Education
The document library features summaries and links to editorially-selected publications on the key themes of health, education, nutrition, social protection and WASH. The documents are sourced from academic research, policy papers and global development organisations.
This report is a rigorous literature review on the political economy of education systems in conflict affected contexts. Political economy analysis is recognised as playing an important role in better understanding the obstacles to achieving the educational Millennium Development Goal. The challenges faced, in reduced access to schools and quality of education, are most acute in… Read more
This rapid review looks at available literature on the experiences and approaches of external agencies in relation to support for retention allowances for health and education professionals in countries which risk losing them. Most of the available literature uncovered by this review looks at donor support for retention allowances for health sector workers in Sub-Saharan… Read more
Evidence indicates that in several countries in Africa, women’s earnings are a fraction of male’s earnings. It is argued in this book that the gap is not simply the result of discrimination in the labour markets, but rather the result of multiple factors, including access to education and credit, cultural values and household duties and… Read more
In no region other than Africa is the trade-off drawn more sharply between the achievement of skills development with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and providing universal basic education. Both are important to economic growth and poverty reduction, but the fiscal and administrative capacity of the state to meet both goals is limited…. Read more
The last decade has witnessed a notable increase in the volume of publications on human resource management (HRM) in Africa, particularly in reputable management journals. Yet, within the broader context of the mainstream HRM debate, advances in research and theoretical sophistication have not quite kept pace with the actual practice of management. This is particularly… Read more
This paper argues that foreign aid is partly responsible for the lack of structural change in Africa. Africa’s development partners have devoted too few resources and too little attention to two critical constraints to private investment, infrastructure and skills, focusing instead on easily understood, but potentially low impact regulatory reforms. The author argues that a… Read more
Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) commissions vocational training by engaging training service providers (TSPs) through a competitive bidding process. It designs training schemes that allow for quality and cost competition among training providers from different sectors. Skills for Job 2012 (SFJ 2012) was one of the schemes that had been designed by PSDF to expand… Read more
This publication takes stock of the steadily increasing demands and expectations on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems around the globe and presents recent policy trends in the field of TVET. The authors provide insights into what it takes to unleash the potential of TVET systems around the world. They propose an integrated… Read more
The informal economy has grown in importance within Sub-Saharan Africa, yet there are debates about its role within national economies that appear not to take cognisance of the interests and the weak power base of those working within the informal economy. This article argues that a cross-cultural perspective should be taken in understanding the geopolitical… Read more
This report synthesises the findings from 2 rigorous literature reviews entitled: The role and impact of private schools in developing countries, and The role and impact of philanthropic and religious schools in developing countries. It aims to bring together and compare and contrast key findings from the 2 reviews, and to identify areas of research… Read more
DFID believes that PBR is an innovative delivery mechanism which can, in the right circumstances, be used to sharpen incentives for suppliers, and partner governments, to perform. Where it works best, PBR can shift the focus of commissioners and suppliers from inputs to outcomes – leading to real, tangible, measurable improvements in the areas which… Read more