Policy-Making for Education Reform in Developing Countries: Policy Options and Strategies

About the Book

Policy-Making for Education Reform in Developing Countries aims at helping policymakers in developing countries better understand the processes and strategies for education reform, and the policy options available to them. This text focuses on the content of reform-options and strategies for achieving educational improvement at different levels of the system, e.g., primary, secondary, tertiary; for different sub-sectors, e.g., management, teachers; and for different purposes with which education systems are tasked, e.g., reaching peripheral groups of students, linking youth and employment.

A holistic approach is increasingly recognized as essential to realizing the promises of education for the development of social and human capital-innovation in a global economy, sustained economic growth, social harmony and greater civic participation, decreased achievement gaps, and increased equity.

Table of Contents:

Part 1 ACCESS & EQUITY
Chapter 2 Who (in the World) is Not in School? Toward a Policy Framework for Educating Marginalized Children and Youth
Chapter 3 Policy Options for Early Childhood Development
Chapter 4 Policy Options for Access to and Equity in Basic Education
Chapter 5 Options in Nonformal Education
Chapter 6 Learning For All: Alternative Models and Policy Options
Part 7 QUALITY
Chapter 8 Options to Improve Learning Acquisition
Chapter 9 Policy Tools to Improve Teaching
Chapter 10 Options for Improving the Management of Education Systems
Chapter 11 Education Policies to Promote Social Cohesion
Part 12 CONCLUSION
Chapter 13 Towards National Strategies to Support Human Resource Development: East Asian Approaches

About the Author :

William K. Cummings is professor of International Education & International Affairs at The George Washington University

James H. Williams is an associate professor of International Education & International Affairs at The George Washington University

Review :
These are actually rather exciting times to be working on educational development issues. With the Millennium Development Goals focused on service delivery in low-income countries, and with the very positive response of the donor community (more than doubling external aid to education in low-income countries over the past four years), there is a lot of good will out there. But good ideas remain a scarce resource in this environment. [This book proposes] a lot of good ideas on the table and the timing couldn't be better as we reach the halfway mark of the MDG period. [This book] promises to bring real value-added to education development professionals across a wide spectrum. [This book] provides a clear and useful framework for scholars and practitioners working in education policy development and analysis. The chapters are well-defined, stand-alone topics that the reader will find illustrative in exploring methodological possibilities for generating policy options and strategies across a variety of contexts. Importantly, each chapter is both timely and topical, as many of the issues they take on are central to the current international mandates such as Education For All and the Millenium Development Goals: topics such as early childhood education, access and quality in education, learning methodologies, non-formal education are all germane to any discussion of educational reform and planning in countries trying to achieve the EFA or MDG goals. Policy Making for Educational Reform in Developing Countries [is] a cohesive approach to the reform process, presented in a useful format for practitioners. The authors include a number of well-known, well-respected, strong scholars who regularly work with schools and school systems worldwide. The compilation of works in this piece provides an accessible yet profound and insightful set of reminders to the practitioners of reform about some of the fundamental issues. The historical grounding in the experiences of today's developed countries is particularly helpful. Policy Making for Education Reform in Developing Countries: Policy Options and Strategies is a timely addition to the academic literature in this field. It is timely for the swelling number of graduate students who are entering the field of education and development. It is timely for the development professionals who find that increasingly they must address the issues of reform rather than program implementation. More importantly it is timely for the many education professionals who work in Ministries of Education throughout the developing world; who are tired of failed programs and failed reforms and long to see the fruits of their work and commitment. I find the holistic approach to education reform a refreshing change from the majority of the literature which focuses on one or more components to the neglect of the overall system and the context in which education operates. By laying out a comprehensive format ... the authors give students a framework within which to understand the specific topics covered in the chapters. Not only is this overall project both novel and well informed, it is vitally important to and timely for our work in the educational development field.