This paper studies when decentralization improves public service delivery.I analyze a Chicago reform that awarded select principals greater autonomy over budgets and operations while holding resources largely unchanged.A meta-analysis of similar reforms shows substantial heterogeneity, including both positive and negative effects.Building on insights from public finance, contract design, and psychology, I argue that the returns to autonomy depend on the capacity of local decision-makers (i.e., principals in this context) and the alignment of their objectives with those of central authorities.Event-study estimates show that, on average, increased autonomy improved achievement by about 0.1 standard deviations, effects comparable to resource-intensive interventions but achieved at minimal cost.However, deconvolution analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity, with both negative and positive effects.Design-based evidence supports the theoretical predictions; high-performing principals benefit more, reallocating resources effectively (e.g., reducing class sizes), and schools with atypical student populations benefit more and may tailor services to local needs.These results highlight that local capacity, aligned incentives, and heterogeneity are central to the success of decentralization reforms.
The Constituency Development Fund (CDP) is a devolved or decentralized fund which is given to the constituency for the improvement of the livelihoods of those living in the area. The purpose of this study was to investigate determinants of delay in completion of CDP financed classrooms in public schools in Butere Constituency-Kenya. The research objectives were established to assess the influence of CDP management teams' capacity on completion ofCDP financed classrooms in PSB, evaluate the extent to which capacity of Contractors influences completion of CDP financed classrooms in PSB, examine the extent to which procurement process influences completion of CDP financed classrooms in PSB and to explore the extent to which popular participation influences completion of CDP financed classrooms in PSB. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to provide the researcher with background information on causes and effects of delays globally in the construction industry. \n \nThe study was anchored on theory of constraints which is an overall management philosophy introduced by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt in 1984. In methodology, research design for the study was descriptive design. Target population for the study was 75 CDP financed classrooms in PSB. To select an appropriate sample size, simple random probability sampling without replacement and purposeful non probability sampling were used. Both quantitative and qualitative data and any other information relevant to the study were collected using questionnaire, key informant interviews, and project assessment tool. Analysis of data was done through coding, tabulations, and explanations. \n \nSPSS latest version was used to run descriptive analyses. The major ethical issues of concern for this study were informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, anonymity and researcher's responsibility. The study found that constraints in CDP management teams' capacity, capacity of contractors and procurement process contribute to delays in completion of CDP financed classrooms in PSB. The study also found out that Community participation does not contribute to late completion of classrooms. \n \nThe recommendations for the study were that the criteria of selecting project committee members be merit based with minimum qualification being relevant first degree, CDP contractors should seek to develop technical capacity through bringing on board staff with relevant experience and qualification and through continues capacity building, procurement process should be properly managed with funds being disbursed on time and that community be involved in all stages of the projects and their capacity and awareness enhanced. \n \nThe study also identified the following areas for further research; Carry out a similar study but consider county administrators as respondents, a study of project management personnel and competency need for CDP construction projects should also be done in order to have a wider view of competencies and personnel attributes that CDP stakeholders have and a research should also be done on determinants of cost overruns in CDP Construction projects.
