Favor Reciprocation Theory in Education: A New Corruption Typology

• In Event: 69.012 - Systemic Academic Corruption in Higher Education: A Global Perspective

Abstract

Embedded in a systemic and chronic process, corruption in education is a pervasive concern that impairs developing countries’ efforts to educate their citizens. The problem is exacerbated if gatekeepers, in the form of elite and political leaders, willfully shut out members of society from a fair and merit-based education (Heyneman, 2004). Understanding the cumulative impact rests upon exposing key features of educational corruption and bringing to light the varied forms in which corruption emerges within institutions of higher education. Classifying educational corruption may be elusive in developing settings due to the acceptability and prevalence of the phenomenon; yet, it is imperative that more attention is focused on this area.
This paper presents the findings from a mixed-methods study of 762 randomly surveyed and 15 purposely selected and interviewed students from public higher educations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis, employing a combination of binary logistic regression for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data, broadens our current understanding of the typologies of educational corruption by incorporating the novel forms emerging in the post-war and developing environment of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In particular, the study surprisingly finds that elites gravitate towards and benefit from non-pecuniary corruption, while the poor tend to bribe. As a result, the findings from this study place the onus on the lack of accountability of elite power, while aiming to deepen our understanding of corrupt practices so that they may be contested.

Authors

• Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Natasha Mansur, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park