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Book part
Publication date: 12 March 2012

Sarah Beardmore and John Middleton

Historically, the World Bank has been the largest external financier of education in the world, committing a peak amount of just over $5 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 through…

Abstract

Historically, the World Bank has been the largest external financier of education in the world, committing a peak amount of just over $5 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 through both its Education Sector projects and multisector projects managed by other sectors (World Bank, 2010b). The World Bank also hosts the Education for All-Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI). Launched in 2002, EFA FTI is a partnership of governments, civil society organizations, and multilateral agencies such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank, which provides grant funding and technical assistance to implement the basic education components of national education strategies. By providing significant funding for education in low-income countries (LICs) through its own International Development Association (IDA) and by managing the majority of EFA FTI grant funding, the World Bank has a major impact on the direction of education development around the world.

In 2011 the Bank released a new Education Sector Strategy, Learning for All, which sets out the World Bank Education Sector's approach to education development over the coming decade. The analysis in this chapter examines the role of the EFA FTI and the growth of World Bank education operations managed outside the World Bank Education Sector, as well as their influence on Bank education lending objectives in sub-Saharan Africa. We examine trends in World Bank and EFA FTI basic education financing in sub-Saharan African countries that have joined the EFA FTI partnership to compare these two sources of financing for primary education and analyze the extent to which the World Bank is substituting its primary education lending with grants from the EFA FTI. We also assess the results frameworks of 10 multisector operations managed by noneducation sectors (Economic Management and Poverty Reduction; Urban Development; Rural Sector; Population, Health, and Nutrition; and Social Protection) to ascertain the extent to which they include education objectives and indicators. The chapter focuses its research around two questions:1.Is there evidence that financing from the EFA FTI is substituting World Bank financing for education in sub-Saharan Africa?2.Are World Bank multisector operations well designed to achieve education objectives in sub-Saharan Africa?

The research finds that the EFA FTI has almost certainly impacted the demand for IDA financing for basic education development. The comparison of IDA and EFA FTI primary education financing shows country-level substitution is occurring in a number of sub-Saharan African countries, with at least 13 out of 18 EFA FTI grant recipients in sub-Saharan Africa receiving a declining share of IDA financing for primary education since joining the EFA FTI.

Second, multisector operations now account for one-third of Bank education lending and have increased to comprise half of all new education commitments in sub-Saharan Africa. The research finds that multisector operations with education components are not as effective or accountable for education outcomes as those managed by the Education Sector, unless they are explicitly linked to national education plans. Given the disconnect between Education Sector managed education lending, and financing for education managed by other Bank sectors, it is unclear how the latter will be guided by the Bank's Education Sector Strategy, which will only apply to half of all Bank education lending for sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, there is no guarantee that both EFA FTI funding and noneducation sector managed lending will be measured against World Bank education strategy standards, and yet the Education Sector Strategy 2020 does little to address these challenges.

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Education Strategy in the Developing World: Revising the World Bank's Education Policy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-277-7

Book part
Publication date: 17 June 2016

Shoko Yamada

This chapter will examine the interplay among actors who took part in the process of consensus building towards a post-2015 education agenda via different channels of global…

Abstract

This chapter will examine the interplay among actors who took part in the process of consensus building towards a post-2015 education agenda via different channels of global governance, including both formal and informal channels.

Most of the forums and entities established as part of the global governance structure are composed of representatives from UN or UNESCO member states, civil society organizations (CSOs) and UN agencies. However, each of these categories has diverse constituent groups; representing these groups is not as straightforward a task as the governance structure seems to assume. Therefore, based on interviews and qualitative text analysis, this chapter will introduce major groups of actors and their major issues of concern, decision-making structure, mode of communication and relationship with other actors. Then, based on an understanding of the characteristics of the various channels and actors, it will present the structural issues that arose during the analysis of post-2015 discourse and the educational issues that emerged as the shared concerns of the ‘education community’. While most of the analysis to untangle the nature of discourse relies on qualitative analysis of texts and interviews, the end of this chapter will also demonstrate the trends of discourse in quantitative terms.

What was the post-2015 discourse for the so-called education community, which in itself has an ambiguous and virtual existence? The keywords post-2015 and post-EFA provide us with an opportunity to untangle how shared norms and codes of conduct were shaped at the global scale.

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Post-Education-Forall and Sustainable Development Paradigm: Structural Changes with Diversifying Actors and Norms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-271-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2007

Yuto Kitamura

The promotion of Education for All (EFA) in today's globalized world is an important responsibility to be borne by the international community as a whole. International…

Abstract

The promotion of Education for All (EFA) in today's globalized world is an important responsibility to be borne by the international community as a whole. International cooperation in education is being undertaken in many developing countries under collaborative arrangements of “Actors” with varying positions. Essential as the backbone of such cooperation is a mutually complementary partnership between the public (governments and official aid agencies) and private (civil society). Without this, international cooperation in education is exceedingly difficult to implement. Thus, led mainly by international agencies, the mechanisms for global governance for the promotion of international cooperation in education have been created.

