Applying systems approaches in global public goods for education

• In Event: Applying Ideas from Systems Thinking to International Education and Development

Proposal

A plethora of global public goods (GPGs) are produced using so-called “global-level” expertise within a narrow radius of expertise, and remain under-utilised. Using complex systems theory, this presentation identifies the factors that affect their implementation and capacity to contribute towards improving education systems for better learning outcomes. Empirically, we use a vertical case study methodology (global-national), using systems methods to analyse documentary data of a sample of three GPGs called “systems tools”, alongside interview data collected from global producers and national-level users of these GPGs. We find that these tools have not been implemented according to the ideal process identified by their producers; and that they are therefore less likely to bring about systems change required for improved learning. Based on these findings, we argue that the mental model underlying GPGs needs to change if they are to support the systems change they seek: (a) from being motivated by a narrowly defined (almost exclusively global-level) expertise alone to be open to regional and national expertise; (b) from disjointed, atomised analyses to making connections between different analyses and parts of the education system; and (c) from framing global expertise and solutions as objective and rational to prioritising context-sensitive national and local ownership and priority setting of which analyses, which policies, and which reforms should be undertaken and implemented.

Author

• Moira V Faul, NORRAG, Graduate Institute