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382. Measuring Progress with Tests of Learning: Pros and Cons for "Cash on Delivery Aid" in Education
- Author:
- Marlaine Lockheed
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews, in non-technical terms, the case for and against using tests of learning for measuring annual educational progress within programs of “progress-based aid.” It addresses three questions about testing in developing countries. One, are valid and reliable measures of student learning currently available in developing countries? Two, are existing tests used in developing countries capable of registering the changes in educational results called for under “progress-based aid”? And three, do developing countries have the technical and administrative capacity to undertake annual assessments of learning? The paper includes a brief description of existing national, regional and international testing activities in developing and transition countries, a discussion of some technical topics related to testing and assessment, and various options for using learning assessments in the context of “progress-based aid.”
- Topic:
- Development, Education, and Non-Governmental Organization
383. Fast Forward: How the European Commission can take the lead in providing high-quality budget support for education and health
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Developing-country governments desperately need more long-term and predictable aid, given through their budgets, to finance the expansion of health care, education, and other vital social services. The European Commission (EC) is one of the biggest donors providing this kind of essential budget support, and has innovative plans to further improve and increase this aid. European Union (EU) member states must support these ambitious plans. The EC in turn must do more to improve on this good start, delinking this aid from harmful International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescriptions, putting an end to unnecessary bureaucratic delays, and doing more to make its aid accountable to citizens in poor countries.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, and Health
- Political Geography:
- Europe
384. Globalization, Literacy Levels, and Economic Development
- Author:
- Alok Bhargava
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper estimated models for GDP growth rates, poverty levels, and inequality measures for the period 1990–2000 using data on 54 developing countries at five-yearly intervals. Issues of globalization were investigated by analysing the differential effects of the countries' exports and imports and by postulating trans-logarithmic models that allow for non-linear effects of literacy levels and measures of openness. The main findings were that literacy rates affected growth rates in a quadratic manner and countries with higher literacy were more likely to benefit from globalization. Second, the model for growth rates showed non-linear and differential effects of the export/GDP and import/GDP ratios. Third, the models indicated that population health indicators such as life expectancy were important predictors of GDP growth rates. Fourth, models for poverty measures showed that poverty was not directly affected by globalization indicators. Finally, the model for Gini coefficients indicated significant effects of 'medium' and 'high' skilled labour work force, with higher proportions of high-skilled labour implying greater inequality.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, International Trade and Finance, and Poverty
385. Islam in Uzbekistan: Religious Education and State Ideology
- Author:
- Martha Brill Olcott and Diora Ziyaeva
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Islam in Uzbekistan: Religious Education and State Ideology is the fourth paper of the ongoing series on Islam in Central Asia. It provides a historical overview of religious education in Central Asia, focusing on the hujra system and its founders, and assesses the efforts of the Uzbek government to define the content of Islam that has been presented in public life since independence was obtained in 1991. It examines the presentation of Islam in the schools—especially in Tashkent Islamic University, seen as the premier training institution for secular teachers of Islam—and the presentation of Islam in the mass media.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Education
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Asia, and Uzbekistan
386. Markets vs. Monopolies in Education: A Global Review of the Evidence
- Author:
- Andrew J. Coulson
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Would large-scale, free-market reforms improve educational outcomes for American children? That question cannot be answered by looking at domestic evidence alone. Though innumerable “school choice” programs have been implemented around the United States, none has created a truly free and competitive education marketplace. Existing programs are too small, too restriction laden, or both. To understand how genuine market forces affect school performance, we must cast a wider net, surveying education systems from all over the globe. The present paper undertakes such a review, assessing the results of 25 years of international research comparing market and government provision of education, and explaining why these international experiences are relevant to the United States.
