < 0.001). The number of DXA scans performed per month increased from 192 ± 14 (July 2009-June 2010) to 296 ± 12 (July 2010-June 2012; P < 0.001). There was no difference in the number of new PBS-subsidised prescriptions for bone protective therapy in the Coffs statistical subdivision over that time (176 ± 3.8 per month, July 2009-June 2010 versus 180 ± 3.5, July 2010-June 2012, P > 0.05). The intervention was associated with an increased number of 25-OH vitamin D assays and DXA scans but not with more prescriptions for bone protective therapy. This suggests that a public health education campaign and provision of a 'prompt' for GPs was only partially successful at improving OSP management post-MTF. This has driven establishment of a Fracture Liaison Service.

Institutions and Service Delivery in Africa: An Overview

Institutions play a very crucial role in service delivery in Africa. The three papers in this issue explore the role of various institutions, both public and private, in delivering efficient services to promote economic growth. The first paper by Bold and Svensson is on Policies and Institutions for Effective Service Delivery: The Need of a Microeconomic and Micro-Political Approach. The authors review evidence on recent trends and outcomes in the education and health sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on the quality in service provision. The paper views low and ineffective spending on service delivery sectors as a symptom of the underlying institutional environment decay. The paper further argues that a microeconomic approach that explicitly takes political and bureaucratic incentives and constraints into account provides a fruitful, and complementary, way forward. The main finding of the paper is that innovations in the measurement of performance and ability in education and health open up ways to influence the political economic equilibrium. The second paper by Bold, Kimenyi and Sandefur looks at public and private provision of education in Kenya. The authors examine the superior examination performance of private primary schools and elite public secondary schools and test whether this performance reflects causal returns to the school type. The main finding is that, although there is a large increase in primary school enrolment following the introduction of free primary education, the increase is primarily driven by the increase in private school enrolments. The third paper by Blimpo, Harding and Wantchekon focuses on Public Investment in Infrastructure Giving Deliberations on Some Political Economy Considerations. The article constructs a unique data set to study the extent of the relationship between political marginalisation, public investment in transport infrastructure and food security in Benin, Ghana, Mali and Senegal. The main finding of the paper is that political marginalisation indirectly affects food security, via its impact on the quality of transport infrastructure. Moreover, the density of roads per square kilometre has a significant negative relationship to food insecurity. Copyright 2013 , Oxford University Press.

Philosophical inquiry and the advancement of democratic praxis

Abstract In a time of advancing neoliberal educational practice globally (e.g. Roxborough, 1997, McCafferty, 2010), in the provision of public sector education as well as in assumptions regarding public educational purposes and curriculum development; this paper looks to a broader definition of education (e.g. Biesta, 2009). The authors argue that pedagogical proposal of the Community of Philosophical Inquiry as in the work of Matthew Lipman (e.g. 2002) and Ann Sharp, a model of educational praxis existent in over 60 countries world wide, can enable the advancement of a vision for deliberative democracy (Lipman, 1998) and social justice and contribute to educational theory and practice in ways which develop communicative rather than individualistic notions of autonomy (Code, 2006, p.170.). Philosophical inquiry, especially as discussed in this paper with adolescents, equips students with the tools to become more critical, to develop a more social and global awareness and consequently enable them to make more reflected moral judgments (Hannam &amp; Echeverria, 2009, p.114). Drawing on practical examples from the direct experience of the authors in the UK and Mexico, as well as building on 40 years of research world wide, an argument is developed for embedding philosophical thinking into all educational environments as a means of forming transformative intellectuals (Giroux, 1988) and enabling a raising of awareness with regard to the consequences of the tacit acceptance of neoliberal educational policies. Furthermore, drawing on the writing of Hannah Arendt (1998) a view is advanced which suggests that deliberative and participatory democratic structures can be developed in our societies where the opportunity for careful thinking as well as conscious action taking can take place.

Effective Service Delivery of Nigeria's Public Primary Education: The Role of Non-State Actors

Abstract The study examines and analyses the role of Non-State Actors (NSAs) in public provision of primary education in Nigeria using descriptive and econometric techniques. The analysis demonstrates that the major source of funding of public primary education in Nigeria flows from the Federal Government to the State government and finally to the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA). The study shows that NSAs' activities are mainly the provision of school inputs with little or no role monitoring and management of public primary schools. It was found that the presence of private school inspectors has significant positive effect on pupils’ performance. Parents occupation and household qualities especially type of building were found to have positive impact on the pupils ‘performance. Based on these findings, the study recommends the need for adequate involvement of NSAs in the management of public primary schools and improved inspection of schools as ways of improving the quality of primary education in Nigeria.

