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21. Education and wage inequalities in Greece: access to higher education and its effects on income

Author:
Pery Bazoti
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
The educational system in Greece has always been at the center of public discourse, not only for the shortcomings of its design, but also for the quality of the education offered. In this context, during the last decades, the rise in wage inequalities had led the literature to investigate the existence of a possible causal relationship between the level of education and income inequality. The present paper by Pery Bazoti examines the relationship between tertiary education and economic inequality. Taking into consideration the fact that potential inequalities in access to education can hinder the redistributive role of education, the starting point of the study is the access to tertiary education. The design and flaws of the Greek education system prevent university candidates from equal opportunities since the entrance to tertiary education institutions relies heavily on the economic background of their families. The economic crisis highlighted these inequalities mainly through the decline of the disposable household income and exacerbated the already crippled abilities of the education system due to the extensive cuts that took place during this time. Nevertheless, the data reveals that private expenditure -typically related to students’ preparation for exams for entrance into university, despite its decrease, continues to have the larger share of the households’ education budget.
Topic:
Education, Reform, Inequality, and Public Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

22. Called to Lead: Discovering the Connections Between Military Service and Higher Education Leadership

Author:
Barrett Y. Bogue and Andrew Morse
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for a New American Security
Abstract:
A secondary education for service members, many of whom would otherwise have delayed enrollment or deemed the opportunity of a higher education unaffordable altogether. The commitment began in earnest in 1944 through the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, which provided federal benefits to veterans to defray the cost of unemployment, education, and purchasing a home. This landmark legislation established the GI Bill, led to a historic increase of veterans pursuing a degree, and effectively democratized higher education. America’s promise to service members and veterans in higher education remains vibrant through the 2017 Forever GI Bill, which made education benefits for military-connected students available for life. Nearly eight decades later, the GI Bill continues to pay dividends. Student veterans in college campuses across the country engage as some of the best-performing nontraditional students compared to other adult learners.1 Simultaneous to the GI Bill’s evolution, higher education also evolved with a distinct set of challenges in the 21st century, including a changing demography of prospective students, increasing out-of-pocket costs and decreasing state support, and growing skepticism on the value of a post-secondary degree. Service members and veterans who earned a degree though the GI Bill, or by other means, will choose to enter higher education as a career and continue to serve an important role leading, teaching, and mentoring the next generation of Americans. This report examines the connection between military service and veterans who work in higher education, and how they navigate profound change in the higher education landscape. The report also provides recommendations to explicitly target the recruitment of veterans into higher education leadership roles and support their careers. Higher education in America is at an inflection point. The rapidly changing demography of its prospective students, persistent increases in the out-of-pocket costs for an increasingly low- to middle-income student demographic, growing skepticism of the value of post-secondary attainment, and the compounding student debt owed by Americans place increasing pressure on the seams of our nation’s post-secondary educational infrastructure. The country must continue to address these challenges with a sense of urgency, and we must continue exploring new ways to approach solutions to these challenges. Developing a critical mass of adaptive leaders across organizations is critical to higher education’s success now and for generations to come. While military service provides a critical avenue for the development of skills and competencies required for success in higher education leadership, there is (1) an inadequate understanding by many in higher education, as in the general public, about the virtues of military service in forging the knowledge and skill profile required for higher education leadership roles; and (2) a gap in the literature and corresponding policy recommendations about pathways for service members and veterans into executive-level higher education leadership roles. Therefore, the purposes of this study are (1) to identify the connections between military service and higher education leadership competencies; and (2) offer recommendations for growing the number of service members and veterans who are positioned to assume leadership roles in higher education settings. Using a semi-structured qualitative interview design of currently serving higher education leaders and practitioners with prior military service, this paper identifies the reasons why veterans choose to work in higher education, captures the leadership skills and traits learned in the military that practically apply to their roles, identifies current challenges in higher education’s mission to serve students, and provides recommendations for recruiting more veterans into leadership roles.
Topic:
Education, Military Affairs, and Veterans
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

23. Expanding Opportunity for Lower-Income Students: Three Years of the American Talent Initiative

Author:
Aspen Institute
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
This is the second annual report for the American Talent Initiative, highlighting it has achieved more than 40 percent of the progress needed to realize its goal to enroll 50,000 additional lower-income students at high-graduation rate institutions across the country. This report also centers on the impact that an equity-focused, comprehensive strategy can have on institutions’ ability to enroll and graduate more of these talented students.
Topic:
Education, Inequality, Income Inequality, and Higher Education
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

24. Making the Case: Solving the Student Debt Crisis

Author:
Tim Shaw and Kiese Hansen
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
For people across the United States, student loan debt is a growing portion of the household balance sheet. More than 40 million Americans have outstanding student loan balances. In 2019, the total amount of student debt owed surpassed $1.5 trillion, now the largest source of non-mortgage debt.
Topic:
Debt, Education, Students, and Student Loans
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

