Beyond Numbers - Framing Quality of Education through Community Participation in Ethiopia

• In Event: Dissertation workshop session
  In Special Session: Development/NGOs

Proposal

Advisor: Professor Joan DeJaeghere
University of Minnesota

Problem Statement - Numerous reports of international development agencies and country governments focus on measuring quality through achievements on standardized tests while putting less attention towards the reasons behind the numbers. Similarly, in Ethiopia, where my future research will take place, reports on the quality of education indicate the prevalence of severe repetition and dropout rates accompanied with a low score in national examinations (see World Bank, 2017; Rossister, Azubuike, & Rolleston, 2017; Berry & Bogale, 2011). Nonetheless, these reports do not tell us what is behind the numbers and how constraining factors inside and outside of school affect the students’ well-being and play into the quality of education.

Context - Even though different regions in Ethiopia varied substantially in their ratings regarding the quality of education, 77.9 % of the schools in the Ethiopian Somali region were rated at level 1 poor quality schools (World Bank, 2017). Thus, the study will be situated in this region by selecting one primary school and will apply an ethnographic case study methodology. [The student will use a constructivist inquiry as it aims to understand perceptions and experiences from those who live it].

Purpose - The purpose of the study is to critically examine the existence of real opportunities for primary school students in the selected school by scrutinizing the economic, social and cultural factors that constraints or support the quality of education, and how the community (students, teachers, parents, school management, religious and community leaders) perceive the relevance of education as well as their participation in the decision-making process.

Significance - The study will introduce factors that may have been excluded in the quantitative data wherein it will add knowledge of the opportunities or constraints that contribute or impedes the capability of primary school students in economically disadvantaged areas. It will also provide essential perspectives from the marginalized communities who are often left out of the discussion of quality; thus, the research findings will contribute to the effective implementation of initiatives that aim to improve educational quality in economically marginalized communities. Furthermore, this study will add to the field of international development and education by expanding the concept of quality of education to one that looks beyond student cognitive tests, and education quality as a human right, but to one that looks at quality as a one that enables learners to expand their meaningful opportunities and achievements.

Perspectives
I. Human capital approach - finds its basis in economic scholarship and measure educational quality through cognitive skills test results and consider it as critical for promoting economic growth [Hanushek & Woessmann, 2008; Hanushek & Wobmann, 2007; Hanushek & Luque, 2003; Schultz, 1963; Schultz, 1993, Heyneman S. P., 2004; Castello-Climent & Hidalgo-Cabrillana, 2012; World Bank, 2007].
II. Rights-based approach - finds its basis in legal scholarship and define quality of education in relation to ensuring all children, irrespective of states economic resources, complete primary school as education is an intrinsic right of every child [Rose, 2015; Christie, 2010; Colclough, 2005; UNICEF & UNESCO, 2007; UNESCO, 2015; UNICEF, 2000].
III. Capability and social justice approach - define quality education as it relates to individuals’ well-being and provides more opportunities for community members to decide what constitutes quality of education based on their local context. These approaches also evaluate not only outcomes that are narrowly defined as test results but also broader instrumental, intrinsic and societal benefits as well as real opportunities available for the students to convert their resources into capabilities (Sen, 1992; Sen, 1999, Sayed & Ahmed, 2011; Tikly, 2010; Robeyns, 2017; Robeyns, 2006; Barrett & Tikly, 2010; Barrett, 2011; Tikly & Barrett, 2011; Hartwig, 2013; Jerrard, 2016; Tikly, 2010).
[I want to supplement the capability approach with social justice theory as the former is an approach, not a theory, that provides a normative framework, and as some other authors recommend, it has to be complemented with additional social theories (see Okkolin, 2017; Robeyns, 2006)].

Research Questions
1. What are the social, economic and cultural factors that constraint or support primary school students’ inclusion in the Somali region of Ethiopia?
2. How do community members perceive the instrumental, intrinsic, positional as well as the societal benefits of students who complete primary schools?
3. How do community members recognize their participation in improving the quality of primary education?

Stage - The applicant is a second year Ph.D. student who passed a written preliminary examination and at the early stage of writing her dissertation proposal.

Author

• Hanna Girma Wedajo, Ph.D. Student