Intergenerational Complementarities in Education, Endogenous Public Policy, and the Relation Between Growth and Volatility

AbstractWe construct an overlapping generations model in which parents vote on the tax rate that determines publicly provided education and offspring choose their effort in learning activities. The technology governing the accumulation of human capital allows these decisions to be strategic complements. In the presence of coordination failure, indeterminacy and, possibly, growth volatility emerge. This indeterminacy can be eliminated by an institutional mechanism that commits to a minimum level of public education provision. Given that, in the latter case, the economy moves along a uniquely determined balanced growth path, we argue that such structural differences can account for the negative correlation between volatility and growth.

Changes in Chinese education under globalisation and market economy: emerging issues and debates

Fuelled by forces of globalisation, China has gradually shifted from a centrally planned economy to the ‘socialist market economy’. This study examines changes in Chinese education under globalisation and market economy, focusing on the teaching and living conditions of teachers. The study reveals that the profound transformation of social and economic life has resulted in significant changes to education in China, as manifested in curriculum reform, increased disparity between rural and urban education, marginalisation of minority education and lack of accessible and affordable education for the children of migrant workers. The recent changes have also had tremendous impact on teachers in terms of their workload, payment, wellbeing, social status and teaching and living conditions. The study contextualises the concept of globalisation by examining its impact on China through marketisation and privatisation. Its analysis demonstrates a withdrawal of the state from provision and financing of public education. It also reveals a number of social injustices and inequities whose reduction and elimination require the Chinese government to take immediate and active measures.

Private Tutoring and the Question of Equitable Opportunities in Turkey

This paper focuses on the implications of private tutoring in Turkey for questions of equity regarding the provision of public education, based on an analysis of previously published research. The nature of the private tutoring and its relation to the two national selection examinations in Turkey are also discussed.

Reinhold Niebuhr's Quest for Balance in the Public Oversight of Market Economies

Three basic themes played indispensable roles in Reinhold Niebuhr’s engagements with economic issues: (1) the foundational importance of a theological anthropology for his critical assessment of complex social, economic, and political issues; (2) his focus on two clashing theories of economic order: Adam’s Smith’s doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism and Karl Marx’s revolutionary vision for the collective ownership of property within a centralized state system; and (3) his endorsement of a realistic yet viable alternative to these two classic theories, one that involved pragmatic and incremental steps toward fostering economic justice through the public regulation and oversight of a free-market economy. These pragmatic measures included allocating government resources for vitally important public goods and services at federal, state, and local levels. Though Niebuhr was initially drawn to some form of democratic socialism, he embraced this incremental strategy within the context of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s implementation of his New Deal agenda. My analysis of Niebuhr’s contributions concludes with attention to new challenges confronting contemporary quests for economic justice in a post–New Deal era, one marked Soundings, Vol. 95, No. 4, 2012 Copyright © 2012 The Pennsylvania state University, University Park, Pa di sc us sio n diussion

Help‐Seeking Interval in Erectile Dysfunction: Analysis of Attitudes, Beliefs, and Factors Affecting Treatment‐Seeking Interval in Turkish Men With Previously Untreated Erectile Dysfunction

In this study, we report data on attitudes, beliefs, and factors affecting the help-seeking interval among Turkish men with erectile dysfunction to determine whether they are different from those previously published in the literature. Out of 279 Turkish men complaining of erectile dysfunction attending our clinic between December 2006 and March 2008 without the need for referral, 202 were interviewed from a standardized questionnaire covering demographic details, relationships, help-seeking intervals, and attitudes and beliefs. Eleven patients interrupted the questionnaire and only 191 individuals who had never sought medical help for their erectile dysfunction completed the study. The mean age of the study population was 50.1 (20-80) years. Overall, 93.7% of participants had engaged in sexual intercourse during the year preceding the interview. The mean help-seeking interval and the mean estimated time elapsed since last satisfactory sexual intercourse were 24.5 (1-360) and 10.5 (1-180) months, respectively. Patients with low household income and education level had a relatively longer help-seeking interval than the remaining sample. No statistical correlation was seen between treatment-seeking interval and patient age, duration of marriage or continued relationship, and presence of premature ejaculation. Main reasons for delayed consultation included embarrassment (n = 63, 33%) and thinking of erectile dysfunction as a natural process of aging (n = 51, 26.7%). To enable earlier diagnosis and management of erectile dysfunction, emphasis should be put into the provision of affordable health care and wide public education about erectile dysfunction as an entity requiring prompt medical consultation.