25. Recovery and Renewal: Principles for Advancing Public Education Post-Crisis

Author:
Education and Society Program
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
The coronavirus pandemic has upended the school year for 50 million American students, and revealed the best and worst of public education: the best in terms of the heroic response by so many educators, support staff, students, and parents; the worst in terms of the intense light shone upon inequities that plague our system. As policymakers and education leaders plan to re-open buildings for school year 2020-21, they face important questions about how to capitalize on our strengths and finally deal with our weaknesses. We must be clear-eyed that inequity outside of school — like food insecurity, the digital divide, and the uneven experience of stress and trauma — is replicated and exacerbated by pervasive inequity inside of school. Going back to the status quo ante would leave many students and communities without what they need educationally. Therefore, the nation’s response to the pandemic must re-open schools and renew the promise of public education as an engine of opportunity. In this paper, the Institute’s Education & Society Program proposes five principles to guide recovery and renewal
Topic:
Education, Recovery, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

26. Increasing Aid and Development Financing Volumes for the Advancement of Education in Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Author:
Christian Novak
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
To advance education in lowermiddle-income countries, official donors and multilateral development banks must increase their financial support to address the financial gap. Specific recommendations: • Expand the use of innovative development financing solutions. • Expand the use of innovative aid solutions. • Multilateral development banks to increase financing volumes and to strengthen efforts to maximize financial additionality and private capital mobilization. • Review the classification of LICs and LMICs. • Increase domestic budget allocation. Implementing the recommendations require coordinated efforts of all stakeholders. In addition, it is paramount that lower-middleincome countries design and fully implement effective long-term education programs and systems. Benchmarking and feedback must be constant, prompting sustained improvement and the adoption of international best practices.
Topic:
Development, Education, United Nations, Foreign Aid, Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

27. Education in Egypt: A Conversation with Nelly ElZayat

Author:
Nourhan Shaaban
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Nelly El Zayat is the co-founder and CEO of Newton Education Services and an advisor to the Minister of Education in Egypt on early childhood education and education policy. Nelly has been working in international education for the past 21 years, specifically in student advising, scholarship management, admissions, curriculum design, e-learning, learner-centered teaching, and student recruitment and on bridging the gap between education and the job market. She has held positions in several organizations including America Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST), the International Institute of Education (IIE), and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She is specifically interested in education reform and development in Egypt and the Middle East and the role technology plays in education. Nelly holds a master’s degree in international education policy from Harvard University and a master of arts in Middle East studies and a bachelor of arts in economics from American University in Cairo. She is an alumni ambassador and member of the International Peer Advisory Program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Topic:
Education, Governance, and Interview
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, and Egypt

28. Policy Decisions and Evidence Use among Civil Servants: A Group Decision Experiment in Pakistan

Author:
Laura Metzger, Theodore Svoronos, and Adnan Qadir Khan
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
In a lab-in-field experiment with elite civil servants in Pakistan, we investigate whether groups outperform individuals in a two-staged task which requires effective use of data and evidence. We also study how efficiently groups harness their members’ individual knowledge for problem-solving. We do not find a significant difference in individual (first stage) and group performance (second stage). Yet, groups could have significantly improved their performance during the second stage of the task, had they more efficiently collaborated to retrieve their members’ respective knowledge. Carefully interpreted in the setting of our experiment, our data suggests that diversity in individual knowledge may hamper effective use of data and evidence for decision- making in small groups of policymakers.
Topic:
Education, Public Policy, and Civil Servants
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia

29. Redesigning U.S. Assistance to Africa in the Post-Pandemic Era

Author:
Mark Wentling
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
It is my opinion that the interest of the United States is best served in most African countries by improving the basic welfare of their people. The effectiveness of U.S. aid in Africa can be enhanced by focusing on the least developed countries. Helping address basic human needs, notably in the areas of education and health, should be top priority, especially the education of girls. Increasing agricultural production to improve nutritional health also deserves greater attention. Assistance funding needs to be stable and independent of political and diplomatic considerations. The composition of U.S. overseas missions and cumbersome bureaucratic processes must be revised to permit the effective and timely implementation of this new strategy. These changes are necessary to raise hopes for a better future for millions of Africans and to strengthen the role of the U.S. in Africa.
Topic:
Education, Health, Foreign Aid, Pandemic, and Girls
Political Geography:
Africa, North America, and United States of America

30. Preschool Education Statistics of Istanbul Districts

Author:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Preschool Education Statistics of Istanbul Districts created for the Urban95: Data-Driven Policy Tool Project with National Education Statistics of the Ministry of National Education covering the 2018/’19 period.
Topic:
Education, Children, Statistics, Digital Policy, and Preschool
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, Istanbul, and Mediterranean