Meeting development goals: evidence from the Civil Society Education Fund

In recent years, the Civil Society Education Fund has supported national education civil society coalitions (NECs) in low-income countries so that they put pressure on governments and donors to implement the Education for All agenda and the Millennium Development Goal on education. This article draws on literature on global governance as well as on an extensive evaluation of the CSEF to explore the actual contribution of this initiative to the activity of NECs. The article highlights the achievements and shortcomings of the CSEF and includes a set of practical recommendations on the role of global civil society in international development processes.     

Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need-Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant

We conduct the first long-term experimental evaluation of a need-based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time-to-degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions about the conditions necessary for financial aid to benefit students.     

Remoteness as a gendered construct

This article explores the potential of using children’s perceptions of distance to reflect a gendered understanding of remoteness. Data collected from 1,549 children in Tanzania concerning their perceptions of remoteness in relation to accessibility of school, health care, and water resources were analysed in reference to their impact on school attendance and performance. Gendered variability in perceived distances to services by children may indicate that remoteness is as much of a social issue as it is a geographic phenomenon, in that girls perceive distance and time between home and destination to be further than boys who travel approximately the same distance.     

Facilitating industrial symbiosis programmes in developing countries: reflections from Gauteng,South Africa

This viewpoint reflects on how to improve the process of introducing facilitated industrial symbiosis programmes (FISPs) to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Although FISPs are a long-established industrial practice, their formal introduction to SMEs in developing countries has only recently begun, mostly through support from international development agencies. Based partly on anecdotal evidence from Gauteng, South Africa, we identify six key questions which need to be addressed to improve the process of facilitating FISPs.     

Why madrassah education reforms don’t work in Pakistan

Despite global pressure and national security concerns, the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to reform the madrassah system have proven to be futile. Extant literature on madrassah reform challenges relies overwhelmingly on information provided by governments and experts situated outside of these institutions. While these studies and reports present important findings and viable analysis on madrassah systems; most of the research fails to give voice to the major stakeholders of this system itself, such as the administration staff, teachers, students and parents. Our study fills this crucial gap by conducting semi-structured interviews and field observations inside Pakistani madaris (plural for madrassah) and their professional associations. We find that these madaris have been reluctant to participate in policy interventions offered by the government due to a major trust deficit brought on by differences over financial and curriculum regulation, degree recognition and the government’s role in shaping popular perceptions about madaris. This reluctance has turned down attempts for madrassah reformation and has in turn made them vulnerable to radicalisation. We conclude with policy recommendations for more effective government reforms and a stronger relationship between madrassah representatives and the Government of Pakistan.     

Democratization through education? Theory and practice of the Czech post-revolution education system and its reforms

The transformation process from an authoritarian/totalitarian system entails many institutional changes, however, the individual citizen is often being overlooked in this chaotic, fast-paced process and his or her “transformation” into a democrat is taken for granted. The changing socio-political system and its exigencies may lead to nostalgia and social frustrations, which in turn cause democratic backsliding. In order to cultivate a democratic society and avoid future backsliding, the post-communist states quickly set out to reform their educational systems, both in form and substance. By reviewing the reform process of the Czech educational system and discussing the prevailing legacies left by the communist regime, the article will show that through the “destruction” of the former system and its de-monopolization, decentralization and de-ideologization, the state deliberately lost significant means and power to transform Czechs from “homo sovieticus” to “homo democraticus” and is now left with a dependence on the highly autonomous schools and their propensity to foster democratic generations that will uphold the democratic state in the future. This paradox is reminiscent of the so-called Böckenförde dilemma, claiming that the liberal democratic state “lives by prerequisites which it cannot guarantee itself”.     

Policy dynamics and the evolution of state charter school laws

Baumgartner and Jones (1993) showed how radically new policies emerge on government agendas as a consequence of exogenous shocks to policy subsystems displacing privileged interests. But how do these policies evolve post-punctuation? In this paper, we present three different models of policy change. Policies may revert to the old status quo if displaced interests re-assert themselves, or they may be “locked-in” by new interests now reaping the benefits. Alternatively, they may incrementally change as lawmakers “learn” how to better meet target population needs, particularly by witnessing how other jurisdictions address similar problems. We test these models with data on change in state charter schools laws over time. We find that whether old status quos are overthrow, and the fate of charter policies when they are enacted, is influenced more by competing political interests, especially interest groups, than elite and public perceptions of broad systemic crises. Yet, we also find that changing demands on the state and learning from the successes and failures of neighboring states also play significant roles.     

以科学发展观为指导深化高职教育改革与建设

本文总结了学校坚持以科学发展观为指导,在专业建设、课程改革、教学科研、实训基地建设、师资队伍建设、校园文化、校企合作等方面所进行的探索和取得的成绩。为今后的学校的建设和发展提供参考。     

中国传统社会基层治理的法律机制与经验

基层社会治理对于整体社会治理起着重要的基础和支撑作用.在中国传统社会的基层治理中,形成了一套圆融自洽、顺利运行的法律机制,其中蕴含了我国在基层社会治理方面的宝贵经验.传统儒家法与道德相混成,一直将道德教化作为重要的社会治理手段,德治与法治相结合;而基层的自治制度,不论在立法还是司法上,都为国家法律体系的有机组成部分.中...     

民族文化与民族教育互动发展的助推工程——对贵州省民族文化进校园活动的思考

在实现民族社会快速发展的同时,如何防止民族优秀传统文化的遗失是一个社会性问题。在民族文化生态系统中,民族文化从多方面影响和制约着民族教育,民族教育作为民族文化的重要组成部分,既是民族文化的一种特殊表现形式,又是民族文化传承和发展的基本途径。依据民族文化与民族教育相互关系原理,贵州省实施了民族文化进校园活动。实践表明,这一活动是一项民族文化与民族教育互动发展的助推工程,为我们提供了一条保护和传承民族优秀传统文化的可选道路。