Volume 1, Issue 1, Numbers 1 - 3
Governance

The International Working Group on Education: Supporting Global Education Initiatives

Citation: Caillods, F. (2005). The International Working Group on Education: Supporting Global Education Initiatives. Journal of Education for International Development, 1(1). Retrieved Month Date, Year, from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/1/1-preface.pdf

The International Working Group on Education (IWGE) is an informal group of aid agencies and foundations created in 1972 to facilitate the exchange of information and innovative ideas and practices among donor agencies working on education. Since1982 the IWGE has focussed on promoting basic education and has served as a catalyst for preparing and following up on the 1990 Jomtien Education for All Conference. After the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, the Working Group continued to exchange information on issues of basic education, but it broadened the scope of its discussions to look into such current challenges in the development of education as preparing young people and adults for work and entry into the labour market, coping with the growing demand for post-primary and secondary education after EFA, mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on education, and organizing education in countries in situations of crisis and reconstruction. The standing exchange of views and experiences on how to move to a sector-wide approach (SWAp) has broadened to include the progress made on the poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) and the Fast Track Initiative (FTI).

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Does decentralization lead to school improvement? Findings and lessons from research in West-Africa

A. De Grauwe, C. Lugaz, D. Baldé, C. Diakhaté, D. Dougnon, M. Moustapha, and D. Odushina

Citation: De Grauwe, A., Lugaz, C., Baldé, D., Diakhaté, C., Dougnon, D., Moustapha, M., & Odushina, D. (2005). Does decentralization lead to school improvement? Findings and lessons from research in West-Africa. Journal of Education for International Development, 1(1). Retrieved Month Date, Year, from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/1/1-1.pdf

Abstract:
Decentralization is a fashionable reform, adopted by many countries with different characteristics. There are doubts, though, about its objectives and impact. Did inspiration come from a desire to improve quality or from a need to share the financial burden? Does it not increase disparities and the workload for local officials and headteachers? Against this background, the International Institute for Educational Planning, in collaboration with ministries of education, a national institute and the NGO Plan, co-ordinated research on the challenges that local offices and schools encounter. Results are partly disheartening, as they indicate the limits to the implementation of decentralization but they also show that successful innovations are taking place. They help to identify principles of good practice: complementarity between actors; equilibrium between their mandate and resources; reform of school supervision; and the need to counterbalance autonomy by an effective accountability framework. One principle stands central: decentralization does not imply that the State is abandoning control, but rather a change in its role.

This research was funded through contributions from the World Bank, the NGO Plan and the IIEP.

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South Africa equity and quality reforms: possible lessons

Luis Crouch

Citation: Crouch, L. (2005). South Africa equity and quality reforms. Journal of Education for International Development, 1(1). Retrieved Month Date, Year, from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/1/1-2.pdf

Abstract:
In the period 1995 to 2002 South Africa managed to make major policy changes in education. Almost everything about the education sector has changed. This paper focuses on policies aimed at resource distribution. It documents significant improvements in certain measures of resource inequality. It documents that, against perhaps excessively optimistic expectations, responses in learning outcomes have not followed automatically, but have instead required much managerial pressure and oversight. Things appear to have started to improve, at least on some measures, though much remains to be done in this area.

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Ethics and corruption in education: an overview

Jacques Hallak and Muriel Poisson

Citation: Hallak, J., & Poisson, M. (2005). Ethics and corruption in education: an overview. Journal of Education for International Development, 1(1). Retrieved Month Date, Year, from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/1/1-3.pdf

Abstract:
In a context of budget austerity and pressure on international flows of funds, there is a clear demand for more efficiency in the use of public resources. Recent surveys suggest that leakage of funds from ministries of education to schools represent more than 80% of the total sums allocated (non-salary expenditures) in some countries; bribes and payoffs in teacher recruitment and promotion tend to lower the quality of public school teachers; and illegal payments for school entrance and other hidden costs help explain low school enrolment and high drop-out rates. This paper argues that the problems posed by corruption in education have been neglected for too long. It details the three assumptions that underlie the IIEP's project on "Ethics and corruption in education". It then describes the approach followed to tackle this sensitive issue within the framework of the project. Finally, it summarizes a few conclusions drawn from the research thus far in three areas: teacher behaviour, teacher management, and private tutoring. It then concludes by identifying key strategies for improving transparency and accountability in education.

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The opinions and findings presented in this publication are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID.