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Education Sector AnalysisADEA Working Group on
Education Sector Analysis (ESA)
Presented by:
Richard SACK
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Objectives A brief, one-day overview of the purposes,
uses and utility of ESA
Participants are expected to gain a generalunderstanding of why ESA is useful and
how it is done
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Context & background
Sector analysis = policy analysis, which has beenaround for years
Underlying assumptions:
Effective policy needs empirical grounding & rationalanalyses
ESA can produce framework for assigning objectives,targets, criteria, priorities
This will promote stakeholder confidence, including
that of external financing agencies Ideally, ESA is a process that develops both
knowledge & capacity, together (I.e., the process ispart of the product) return
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Ambitions & objectives
Promote dialogue on goals, objectives, needs,
methods, resources & constraints
Provide thorough knowledge of status of thesector & the impact of government policies
Identify strengths & weaknesses, resources &
constraints, demands & needs
Establish database & methodology for planning
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Ambitions & objectives
Specify (i) areas for investments & (ii)reallocations of existing resources for improvedcost-effectiveness & performance
Monitor system performance
Provide basis for long-term improvements inplanning, implementation & monitoring of thesystem
Identify methods & means for improvedmanagement & implementation
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Who promotes ESA
In Africa, mostly the development agencies
Models for ESA have, largely, come from
the World Bank
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Issues
Are assumptions realistic?
How & by whom is the ESA agenda
determined?
Who benefits?
Capacity building: for doing ESA & for
policy formulation
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Tools and skills: data
First of all, identify, find & exploit the rawinformationthe DATA on
Numbers of: students (attendance, age) by grade;
teachers; schools, classrooms Costs: teacher salary & career structure; books &
other materials; buildings; other
Financing: who pays what & how much; who =parents, students, communities, local & nationalgovernments
Outcomes: learning results
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Tools and skills: data
Where to find the data?
Is there an EMIS?
Is there an assessment system (e.g.,SACMEQ)?
What do you know about the quality of the
data? Level of disaggregation?
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Flows & quantities
Student flow analyses projections, forecasting
This is the traditional tool of education planners(cohort analyses, etc.)
Financial (computer) simulation models projections, forecasting
Same starting logic as flow analyses, but capable ofsimulating costs, depending of assumptions & data
quality Its all quite mechanicalconceptually
straightforward & mathematically complex
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Demand for education
Assessing demand using household
surveys
Identifying factors that influence demand This will be very helpful for developing
policies aimed at increasing demand
Policies forEFA, girls could benefit fromthis
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Learning outcomes & improving quality
Learning assessment studies, such as
SACMEQ
Quantitative approaches that assessachievement levels & contributing factors
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Processes: Management &
implementation Ifpolicy is as implementation does
Andimplementation depends on ability
(capacity, willingness) to get the work
done
Then, attainment of policy goals willgreatly depend on the existing institutionalcapacities
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and, Therefore Institutional capacities are crucial for
successful implementation of the complex
tasks (processes) of the education system
Successful implementation requires
capable institutions
Which requires understanding how they
work, or dont (their dysfunctionalities)
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OperationalConclusion
Careful analysis of
institutional capacitiesis key to
getting the policy right
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Issues
Data reliability, quality
Accessibility of the tools
Building capacities, learning-by-doing
Who does the work
Replicability
Usability by policymakers
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Finding the information The usual places
Within the education system: Statistics on
enrollments, teachers, examination results Elsewhere: Ministry of Finance for salary
information; Civil service commission for
teacher career info.
Unusual places: Faculties of education &
libraries for research
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Issues
What is valued knowledge, what information &knowledge have currency?
Locally developed research? Research done by
external bodies & people, by powerful institutions? Does some knowledge/information have greater
legitimacy than other?
What/whose knowledge speaks to power?
What/whose knowledge does power listen to? Is there knowledge that is overlooked and
undervalued?
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Capacity building
Two major issues:
Capacity to do/perform ESA (the supply
side). Capacity to use it in policy formulation (the
demand side).
Capacity is required on each side
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Skills for ESA:
on the supply side Quantitative skills
Statistics: understanding data collection,
quality & analysis
Research design
Qualitative skills
Functional analysis of institutions
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Skills for ESA:
on the demand side Willingness to base policy on empirical
analysis
Ability to absorb the logic and rationale ofESA analyses
Ability to reconcile technical analyses and
political imperatives and pressures
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Skills for ESA:
between the supply & demand sidesCommunication capabilities that include
Presentational skills (writing, graphics,
avoiding presentations that nobodyunderstands)
Willingness & ability to make the analytical
results known to, and understood by, all
stakeholders
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Strategic options for
Capacity building From the beginning, ESA conceived as a capacity
building exercise
External experts focus on capacity building &
skills development
Extensive use of local expertise linked toeducation sector (I.e., avoid the commandoapproach)
Learning-by-doing
Tools & methods that are not overly sophisticated