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The multiple layers and levels of education system change are more than engineering problems. A too-narrow focus on individual elements obscures the broader reality that progress in any of the simple and complicated elements must take place in the context of a complex environment. Education is complex because there are no wholly technical solutions. It is complex in the sense of working in a highly dynamic landscape, in which each action is judged not only by technical merits, but also in terms of its interaction with other components and stakeholders. Politically and institutionally, education has the challenge of working simultaneously at a national system level (policies, procedures, incentives, and capacity in many technical areas) and at the classroom level with teacher and students; each classroom and school. In this sense, education is usefully understood from the perspective of political phenomena—leadership, politics, interest groups, as well as from the very human perspective of individual teachers, students, parents, principals, and others adapting to new ideas. System change happens when political, institutional, technical, and human dimensions are aligned to enable behavior change. The fact that education is so complex means that effective strategy and planning is an essential means of creating order and priority out of complexity. Understanding Systems Thinking The foundations of systems thinking are understandable, and reflect common sense knowledge about the world. The challenge of applying systems thinking comes less from the complexity of theory than from a traditionally linear and rational approach to problem solving that breaks problems into small, distinct events, one cause leading to a single effect/ Such linear thinking may obscure the complexity of the underlying system. What is a system A system is a set of things— people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time. The system may be buffeted, constricted, triggered, or driven by outside forces. But the system response to these forces is characteristic of itself, and that response is seldom simple in the real world. Contemporary systems thinking sees the underlying structure of a system as determinative of how it responds to change. Economists usually look for the underlying structures in terms of incentives and disincentives that influence how people respond to stimulus. Physicians find the underlying structure in the response of an immune system to a virus. Ecologists identify the natural balancing forces of predators and prey, symbiotic and parasitic relationships, —From Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows evolution, and even climate. Each of these systems operates within sets of rules, enabling them to respond to events, adapt, and reestablish an equilibrium. 32 SECTION 1: INTROdUCTION
Basic principles of systems thinking can be usefully applied to education reform. For this purpose the authors have adapted here concepts Donella H. Meadows presents in her 2008 book Thinking in Systems: A Primer. • A system is more than the sum of its parts. Information is one of the key factors influencing the connections and relationships between parts in the system. • The function, or purpose, of the system drives system behavior. Sometimes the actual function is not obvious, and may be different from the stated purpose PlACES TO INTERVENE IN A SYSTEM 1. Transcending paradigms 2. Paradigms 3. Goals 4. Self-organization: evolution 5. Rules: incentives, sanctions 6. Information flows 7. Reinforcing feedback loops 8. Balancing feedback loops 9. delays: length of time to affect change • The structure of the system is a source of behavior. 10. Stock and flow structure • The foundations of a system are stocks and flows. 11. Buffers: size of Stocks are the parts that you can see, count, stabilizing stocks and measure at any given time. Stocks can be 12. Numbers: parameters, such physical—like teachers, books, schools, but they as subsidies, taxes, can also be intangible factors like information, standards beliefs, mental models, self-confidence, goodwill, or credibility. Flows are the elements that change stocks over time, which can also be physical (new schools, graduates of teacher colleges) or intangible (new information, new models, experiences). • Feedback loops are causal connections between stocks and flows. Feedback loops can work to balance the system and return it to equilibrium, providing both a source of stability and a source of resistance to change. Reinforcing loops can strengthen existing trends, which can lead to growth or collapse. —From Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows Stocks act as buffers, or shock absorbers, in systems. In education, the concept of stocks also applies to individuals. In an education system, the stock of existing teachers with pre-existing skills, knowledge, and attitudes is an inherent change buffer when the replacement flow of new teachers entering the system may be less than 2 percent of the stock each year. Teachers, principles, ministers, parents all have skills they are comfortable with, beliefs about the right way of doing things, and attitudes that reflect culture, education, and history. These stocks are not immutable—but they are resistant to quick change. SECTION 1: INTROdUCTION 33
Page 1 and 2: The Power of Persistence Education
