Education
EducationI’ve been the prophet of doom for some time in education sector dialogue in Tanzania, pointing out that the fairly static school enrolment information, coupled with the rapidly expanding demographics (a fertility rate close to 5 children per woman), means that increasing volumes of children are either never enrolling, enrolling late or dropping out early… Read more
An estimated 50 million children live in conflict-affected countries or are refugees – an 8% increase from 2008 – and many more are affected by natural disasters such as earthquakes or flooding. In addition to this, it is estimated that 20 million adolescents in conflict countries are not in school, and over half of these… Read more
The past two decades have seen an unprecedented global increase in enrolment rates: although the MDG goal of universal primary education may not have been met universally, the rate of progress has been remarkable But in the last decade, we’ve also become very aware that learning levels of students in school are often very low… 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
Some of the worst violations of the rights to education around the world occur in contexts of emergency and protracted crisis. Around 37 million primary and lower secondary age children are out of school in crisis affected countries. Education is the most effective way of reducing poverty and inequality. In contexts of emergencies and protracted crises,… Read more
The 2011 EFA Global Monitoring Report exposed the hidden crisis of education in conflict-affected countries. Two years later, to mark the birthday of Malala, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban as she was exercising her right to go to school, this policy paper shows that urgent action is needed to bring education to the… Read more
In a recent meeting between DFID advisers and Young Lives researchers, we asked the question: ‘Who is this research for?’ Although there was collective agreement on the value of evidence that can drive change and make a difference to children’s lives, it was also clear there were tensions between the drivers and approaches of the… Read more
This paper considers evidence for the effects of policies on gender gaps in education, distinguishing between policies that are ostensibly gender neutral and those that explicitly target girls. The demand for girls’ schooling is often more responsive than boys’ to gender neutral changes in school distance, price, and quality, patterns which can be explained in… Read more
The unanimity behind the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed recently by world leaders masks what has been a bruising battle over the past 15 years to put the parameters of ‘aid’ on a more mature footing, where rich and poor nations both have responsibility for the planet’s future. The glue that binds together these… Read more
Policy discussion of social accountability initiatives has increasingly focused on questions about their tangible development impacts. The empirical evidence is mixed. This meta-analysis rethinks some of the most influential evaluations through a new lens: the distinction between tactical and strategic approaches to the promotion of citizen voice to contribute to improve public sector performance. Field… Read more
This paper reports on a meta-case study analysis of a 10 year research programme on citizenship, participation and accountability which analysed a nonrandomised sample of 100 research studies of four types of citizen engagement in 20 countries. By mapping the observable effects of citizen participation through a close reading of these studies, a typology of… Read more