International Journal of Educational Development最新文献

{"title":"Understanding the competing logics of district education office work: The case of Ghana","authors":"Sheena Bell","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103219","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103219","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>District education offices are crucial to school-level policy implementation. Analyzing policy documents and interviews with over 75 stakeholders in Ghana, this study uses an institutional logic framework to examine four logics of district work: bureaucratic, political, civic, and professional. It reveals tensions between the district’s traditional top-down bureaucratic role, its political and civic roles embedded in decentralization reforms, and recent policies emphasizing a professional, instructional support role with schools. These competing logics are evident in the recent introduction of the delivery approach, which mandates performance contracts at all levels to enhance the implementation of policy priorities. The study presents a framework to understand the complex institutional environment district staff navigate to deliver education policy and support teaching and learning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103219"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The combined effect of free and compulsory lower secondary education on educational attainment in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Alfredo Martin ,&nbsp;Aleta Sprague ,&nbsp;Amy Raub ,&nbsp;Bijetri Bose ,&nbsp;Pragya Bhuwania ,&nbsp;Rachel Kidman ,&nbsp;Jody Heymann","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Greater educational attainment has vast economic, health, and intergenerational benefits, yet less than half children in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school. In contrast to primary education, there is limited research on the impact of national policies at the secondary level on educational attainment. A significant number of low-income countries continue to charge tuition for secondary education and a majority do not make secondary school compulsory. This study is the first to simultaneously assess reforms to tuition-free and compulsory education at the lower secondary level. Using a novel global dataset on education policies and data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, we used a differences-in-differences approach to examine how the introduction of tuition-free and compulsory lower secondary education policies in seven sub-Saharan African countries affected grades completed and starting secondary education by sex, wealth quintile, and rural/urban residence. Results show that making lower secondary education compulsory, in addition to tuition-free, had a significantly larger impact on educational attainment compared to providing tuition-free lower secondary alone. Exposure to tuition-free, compulsory lower secondary increased girls’ average educational attainment by 1.6 grades, and boys’ attainment by 1.4 grades, compared to cohorts exposed to only tuition-free. Girls and boys were also 13.5 and 14 percentage points more likely to complete some secondary, respectively, than their peers in countries that had made lower secondary education free, but not compulsory. Children from families in the lower wealth quintiles had a significantly larger improvement in progressing to secondary education when education was both tuition-free and compulsory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103218"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How do public school teachers react to education policy reforms with their colleagues?: The emergence of policy discussion networks during the implementation of the national education strategic plan in Myanmar","authors":"Zue Wadi Htun ,&nbsp;Seunghoo Lim","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Teachers working at the grassroots level of Myanmar’s educational bureaucracy are directly involved in the implementation of the basic educational reforms outlined in the National Education Strategic Plan. The aim of this study is to examine the formation of policy discussion networks among public school teachers during the implementation of the reforms as well as the ways in which the development of these discussion networks was affected by teachers’ perceptions of discretion, client meaningfulness, and willingness to implement the reforms. Teachers were involved in discussion connections that were developed on a reciprocal and transitive basis to facilitate their communication over time. When teachers perceived that the changes stipulated by the reforms offered greater benefits to their pupils and became more eager to implement these changes, they approached other teachers to discuss educational issues. This study provides theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature on street-level bureaucrats’ reactions to the implementation of policy reforms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103206"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"‘I wanna die a slow death when I’m busy with that annual training report….’: Why employer engagement for skills planning in South Africa goes wrong","authors":"Stephanie Allais ,&nbsp;Siphelo Ngcwangu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103217","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103217","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper explores systems in South Africa to obtain skills needs information from employers, build employer-engagement, and direct training funds to the training required by employers. We argue that the system is not achieving the key goals for which it was set up. The system is by no means ‘employer-led’ or ‘demand-led’; instead, the system has limited leadership from employers. A complex set of incentives and regulations backfire in some instances, leading to poor data about skills needs. This unwieldy system has many layers of collecting data, leading to information that is not useful for planning purposes, while alienating employers from strategic engagement. The complexity of the tools used to gather data from employers on skills needs undermines the integrity and validity of the data. The link between funding mechanisms to support training and the mechanisms for gathering data on skills needs skews the picture of needs, and does not facilitate provision planning. The complexity of the system deters high-level strategic engagement with employers on the skills trajectory of the sector, and leads to problematic sectoral and national planning. The rules and systems for disbursing funds get in the way of strategic support of provision that meets the needs of employers and of the economy. Poor steering of provision of training is a huge lost opportunity given the existence of a payroll levy with large amounts of money being available for training. In short, this complex attempt to use a regulatory state to steer provision has led to an unwieldy system with many layers of collecting information which is not useful for planning purposes as the primary sources of the data are generally flawed. There are some ways in which, based on our findings, the systems could be improved. But even if this were done, what must be recognised is that employer-engagement is complex, inherently limited, and not the magic bullet for VET relevance often suggested. Our research brings attention to this, together with showing the many ways in which well-intentioned policy has not achieved its goals in this regard.