This paper sets out to analyze the mechanisms of governance on a global level as led by international agencies. Moreover, it attempts to elucidate the role of civil society, which has gained in importance as a partner of governments and international agencies, leading to a study of public and political dimensions in international cooperation in education. Furthermore, to see how the international community might close the four critical gaps in the areas of “policy, capacity, data and financing” and assist developing countries in promoting EFA, the paper analyzes an example of a recent international initiative called the EFA Fast-Track Initiative (FTI).

Details

Education for All
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1441-6

Book part
Publication date: 17 June 2016

Leon Tikly

The chapter traces the genealogy of the Education for All (EFA) Movement understood as a global regime of educational governance between 1990 and 2005. The chapter sets out the…

Abstract

The chapter traces the genealogy of the Education for All (EFA) Movement understood as a global regime of educational governance between 1990 and 2005. The chapter sets out the achievements of EFA including some success in uniting diverse interests around a common set of goals. It will also discuss the key tensions related to the Northern and Western-led nature of EFA; tensions between the multilateral agencies over the leadership of EFA and the issues associated with the hegemonic status assumed by the World Bank; the tension between a wider EFA agenda and a narrower focus on a few quantifiable targets; and the associated tensions between more economistic and rights-based views of EFA. It will be argued that the development of these tensions can be understood in relation to different kinds of power linked to the international political economy and to the impact of other global regimes.

Details

Post-Education-Forall and Sustainable Development Paradigm: Structural Changes with Diversifying Actors and Norms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-271-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 June 2016

Shoko Yamada

This chapter will situate the global paradigm shift toward Post-Education-For-All (Post-EFA) not only in the policy trends in the field of international education development, but…

Abstract

This chapter will situate the global paradigm shift toward Post-Education-For-All (Post-EFA) not only in the policy trends in the field of international education development, but also in the academic context of international relations and comparative education.

The chapter highlights three dimensions which characterize the paradigm shift; namely, discourse on norms, diversifying actors, and the changed mode of communication and participation in the global consultation processes. The existing formal structure of the EFA global governance is based on multilateralism which recognizes sovereign nation-states, representing national interests, as the participants. However, such an assumption is eroding, given that there is a growing number of state and nonstate actors who influence decision-making not only through conventional formal channels, but also informally. Urging the revision of theories of multilateralism, the chapter introduces the attention given to nontraditional donors and horizontal networks of civil society actors in this volume.

The introduction also shows that that the widening basis of participation in the global consultation processes on post-EFA and advanced communication technology have changed the ways in which discourse is formulated. While the amount and the speed of exchanging information have been enhanced and different types of actors have been encouraged to take part, it also obliges scholars to adopt innovative methods of analyzing discourse formation.

The chapter also demonstrates the importance of the focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which is composed of diverse actors who often underscore Asian cultural roots in contrast to Western hegemony. By focusing on the discourse, actors, and the structure through which the consensus views on the post-EFA agenda were built, the volume attempts to untangle the nature of the post-EFA paradigm shift, at the global, Asia-Pacific regional, and national levels.

Details

Post-Education-Forall and Sustainable Development Paradigm: Structural Changes with Diversifying Actors and Norms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-271-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2007

Rosita C. Tormala-Nita

In this chapter, educational policy development addressing the learning needs of the at-risk population in Curacao is described as a direct result of the implementation of the…

Abstract

In this chapter, educational policy development addressing the learning needs of the at-risk population in Curacao is described as a direct result of the implementation of the global standards of the EFA goals. The at-risk student population is defined in this chapter as the proportion of students whose home language differs from the school language. Achievement is based on proficiency in the language of schools and a national tracking system, which has historically accommodated the learning needs of the at-risk into various school types. This chapter argues how the global promises for a quality education for all is exposing a more than 40-year-old policy of national tracking that questions the right to an academic education for the majority of the at-risk students. Goal 4 of the EFA places Curacao as an example of islands which have long surpassed the target for participation in technical and vocational programs. The chapter opens with an overview of the goals and targets that created a framework for continuous structural reform of a complacent system of education for all backed by compulsory education.

