The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform
During the 1990s and 2000s, a policy known as Education with Community Participation (EDUCO) not only became the cornerstone of education reform in El Salvador but also became a global education policy, one which is known for decentralizing to rural families the responsibility for hiring and firing...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Arizona State University
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Education Policy Analysis Archives |
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| Online Access: | https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/2019 |
| _version_ | 1828498162213453824 |
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| author | D. Brent Edwards, Jr. Claudia Elizabeth Loucel Urquilla |
| author_facet | D. Brent Edwards, Jr. Claudia Elizabeth Loucel Urquilla |
| author_sort | D. Brent Edwards, Jr. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the 1990s and 2000s, a policy known as Education with Community Participation (EDUCO) not only became the cornerstone of education reform in El Salvador but also became a global education policy, one which is known for decentralizing to rural families the responsibility for hiring and firing teachers. As is shown in this paper, its rise to fame was not only a product of the particular political-economic context in which it was borne, but was also a product of the impact evaluations produced by the World Bank, which served as the evidence base through which this and other international institutions could legitimately promote the neoliberal model of community involvement represented by EDUCO. Problematically, however, a reappraisal of these impact evaluations reveals, first, that their findings and conclusions around significant effects were not warranted and, second, that the entire impact evaluation enterprise is fundamentally flawed due to the financial-political-intellectual complex out of which these studies emerged and back into which they fed as they were used to advocate for market-oriented policy solutions around the world. Thus, in addition to explaining the reform dynamics that gave rise to EDUCO, this paper (a) systematically reviews the findings and limitations of each of the six impact studies that constitute the international knowledge base around this policy, (b) reconsiders what we can reasonably claim to know about EDUCO, (c) reflects on the national and international implications of the critical review presented here, and (d) remarks on the shortcomings of—and the alternatives to—impact evaluations as a means to produce policy-relevant findings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T13:02:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-973f5c111eb142819552726206572522 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1068-2341 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T13:02:04Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Arizona State University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Policy Analysis Archives |
| spelling | doaj.art-973f5c111eb1428195527262065725222022-12-22T01:06:27ZengArizona State UniversityEducation Policy Analysis Archives1068-23412016-09-0124010.14507/epaa.24.20191537The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reformD. Brent Edwards, Jr.0Claudia Elizabeth Loucel Urquilla1University of Hawai‘i, MānoaCentro Internacional de Agricultura TropicalDuring the 1990s and 2000s, a policy known as Education with Community Participation (EDUCO) not only became the cornerstone of education reform in El Salvador but also became a global education policy, one which is known for decentralizing to rural families the responsibility for hiring and firing teachers. As is shown in this paper, its rise to fame was not only a product of the particular political-economic context in which it was borne, but was also a product of the impact evaluations produced by the World Bank, which served as the evidence base through which this and other international institutions could legitimately promote the neoliberal model of community involvement represented by EDUCO. Problematically, however, a reappraisal of these impact evaluations reveals, first, that their findings and conclusions around significant effects were not warranted and, second, that the entire impact evaluation enterprise is fundamentally flawed due to the financial-political-intellectual complex out of which these studies emerged and back into which they fed as they were used to advocate for market-oriented policy solutions around the world. Thus, in addition to explaining the reform dynamics that gave rise to EDUCO, this paper (a) systematically reviews the findings and limitations of each of the six impact studies that constitute the international knowledge base around this policy, (b) reconsiders what we can reasonably claim to know about EDUCO, (c) reflects on the national and international implications of the critical review presented here, and (d) remarks on the shortcomings of—and the alternatives to—impact evaluations as a means to produce policy-relevant findings.https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/2019El SalvadordescentralizaciónEDUCO, Banco Mundialeconomía políticaproducción de conocimientoreforma educativa global |
| spellingShingle | D. Brent Edwards, Jr. Claudia Elizabeth Loucel Urquilla The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform Education Policy Analysis Archives El Salvador descentralización EDUCO, Banco Mundial economía política producción de conocimiento reforma educativa global |
| title | The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform |
| title_full | The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform |
| title_fullStr | The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform |
| title_full_unstemmed | The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform |
| title_short | The EDUCO program, impact evaluations, and the political economy of global education reform |
| title_sort | educo program impact evaluations and the political economy of global education reform |
| topic | El Salvador descentralización EDUCO, Banco Mundial economía política producción de conocimiento reforma educativa global |
| url | https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/2019 |
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