Botswana is a landlocked semi-arid country sharing boundaries with Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its land area is 581,730 square kilometers, most of which (about 60%) is covered by the Kalahari Desert. The desert, consisting of rolling sandy land with wide plains, depressions, and pans, covers a major part of the southern and western parts of the country. The eastern part, characterized by fertile grassland savannah, accounts for nearly two thirds of the population. The country has four seasons: summer (November-January), autumn (February-April), winter (May-July) and spring (August-October). Most of the rainfall is experienced during the summer time. Temperatures range from a maximum of about 40°C (104°F) in the hottest parts of the country during summer, to a minimum of about 2.6°C (approx. 37°F) and an occasional 0.0°C (32°F) in some places, in the coldest winter months (Central Statistics Office 2000).The country’s enumerated population was 1,680,863 during the 2001 population census, with an average annual growth rate of about 2.4%. The population structure indicates a youthful population, with a mean age of 24.5. The age below 15 years constitutes about 36.7%, while those between 15 and 64 constitute about 58.3% of the total population. The population at 65 and older constitutes an average of 5.0% of the total population (Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, 2003). The population is mainly concentrated along the eastern belt of the country, where there is better rainfall and cultivatable land, and comparatively fewer people are scattered in the western parts of the country and the Kalahari Desert. Noted from the 2001 population census were declining fertility rate—from 6.6 in 1981 to 3.3 in 2001, increasing mortality rate, and a decline in life expectancy from 65 in 1991 to 55.3 in 2001. Due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the crude death rate rose between 1991 and 2001 from 11.5 to 13.5 (Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, 2003). The fall in life expectancy, notwithstanding a significant rise in living standards, is largely due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has been most severe among the most disadvantaged, especially women and girls who constitute more than 50% of the population and within the most economically productive ages of 20 to 49 years.Setswana and English are the official languages, with English being the most used as the language of government and business transactions. In comparison to most African countries, Botswana is culturally homogenous, and nearly 80% of the population belongs to one ethnic and linguistic group (Tau, 2003). For close to 4 decades since independence in 1966, Botswana has maintained a stable democracy, experienced a stable government, and a steadily expanding economy. This has contributed to a steady growth in the education system.In 1966, the landlocked Botswana was labeled “the least educationally developed British African colony … caught in a poverty trap,” with no infrastructure or financial resources and extremely limited developed human capital (Colclough & McCarthy 1980). A railway line connecting the two then-apartheid neighbors of Northern Rhodesia in the north and South Africa in the south was the only reliable mode of transport along the eastern part of the country. There was not a single tarmac road. Communication across the country depended on a very poor postal service. The western part of the country, which is mainly covered with the thick sands of the Kgalagadi Desert, with difficult terrain, was then accessible by fourwheel drive vehicles only (Mokaeya, 1986).The above scenario posed a grave access challenge for the education sector of an extremely poor country situated within a politically hostile immediate environment and a fast-moving international economy. The first 10 years of independence were an uphill struggle for the education sector, services impossible to take to some parts of the country. Botswana’s tradition of shuttling between village, cattle-post, and land areas throughout the year compounded the problem. Seasonally, boys followed their fathers to the cattle posts and girls their mothers to go and mind crops at the land areas. The much more nomadic groups in the Kgalagadi and other remote areas were the hardest hit with inequalities of service provision and scarcity of education opportunities.Until 1935, there was neither a government school nor an education department within the country (Mokaeya, 1992). At the time, the few Botswana students who obtained secondary or higher education qualifications did so through South African and Southern Rhodesian institutions. Secondary education was introduced in the Botswana education system in the late 1940s through efforts of the Roman Catholic Church, followed later by the establishment of a tribal college. Mokaeya (1992) notes that it was only toward independence, around 1958, that plans to develop the education system of Botswana began. Records indicate that, by 1966, there were 251 primary schools with an enrolment of 71,546, serviced by a teaching force of 1,673 (Ministry of Education, 1986). There were nine secondary schools with 1,531 students between 89 teachers, most of whom were expatriates, and only about 40 Batswana graduates at the time (Crowder, 1998). With this state of affairs, government (a major employer) depended mainly on expatriates.At independence in 1966, development and expansion of education was identified as a major tool for Botswana’s development process (Crowder, 1984) through which government intended to make available a stock of trained local manpower capable of servicing the country’s economy.Table 1 reflects, by percentage of age group, expansion of enrollment at