- Topic:
- Economics, Education, Government, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States
387. Economic Analysis of the Nurse Shortage in Egypt
- Author:
- Marwa Farag
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The health sector in Egypt suffers from a severe shortage of qualified nurses (nurses with at least 2 years of post high school nursing education) and a much less apparent perceived/real shortage of all-type nurses. This paper examines the nurse labor market in Egypt for evidence of such shortages and explores potential reasons behind them. The paper adopts a case-study approach to provide an overall understanding of the demand for and supply of nurses in Egypt; it employs both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with 19 nurses in addition to secondary analysis of data from World Health Organization- East Mediterranean Region, High Council for University Students in Egypt and Ministry of Health and Population. I find that the main reason for the shortage of the stock of qualified nurses is–to a large extent- the restricted supply of nursing education, which is provided entirely by the public sector today. The overall perceived/real shortage of all-type nurses on the other hand does not seem to be related to a shortage of the stock of all nurses but rather nurse supply decisions at the current nurse wage levels and nurse working conditions in Egypt. The Ministry of Health and Population current approach is to upgrade the quality of nursing education in Egypt to eliminate high school level nursing education in the future; this seems to be the right approach. However, as a result of lack of quantitative labor market data, it is not possible to predict the likely effect of such policy on the shortage. Since a more educated nurse is more employable in the private sector and abroad, this might very well mean that more nurses will exit the public sector leading to more severe shortages in the public sector and therefore such policy should be accompanied by nurse retention strategies tailored to the nature of the supply nurses. Lack of data makes it difficult to generate the evidence necessary to guide such policies. Investing in data infrastructures is essential to support evidence based health policy in Egypt. Finally, with Egypt high unemployment rate (particularly for female unemployment), it is possible to view the availability of foreign markets for Egyptian nurses as an opportunity instead of a threat if the right policies aimed at protecting the local market for nurses and public investments in nurse education are adopted.
- Topic:
- Economics, Education, and Health
- Political Geography:
- Egypt
388. The Headscarf Ban: A Quest for Solutions
- Author:
- Mustafa Şentop
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Female students with headscarf are currently prevented to enter the university in Turkey although there is no legal ground for such a ban. The ongoing controversy about the type of clothing for female students at the higher education institutions has become more intensified since the recent constitutional change in February 2008 to lift the de facto headscarf ban. The debate over this question revolves around whether headscarf is a religious attire or a political symbol, whether it should be banned to protect the secular foundations of the state or conversely allowed on the basis of individual freedom of religion as a corollary of secularism. The solution lies in the implementation of constitutional amendments without a further delay.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Education, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
389. Beyond the ABCs: Higher Education and Developing Countries
- Author:
- Megan Crowley and Devesh Kapur
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes a relatively neglected facet of the complex debate regarding human capital – higher (or tertiary) education. It addresses five broad questions examining higher education in developing countries. One, are the economic effects of higher education on developing countries different from those in industrialized countries, with its links with labor markets of lesser importance than its impact on institutional development? Two, how does the impact of higher education depend on the type of education and its beneficiaries? Three, with the state unable to meet growing demand pressures, what should be the proper role of the state to ensure not just quality but also equity and access? Four, how should countries rethink the provision of higher education in an “open economy” from seeking education abroad or encouraging foreign providers into the country or simply linking domestic institutions with foreign quality assurance mechanisms? And five, do new technologies offer developing countries a new paradigm to expand the provision of high quality but low cost higher education? The aim is not to provide categorical answers to these complex questions, but rather highlight the analytical and empirical lacuna with regard to each of these question.
- Topic:
- Development and Education
- Political Geography:
- Africa
390. Dismal Science: The Shortcomings of U.S. School Choice Research and How to Address Them
- Author:
- John Merrifield
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Pressing questions about the merits of market accountability in K-12 education have spawned a large scholarly literature. Unfortunately, much of that literature is of limited relevance, and some of it is misleading. The studies most widely cited in the United States used intense scrutiny of a few small-scale, restriction-laden U.S. programs—and a handful of larger but still restriction-laden foreign school choice expansions—to assert general conclusions about the effects of "choice," "competition," and "markets." The most intensely studied programs lack most or all of the key elements of market systems, including profit, price change, market entry, and product differentiation—factors that are normally central to any discussion of market effects. In essence, researchers have drawn conclusions about apples by studying lemons.
- Topic:
- Economics, Education, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States