The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

Executive Summary
EQUIP2 Education System Reform research funded by
USAID focuses on the dynamics of education system reform
from two perspectives: the political and institutional factors that
influence technical reform, and the role of donors in support
of sustainable improvements. After more than fifty years of
development assistance, with both the rationale and structure
of international assistance mechanisms under intensive critical
review, meaningful and actionable insight into effective donor
support for national education systems has never been more
urgently needed.
The Power of Persistence: Education Reform and Aid Effectiveness reports the
findings of a two-year study of reform efforts supported by international donors
in five specific national systems in the period between 1990 and 2009. Most of
the existing literature on education reform is has been concerned with specific
interventions and policy reforms necessary to improve education. This report
considers that research and turns focus on the process challenges of introducing,
implementing, and sustaining reforms, in order to better understand the nature
of education system change, the indicators and measures of forward progress, the
key points of leverage and support to facilitate change, and the productive roles
that donor agencies play.
The single most important lesson from these case studies of the political,
institutional, and technical dimensions of reform efforts over two decades is
that for effective and durable reform, all specific interventions, policy reforms
and project activities — decentralization, service delivery, dialogue, information
and analysis, teacher training, workshops, textbooks and testing — must be
understood and strategized in the context of longer-term goals and trends.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1