the various levels of the education system between 1965 and 1975. To date, there is only oneAs noted by Tau (2003), education developments in Botswana are attributed to two landmark policies. The first National Policy on Education, adopted in 1977, put more emphasis on access, mainly to basic education and, to a lesser extent, other levels. Consequently, educational opportunities were substantially expanded at this level, as evidenced by increased enrollments between 1979 and 1991. There were about 700 primary schools by 1991, while secondary schools increased from 23 to 230 during the same period. Teacher training colleges increased threefold from two in 1979, while vocational institutions were introduced in most of the major population centers. Implementation of the 1977 National Policy on Education saw a massive expansion of school places. Between 1979 and 1991, enrollments in primary, secondary, and the University of Botswana rose by 91%, 342% and 315% respectively. Corresponding expansion was experienced in the teacher training sector, where the Ministry of Education succeeded in reducing dependence on expatriate teachers and achieved a significant drop in pupil-teacher ratio, from 1:40 in the 1980s to 1:27 in 1999 (Nhundu, Kamau, & Thutoetsile, 2002).As part of the Ministry of Education policy to increase access into postprimary education, a 10-year basic education program is being implemented, consisting of 7 years of primary and 3 years of junior secondary schooling. Examinations are taken at the end of each level to qualify students for entry into the next higher level, depending on availability of places. A 100% transition rate has been achieved for primary to junior secondary school while, in 2003, about 52% of students who completed Junior Certificate were able to gain admission into senior secondary schools (Tau, 2003). The remaining 48% find places in private secondary schools, brigades, and distance education. The transition rate into senior secondary schools is expected to increase to 100% by the year 2016, as per the National Vision 2016, when Botswana will attain 50 years of independence. The second education policy, the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE), was adopted in 1994 following recommendations of a 1993 Presidential National Commission on Education. Though quantitative expansion of education is still a major concern, the second and current education policy focuses mainly on qualitative improvement of the education system.The 1993/1994 review of the education system identified several key issues that will continue to guide developments in the education sector in Botswana over a period of 25 years from 1994.Equity in terms of delivery of social services, including education, remains a far cry since rural/urban disparities are huge, mainly due to the terrain. To date, even though the situation has changed dramatically, and primary as well as secondary level education is reaching most parts of the country with comparative ease, the western part is still the most disadvantaged. There is still one university in Botswana, and the majority of students access university education outside the country, which is a huge expense for the government. Access, equity, and equality of opportunity are still a challenging concern for the education sector.Another serious challenge for education and all sectors of the economy, threatening to undermine or even reverse achievements recorded so far, is the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Botswana, with a prevalence of about 35.4% within the 15–49 years population (Ministry of Finance & Development Planning, 2003). HIV/ AIDS has far-reaching implications for efforts so far made in education, resulting in slow pace of expansion and service improvement. Absenteeism, increased morbidity, and mortality of teachers affect productivity adversely. Learner attendance is also highly affected, with students either ill or nursing relatives. Currently, more and more children of school-going age are becoming heads of families because of loss of parents and the need to look after orphaned siblings. The epidemic is reported to be more prevalent and claiming life mainly in the 15-49 age bracket, which is the most sexually active and also including the majority of trained personnel. In a few years, the economy might be back to where it was at independence in terms of skilled and experienced manpower if people continue to die at the present alarming rate. Another challenge for the education sector is to provide adequate support, knowledge, and skills to students and teachers to cope with the challenges of HIV/AIDS.Since the colonial era, through independence, and until 1973, adult Batswana needing formal qualifications could only enroll with institutions from outside the country for correspondence courses, mainly through South African, British, and Rhodesian institutions. For university education, the University of South Africa was the main correspondence institution in the region (Mokaeya 1992). Within the country, government and nongovernmental organizations offered sporadic and nonexamination courses of various lengths. Churches were the first to offer adult literacy classes. Government departments started offering nonformal courses immediately after independence.According to Mokaeya (1992) the first traces of formal distance education date back to before independence when an Elementary Teacher Training project of 1960-1965 was undertaken at Lobatse Teacher Training College, facilitated by colonial masters from Mafeking in South Africa. By the time the project came to an end, it had demonstrated the viability of distance education as an alternative method of training teachers. Hence, government attempts to overcome severe shortages of