Networking for sustained education reform: lessons from the network of education policy centers

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The value of establishing and supporting networks to achieve and sustain social change, particularly when the mission targets a seemingly intractable problem has been well documented (Grant, 2014). The Network of Education Policy Centers (NEPC) was founded in 2006 as a platform for organizations with a shared history, values and approach to advancing education reform. NEPC is currently comprised of 24 institutional members across 19 countries, with a Secretariat established in Croatia. Its members are public and civil society organizations that advance education reforms through policy analysis, research, teacher training, and school-based initiatives. While the levels and modes through which they intervene in education vary, their efforts coalesce around a shared mission to promote democratic values and practices in and through the sector. Each entity is aligned with the core mission of the Network, which is to promote flexible, participatory, evidence-based and transparent education policies that promote the vision and values inherent to a pluralistic democracy.
NEPC draws insights from the comparative research and models that its members provide and has positioned itself as a global actor, informed by local and regional expertise. Both the Network and its members are unique among policy-level actors because of their commitment to direct engagement in schools, which allows them to directly influence practice and quality in classrooms, strengthen their research and advocacy initiatives with practical insights from students, parents and teachers, and monitor the implementation of the policies.
In 2017 NEPC carried out an inquiry, Practices in Education: The Perception of NEPC Members. It was conducted through semi-structured interviews with representatives of member organizations. The inquiry explored the status of education systems in each respective country and region, current national policy revisions and reforms, the specific role and recognition of network members in education reform, the priorities and status of education for each respective government, and best practices. The network analysis speaks to the heart of the Network’s approach to education reform and social change more generally - the importance of engaging across multiple levels to connect policy and practice, with emphasis on school-level engagement.
The school-based engagement also provides a first-hand account of the impact of politics not just on the education sector but on schools and classrooms. At the policy level, politics makes the sustainability of education agendas and reforms unpredictable. However, there is an under-appreciated and potentially more pervasive impact at the school level, where for example school leaders (head teachers) are appointed by local politicians based on their political affiliations rather than their competency or appropriateness for their context. As a network concerned with both democratic practice and improved quality and access of education, this is an urgent priority for the Network to address.
This panel draws from recent Network analyses and presents three examples of how NEPC and its members are navigating the increasingly restricted space to promote participatory policymaking and strengthen education systems- the first paper focuses on Azerbaijan and its recent school leadership programs and how NEPC’s comparative mapping on school governance supported critically engaged researchers to define the challenges of education policy developments , the second paper focuses on Turkey’s civil society organization and their recent engagement at grassroots level to achieve the wanted changes and the final paper describes a NEPC multi-county project that combines policy analyses with direct work with school on the issues of fighting economic inequality through education.

Grant, H.M. (2014). Building Networks and Movements for Social Change: Lessons from a new initiative aimed at supporting and developing new social justice leaders. Stanford Social Innovation Review, September 4, 2014.

Sub Unit

• SIG: Eurasia

Chair

• Aleesha Taylor, Herald Advisors

Individual Presentations

• The school leadership and governance in Azerbaijan from the comparative study perspective - Elmina Kazimzade, Center for Innovations in Education; Ulviyya Tofiq Mikayilova, ADA University, Baku, Azerbaijan

• Civil society how to survive and thrive in closing societies - Batuhan Aydagul, Education Reform Initiative

• Civil society organizations influence on education policy development through direct work with schools and teachers - Svetlana Jurko, Network of Educational Policy Centers

Discussant

• Hugh McLean, Open Society Foundations