Centrality of Unity of Purpose (UoP) in the Effectiveness of an Education System

• In Event: A future for systems approaches in education? Part 1: Systems approaches in education research

Proposal

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how unity of purpose plays a central role in making the education system function better. Education systems are effective when the design elements of delegation, finance, information and motivation are coherent around students’ learning outcomes (Pritchett, 2015). However, each of these elements does not carry equal weight nor do they relate to one another linearly. Delegation, which includes statement of mission and the capability of sharing and implementing the mission among actors in education, plays a central role in making the education system function well. Unity of purpose, in this paper, is conceptualized as a major element of delegation in the education system.
Unity of purpose is a social and psychological construct that captures extent of shared delegated mission in a given system. It is composed of the following features or components: a) knowledge or understanding of a well-defined mission; b) readiness, or mind set for accepting and following a valued mission; c) passionate and valuing the outcome of the mission, which is students’ learning outcomes; d) sense of ownership, internalizing the mission and trying hard to implement it individually and collectively; e) being committed, or determined to realize and achieve the target of the mission; fi) open mindedness to learn and willingness to develop new skills required to achieve the mission; g) holding perceived capability, or self-efficacy about realizing the mission; h) valuing rule of law, readiness to comply to laws, responsiveness to legal demands and willingness to promote good governance; and i) alignment, or synchronized and coordinated efforts, with key stakeholders, structures and personnel. Unity of purpose could be measured using a combination of tools or rating scales including self-report, others’ ratings and documented evidences such as personnel records and other secondary data. This paper argues that an education system that has paramount unity of purpose, as an essential feature of delegation and as defined by the stated characteristics, is more likely to achieve better student learning outcomes. The other three design elements, namely finance, information and motivation, while they are still powerful design elements, are dependent on the degree of unity of purpose that prevails in the education system.

Author

• Belay Hagos Hailu, Addis Ababa University