Details

Education for All
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1441-6

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2007

Nelly P. Stromquist

Just how influential are global policies in national education systems? A case study focusing on Peru's response to EFA provides insights pertinent to behaviors of countries with…

Abstract

Just how influential are global policies in national education systems? A case study focusing on Peru's response to EFA provides insights pertinent to behaviors of countries with weak economies, sizable ethnic minorities, and a still undefined national project. Convergence of ideals of universal basic education access and good quality of schooling abound in policy discourse yet commitment to specific targets lags. While Peru became one of the few countries to produce an EFA national plan, it exists only on the margin of political action. This study probes domestic and exogenous factors affecting state behavior and concludes that the world of democratic ideas finds much easier acceptance among decision-makers than the resolution of relations of economic, political, and cultural domination within and between countries – forces embodying powerful dynamics that determine the likelihood of an adequate national response to either domestic problems or global proposals.

Details

Education for All
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1441-6

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2007

Shoko Yamada

Although global factors undeniably play a role in the adoption of Education for All (EFA) goals in any given country, it would seem that a great majority of studies on EFA tend to…

Abstract

Although global factors undeniably play a role in the adoption of Education for All (EFA) goals in any given country, it would seem that a great majority of studies on EFA tend to overlook the significance of local dynamics. The meaning of schooling is socially constructed, regardless of how the global consensus may wish to structuralize it. The main concern of this chapter, therefore, is to closely analyze the processes by which EFA goals are adopted by the Ethiopian government and how they are implemented at the central and local levels of the government structure. The government's dependence on foreign assistance contributes to the way in which Ethiopian education policy converges with EFA. However, EFA goals are predominantly the concern of policy makers at the international and central government levels, while, over the course of implementation, the administrative judgment of street-level officials inevitably narrows the actual focus of policy. Also, the choices parents make concerning their children's education are not always purely motivated by educational concerns, but are also contingent on economic and/or social factors as well. Ethiopia has achieved a rapid increase in enrolment rates, a development regarded as a sign of true governmental commitment to succeeding in EFA. However, as the author demonstrates in this chapter, a variety of social and systematic factors coalesced to bring about the increase in enrolment, with governmental commitment numbering as just one.

Details

Education for All
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1441-6

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2007

Christopher Martin

The paper examines 15 years of basic educational reform in Mexico directed at improving scholastic performance, equity and education for all (EFA), through mainly administrative…

Abstract

The paper examines 15 years of basic educational reform in Mexico directed at improving scholastic performance, equity and education for all (EFA), through mainly administrative measures, particularly decentralization. Taking a critical policy studies approach informed by anthropological examination of local educational processes, this chapter takes issue with scholarship that sees educational reforms in LDC's as the product of “decision makers” and the school reality as a deficit to be filled by “policy”. This perspective mirrors the characteristically top down approach of the very reform process it is supposed to be analyzing. The approach taken in this paper treats school district persons and institutions as active agents in their own right. More specifically the paper will argue that Mexican reforms toward EFA have been unable to transcend the very corporatist–personalistic structures it avowedly sought to reform. It has thus been largely ineffective in mobilizing forces for change, the goodwill, creativity and initiative of educators so important to its avowed aim of improving student scholastic performance. However, isolated examples of innovative uses of spaces opened by the reform offer ideas about how to reorient the reform in more productive directions.

Details

Education for All
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1441-6

Book part
Publication date: 15 March 2013

Arif Anwar and Mir Nazmul Islam

Purpose – The intent of this chapter is to examine the lessons that BRAC, a Bangladesh-based NGO, learned over the course of implementing its para-professional teacher model in…

Abstract

Purpose – The intent of this chapter is to examine the lessons that BRAC, a Bangladesh-based NGO, learned over the course of implementing its para-professional teacher model in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and their implications for UNESCO's Education for All (EFA) initiative.Methodology – The objectives of this chapter are achieved by the analysis of secondary sources such as reports and academic articles.Findings – We find that through a combination of strong oversight and management, BRAC's para-teacher model compensates for its comparatively less formally trained teachers. This may serve as a model for nations implementing EFA initiatives by allowing them to hire more para-teachers as a cost-saving measure.Research limitations – This study is mainly reliant on secondary sources, which highlights the limited information on the quality of BRAC's education efforts in Afghanistan.Practical implications – Through a combination of strong oversight and practical training, BRAC has seemingly developed a robust para-teacher model, one that may be implemented in other contexts, especially in countries that are members of the EFA initiative and face a shortage of qualified teachers who can help achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE).Social implications – In addition to being a cost-saving measure for education, hiring para-teachers from local communities has the additional benefit of providing employment for women in rural communities, which may have a positive impact on women's empowerment.Value – This chapter provides a unique look at innovations in teacher training by NGOs and their implications for the global contexts of the EFA initiative.

Details

Teacher Reforms Around the World: Implementations and Outcomes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-654-5

Keywords

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