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103217"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inclusion into what? Education provision for students with disabilities and additional learning needs in Papua New Guinea","authors":"Guy Le Fanu ,&nbsp;Mevelyn Kawane ,&nbsp;Siân Tesni","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103216","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103216","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This case study examines education provision for students with disabilities and additional learning needs (DALN) in a ‘model’ inclusive primary school in Papua New Guinea. It is based on classroom observation and semi-structured interviews with selected teachers. It analyses the pedagogical practices of the teachers, their inclusivity, and the variables shaping them. It was found the teachers struggled to meet the needs of students with DALN, particularly deaf learners, due to multi-level constraints. In the light of the findings, strategies for promoting inclusive education within the country are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103216"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Localizing the education development research agenda in the Global South: The case of GPE KIX","authors":"Leanne M. Cameron ,&nbsp;Serhiy Kovalchuk ,&nbsp;Sophia M. D’Angelo ,&nbsp;Aissata Assane Igodoe","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103207","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent efforts in decolonization and localization have been influential in reshaping the long-standing norms of international development, whereby large-scale funders and actors in the Global North have shaped education development research agendas in low- and middle-income countries. This influence often stems from decision-making processes that appear opaque and mono-directional, flowing from North to South. Adopting a localization perspective, this article examines the attempts of a large-scale international development program—the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX)—to reverse this trend by engaging education stakeholders in over 60 low- and middle-income countries to inform its research and implementation activities and thereby localize the education development research agenda. It draws on reflections from key project implementers and details the process undertaken to ensure that the countries involved had opportunities to shape the GPE KIX research agenda and implementation activities, based on their national education priorities. The article explores practical challenges encountered in the effort to localize the program’s agenda, including conducting online, participatory data collection while navigating diverse language needs, time zones constraints and budget limitations. It addresses methodological dilemmas encountered, examining power dynamics, researcher and institutional positionality, the role of gatekeepers, tensions related to participant identities and biases, spaces of pushback, the use of research evidence and features of project design. Drawing on the experience of GPE KIX, the article discusses implications for future efforts to localize education development research agendas in the Global South.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103207"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Families' responses to a new centralized school admission system. School choice and justice in education","authors":"Cristián Bellei,&nbsp;Mariana Contreras,&nbsp;Fabián Guajardo","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103202","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103202","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aimed to understand the practices and discourses of Chilean families regarding a new centralized school admission system (SAS). SAS employs a deferred acceptance algorithm to distribute to allocate students, after parents submit online applications ranking their preferred schools for their children. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with parents from diverse social classes. While a minority of parents appreciated SAS for its convenience, time savings, discrimination prevention, and promotion of desegregation, many families expressed negative attitudes, associated with feelings of disqualification, disempowerment, and distrust. These sentiments led to various forms of resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103202"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The potential of peacebuilding education interventions in societies facing the risk of extreme ideological shifts","authors":"Nerkez Opacin ,&nbsp;Sabina Čehajić-Clancy","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103208","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103208","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While education is a key tool in peacebuilding, traditional education systems may push those who feel marginalized into extreme ideological shifts in response. Community-based peacebuilding education initiatives (PEIs) are an alternative to conventional educational institutions to promote peace and combat radicalization. This paper's conceptual framework utilizes experiential and transformative learning theories with educational displacement and replacement model to support the idea that PEIs could serve as a platform for transformation. Results were derived from data collected over a thirteen-month period from six PEIs located in Southeast Europe, primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina, using multi-sited ethnography, interviews, and a thrice-reiterated survey to identify changes in participants. This indicates that adopting targeted approaches in PEIs, alongside the opportunity for the participants to learn about each other and about the violent history, may trigger alterations in intergroup contact quality, and a general decline in unfavorable outgroup perception.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103208"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"International cooperation as a resource for education development in the new Russia","authors":"Elena Lenskaya","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103200","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103200","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The following narrative is based on the personal experiences of the head of international cooperation department of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation (1991–1997) and subsequently Assistant Director of the British Council, Moscow. The paper describes the education reform agenda, and its underlying principles set in the 90 s as well as international support provided to this agenda. It describes the transition from the policy of educational exchanges to that of international projects. The author argues that this policy shift was of great importance to education development. The author describes multiple barriers on the way to the reform and the conflicts which undermined its progress and provides personal advice to potential successors who will take over when the current government is no longer in power.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103200"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating private and public school performance gap: A case study in Turkey","authors":"Jehanzeb Rashid Cheema ,&nbsp;Shariq Siddiqui ,&nbsp;Afshan Paarlberg","doi":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103205","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103205","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent literature has suggested that private-public school performance gaps are rooted in individual differences and that they disappear after adequately controlling for student characteristics. However, most of this research is based on samples from the U.S. and other developed countries and it is not clear how empirical results generalize to populations in developing nations. In this paper we used a national sample from Turkey to test the hypothesis that private-public school differences in performance disappear once important student characteristics are controlled for. Our results indicate that after controlling for such differences the gap between private and public school performance does indeed disappear. However, the gap reemerges in the opposite direction once school-specific predictors are added suggesting that public schools in fact perform better than private schools in Turkey when the playing field is level. Implications are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48004,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Development","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103205"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}