Page 4 and 5: table of Contents Acknowledgments F
Page 6 and 7: generously granted us their time an
Page 8 and 9: Foreword The United States Agency f
Page 11 and 12: Executive Summary EQUIP2 Education
Page 13 and 14: local points of contact. In fact, b
Page 15 and 16: Namibia has successfully developed
Page 17 and 18: Sustainability in the context of sy
Page 19: • Manage policy engagement and re
Page 23 and 24: After more than 50 years of develop
Page 25 and 26: to the point of functional literacy
Page 27 and 28: An obvious question for donors is
Page 29 and 30: • Was the investment in education
Page 31 and 32: A final perspective on ownership, a
Page 33 and 34: and recipients. The World Bank has
Page 35 and 36: the term differently. Donors someti
Page 37 and 38: Country commitment to improving pol
Page 39 and 40: The importance of these insights, b
Page 41: Table: Simple, Complicated, and Com
Page 45 and 46: Among the many aspects of systems t
Page 47 and 48: EQUIP2 Education Systems Reform Fra
Page 49 and 50: may or may not be influenced by the
Page 51: • There are no magic bullets. Par
Page 55 and 56: These case studies look at educatio
Page 57: El Salvador Egypt Namibia Nicaragua
Page 60 and 61: eform support during the 1980s and
Page 62 and 63: system. In the same year, the USAID
Page 64 and 65: CASE ANALySIS: DIMENSIONS OF REFORM
Page 66 and 67: increased during this period, parti
Page 68 and 69: militant groups (at least until 199
Page 70 and 71: the growing political will and capa
Page 72 and 73: political will and experience in bo
Page 75 and 76: EgyPT TIMELINE
Page 78 and 79: El Salvador: Summary COUNTRy CONTEx
Page 80 and 81: financing, and ensuring adequate le
Page 82 and 83: Impact Structurally, the education
Page 84 and 85: CASE ANALySIS: DIMENSIONS OF REFORM
Page 86 and 87: 2005, USAID assistance further stre
Page 88 and 89: EDUCO’s success exemplifies a tec
Page 90 and 91: workshop with representatives of bo
Page 92:
• The continuing commitment to th
Page 95:
El Salvador Time Line Before 1988 1
Page 98 and 99:
Strategies Especially in the early
Page 100 and 101:
In terms of quality, the impact on
Page 102 and 103:
The second aspect is that the profe
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• The complex and holistic nature
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efforts have been studied closely,
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NAMIBIA TIMELINE
Page 112 and 113:
Nicaragua: Summary COUNTRy CONTExT
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ASP won the support of donor agenci
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Nicaragua Education Indicators Indi
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Though the strong leadership of Min
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eform. Starting from the early 1990
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Nicaragua Time Line Before 1986 198
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growth; primary enrollment expanded
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accountability and corruption led d
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Selected Reform goals, Policy Chang
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Increased sector leadership from MO
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it have to cope with major governme
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management and administration that
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the education system and have limit
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help an overextended MOE to meet se
Page 143 and 144:
ZAMBIA TIMELINE
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3 summary Findings and Conclusions
Page 149 and 150:
In addition to an EFA-inspired emph
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from political changes. After 15 ye
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ased management, but were limited t
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is not necessarily limited to indiv
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sector limited the agenda-setting m
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and every new government seeks its
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8. USAID and other donors have been
Page 163 and 164:
CONCLUSIONS This review of five cou
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Ownership It is a central tenet of
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actors is a never-ending process. T
Page 169 and 170:
was beyond the mandate of the Minis
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IMPLICATIONS FOR USAID POLICy AND P
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Bibliography general References Alv
Page 175 and 176:
UNESCO. 2007. EFA Global Monitoring
Page 177 and 178:
Healy, F. & Crouch, L. (2007, Novem
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Sidhom, S. & Al-Fustat, A. (2004, J
Page 181 and 182:
Crouch, L., J. Gillies, A. Florez.
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LLECE, “Conclusiones del estudio
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Miller-Grandvaux, Yolande and Karla
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1875 Connecticut Ave., NW Washingto
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