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

FINDINgS
This section presents a summary of the key findings across the five case
studies, followed by conclusions and the implications for donor policy and
programming:
1. The reform agendas and strategies in the five countries over this period
have been similar, reflecting both direct and indirect impact of the
international agenda.
While the specific impetus and agenda for education reform in each of the five
countries derived from unique historical and cultural forces, there was a high
degree of similarity in both goals and strategies. Some of the common areas of
focus, such as expanding access and increasing focus on girls’ education, were
the product of explicit international dialogue and initiatives (e.g., EFA). This
not surprising, given the fact that the study period coincided with the EFA era
and the subsequent participation of all of the countries in international EFA
agreements. In addition, many of the initiatives and program activities are
common to the operations of all education systems—curriculum, materials,
teacher education, and infrastructure.
It is noteworthy that the five countries shared similar strategies for
achieving the goals, in particular their focus on community participation,
decentralization, and school-based management as well as standards, testing,
and accountability for student outcomes. Though each of the countries came
to these strategies from different starting points and for somewhat different
reasons, all were nevertheless influenced by the dominant ideas and trends in
the donor community. In some cases the strategies chosen reflected explicit
conditions of projects and donor encouragement, while in other cases the
chosen strategies simply reflected awareness of—and engagement with—a
consensus dialogue within the international education reform community.
Common strategies did not result in identical process, or outcomes. Forces
external to education, such as politics and institutional capacity, heavily
influenced each country’s experience. The extent to which the reform
strategies were seen as a priority and ‘owned’ by ministers, educators, school
administrators and teachers, and civil society also shaped process and
outcomes. These reform stories demonstrate that when each of the countries
implemented decentralization, for example, each used strategies in ways
that were responsive to local conditions and dynamics—including politics,
institutions, leadership and cultural patterns—that affected how strategies were
chosen and introduced, and how donor assistance was implemented.
SECTION 3: SUMMARY fINdINGS ANd CONClUSIONS
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