trained primary school teachers due to post-1966 demographic pressure for education should be attributed to the success of the 1960-1965 project (Tau, 2003). The local Ministry of Education’s first attempt at an organized distance education program developed in Botswana was another teacher-training project for primary school teachers, from 1968 to 1973 in Francistown. About 700 teachers joined the program, receiving self-instructional printed materials at their schools, supported by radio broadcasts. Occasionally the student teachers had access to some face-to-face tutorial assistance from tutors at the Francistown Teacher Training College, as well as regular assistance from qualified teachers from their own schools. By the end of the project in 1973, about 88% of the teachers had graduated (Mokaeya, 1992). The success of this project influenced the government to set up the Botswana Extension College (BEC). Two consultancies by UNESCO and International Extension College (IEC) UK spearheaded the establishment of Botswana Extension College in 1973, with financial support from the Ford Foundation and professional guidance for setting up the institution from IEC. BEC became the first government secondary-level correspondence school in Botswana.BEC’s mandate was to offer a wide range of subjects’ using ‘correspondence courses, radio and face to face methods. The college intended to offer Junior Certificate courses to upgrading adults and young people who did not do well in their examinations at this level and then move on to offer Ordinary Level courses.In addition to formal courses leading to examinations, BEC also offered nonformal courses to the adult rural population, and some extension workers in other Ministries. The college and the Ministry of Local Government and Lands ran a program for Village development Committees, with Ministry of Agriculture a program for 4B clubs (clubs that provide youth with agricultural skills—ed.) and a land reform program through radio learning groups (Mokaeya, 1992). BEC, in collaboration with UNESCO and the Extra Mural Services of the University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, which later became the Institute of Adult Education, initiated consultations for a functional literacy training program that targeted about 250,000 adults and youth. A literacy project by BEC was consequently implemented from 1977 to 1978 (Mokaeya, 1986).Experiences of BEC resulted in the creation of the Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE) in 1978, following recommendations of the 1977 National Commission on education. DNFE created several units, among them a unit responsible specifically for the development and delivery of a distance education program. The distance education program of DNFE got entangled into the problem of inadequate Junior Certificate places in secondary schools for primary school leavers. DNFE found itself having to admit children of schoolgoing age (i.e. primary school leaving), into Junior Certificate program, which was for adults and youth who were from the Junior Certificate program and to their The unit developed printed materials for and secondary school teachers as support at learning centers. The department experienced several in the of distance education among them were the as identified by the 1993 National Commission on the of the second National Commission on Education the establishment of a distance education college that take over the of the distance education unit of the Department of Non-formal Education. Consequently, a distance education the Ministry of College of and in by a of and with the of expanding education and training opportunities through the of distance education is Batswana with education and skills through access to distance learning and the of a of of the current education policy are to Batswana for the transition from a economy to the economy to which the country (Ministry of Education, The education and training to that the country in as a major for Botswana, by them an education for for of education are the school system and face-to-face and institutions do not cope with for education and training or the of skilled manpower for Botswana’s economy. to increase access to education and training and to of the 1993 National Commission on Education distance education as an part of the education Kamau, and the that the Botswana government should develop and the of distance education. The government has since serious to the of distance education as a alternative for increasing access to education and training in To this end, in addition to the establishment of a college of distance education, the 1993 Commission on Education also that the for Education of the University of Botswana be to in the development and delivery of distance education in the two institutions are the for distance education in Botswana, there are other government and private organizations that distance education, for development through departments at in the capital of Botswana, and to the country. the the college a system through learning and mainly within schools in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. services remote who no or limited access to secondary school and school and services of the school teachers outside school over and during school Ministry of Education of education and sharing of courses in the secondary school level of Junior Certificate and Botswana Certificate of Secondary Education For the program, the student is made up mainly of upgrading since the school system is able to about 100% of primary school into junior secondary schools. 