A Benefit Incidence Analysis of Public Spending on Education in Pakistan Using PSLM Data

Education is one of the most important means of economic development, and there is consensus among policymakers that it is better to be educated than not. The debate on education is not, therefore, whether it is good or bad, rather it centers on whether the state should intervene in its provision. Public provision of education at the school level is generally considered one of the most important investments for creating social opportunities to help the wider population actively participate in various economic activities. This study investigates whether public spending on education in Pakistan is pro-poor at various levels of schooling. We find that public spending at the primary and secondary level is progressive, while higher education spending is regressive. These results hold at the national and provincial level. Based on these findings, we recommend that the government increase its spending on primary, secondary, and technical education. Higher education, however, should be provided on merit, and the private sector should be encouraged to provide high-quality education.

The Results In The Provision Of Public Education Under Different Decentralized Contexts: The Colombian Case

An analysis of the results in the provision of public education under different institutional contexts is carried out for Colombia where, during the decentralization process, different degrees of autonomy to manage education public expenditures have coexisted. The analysis is undertaken by using frontier analysis techniques, which allow us to estimate cost and production functions, in order to determine differences in costs and technical efficiency in the provision of education across regions. The results show that the strength of decentralization had a more positive impact on increasing enrollment than on the improvement of the quality of education. It was also found, that high levels of cost and production inefficiency are present in different regions of the country, implying that savings in public expenditure and better educational results could be achieved if all local authorities could operate at the most efficient level.

Government free riding in the public provision of higher education: panel data estimates of possible crowding out

This article employs panel data on more than 1000 US public colleges and universities to investigate the effect of private giving on state government funding. Government free riding is at question and is found to be active in that private donations partially displace state government funding at the rate of 83 cents on the dollar. That compares to the 45 cents political substitution of the 1960s but is much diminished from the $1.07 of the 1980s. Those are aggregate comparisons for all public institutions. A disaggregated approach in this article additionally reveals that doctoral granting research universities are somewhat lesser victims of crowd out in experiencing a 71 cents cut. At master level colleges and universities and associate 2 year degree granting colleges, crowding out is estimated to be on the order 87 cents and $1.10, respectively. Relative to the academic year 2000 to 2001, publicly controlled colleges and universities are found to experience significant reductions in state appropriated funding in 2003 to 2004 and 2006 to 2007. Even accounting for changes in the business cycle and changes in possible government spending priorities over time, the overall findings support the persistent effect of this brand of crowding out.

Private Tutoring and the Question of Equitable Opportunities in Turkey

This paper focuses on the implications of private tutoring in Turkey for questions of equity regarding the provision of public education, based on an analysis of previously published research. The nature of the private tutoring and its relation to the two national selection examinations in Turkey are also discussed.

Bolsa Família, poverty and inequality: Political and economic effects in the short and long run

Created in 2003 by the unification of four earlier initiatives, Bolsa Família currently provides cash transfers to 13 million people and supports more than one-third of the children that go to primary school in Brazil. This article extends and expands previous reviews on the origins, development and impact of the programme. The authors consider the political and economic dimensions in their evaluation of Bolsa Família’s contribution to the reduction of poverty and inequality. They argue that Bolsa Família’s ultimate impact will partly depend on a reduction of inequalities in public provision of health and education, which in turn may require a more active political role for the poor.

The intergenerational conflict over the provision of public education

We study the intergenerational conflict over the provision of public education. This conflict arises because older households without children have weaker incentives to support the provision of high quality educational services in a community than younger households with school-age children. We develop an overlapping generations model for households in a system of multiple jurisdictions. This model captures the differences in preferred policies over the life-cycle. We show that the observed inequality in educational policies across communities is not only the outcome of stratification by income, but is also determined by the stratification by age and a political process that is dominated by older voters in many urban communities with low quality of educational services. The mobility of older households creates a positive fiscal externality since it creates a larger tax base per student. This positive tax externality can dominate the negative effects that arise because older households tend to vote for lower educational expenditures. As a consequence sorting by age can reduce the inequality in educational outcomes that is driven by income sorting.

INTERPRETING THE DYNAMICS OF PUBLIC SECTOR BUDGETING: A DIALECTIC OF CONTROL APPROACH

Developing a dialectic of control theoretical framework, the paper shows how the theory may be applied to explain turbulence in public sector budgeting. Applying the framework to fieldwork research in two large UK local authorities, the study explores the knowledge and intentionality of actors engaged in budgeting. Focusing on a crisis in educational funding, cognitive issues based around unreliability of cost and planning data were significant factors behind tactical successes for local budgetees. Central government, however, was able to exert power through its ability to change the rules, leading to new structures for public education provision. The dialectical framework avoids the reductionism and functionalism that characterises some of the budget gaming literature and also has potential implications for interpreting step changes in public funding

The provision of public education – a hospice's journey

The End of Life Care Strategy highlighted the importance of public education and the Dying Matters coalition was created to encourage people to talk about dying. This describes the experience...