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This program is offered with the which is the and the that the The first of 25 students has completed the program, which has been other government the Ministry of has been on the in the of distance education to to level since In collaboration with the Foundation this initiated an upgrading program for about to The program used a of printed face-to-face and as well as and to support in identified and them to the in By of had been to the nursing level through distance education. this program came to an end in it demonstrated that distance education be to courses in and other professional courses the of the areas 1994 Revised National Policy on Education that education institutions should make formal for courses and government departments and colleges are the of distance education in and for into development in which their in distance education in other and distance learning institutions all over the while continue with their At for more than 25 graduated from various distance education institutions in of from the of Botswana, and South Africa in Southern Africa, and and in the has graduated more than in the first of the English for The second and are expected to be around per The is to about over a period of the Botswana College has initiated with and to of offering some of courses through distance education. other institutions are distance education to training and in the environment of the Botswana, education and training are as two of the most of education has a very alternative for the provision of opportunities for people to continue learning while go on with their and or With for education and training that expansion of the face-to-face and limited distance education has one of the most to up access and opportunities for The mode has itself to be it is the support and financial
A GREAT deal has been made of student achievement data in international comparisons. Less information has been gathered about in various countries. We have a few field studies, such as those reported in The Teaching Gap, by James Stigler and James Hiebert, and in Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, by Liping Ma. Neither depicts a particularly robust portrait of what American know about mathematics or how to teach it. With the new emphasis on highly qualified teachers from the U.S. Department of Education, teacher quality has moved to center stage. Two new studies add a bit to our knowledge of here and abroad. The first is Teaching Mathematics in Seven Countries: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study, in which videotapes of actually teaching eighth-grade mathematics in seven countries were studied. The report (NCES 2003013) was put together by Hiebert and a host of other researchers and is available at www.nces.ed.gov/timss. The second is Preparing Teachers Around the World, from Aubrey Wang, Ashaki Coleman, Richard Coley, and Richard Phelps of the ETS Policy Information Center. It is available at www.ets.org/research/pic/teachprep.pdf. In 1995, as part of the original TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study), videos of were made in three nations: Germany, Japan, and the United States. In general, U.S. and German focused on teaching procedures, while Japanese emphasized conceptual matters. One accidental finding cropped up when people coding the videos had a What the hell was that? reaction to noises on the tapes. Those noises were mostly interruptions by the intercom, visitors, etc. More than 30% of American classes suffered interruptions. Zero percent of Japanese classes suffered an intrusion. The TIMSS 1999 Video Study extends the original research to seven countries, adding Australia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and omitting Germany. (A more detailed summary of this study, by the TIMSS Video Mathematics Research Group, can be found in the June 2003 Kappan.) These countries all scored high or relatively high in TIMSS and TIMSS-R (Repeat). In TIMSS-R, only the Czech Republic did not have a score that was significantly higher than that of the U.S., which scored 502 as compared to the Czech Republic's 520. (The international average was 487.) Getting coders to agree on what they were seeing was difficult in the original study, and it was exponentially more difficult to get coders to agree about what they were seeing when viewing videos from seven countries. In addition, they might have missed something important, as overall judgments of quality did not correlate with judgments on the specific indicators of quality. (These results are from a presentation made at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in April, not from the report itself.) Coders first looked at how much time in different countries spent introducing new content, practicing new content, or reviewing earlier content. American spent more time reviewing old material than anyone else except the Czechs. None of the countries spent a great deal of time practicing new material, but Japanese did allot 60% of their time to introducing new content. Only Japan's lessons were considered to be of high or moderate complexity, 39% and 45% respectively. The U.S. had the fewest lessons considered to be of high complexity (6%) and the third-highest number judged to be of low complexity (67%), behind Australia (77%) and the Netherlands (69%). Only Japanese offered many proofs. Twenty- six percent of the problems in any given lesson contained proofs, and 39% of the lessons contained at least one proof. Second-place Switzerland posted just 3% and 11% respectively. The researchers asked whether the lessons consisted of stating concepts, using procedures, or making connections between mathematical facts. …
As many school districts approach a 20th-year anniversary of microcomputers in their classrooms, they are facing loud calls for proof of results from the investments of time and money made in technology during that period. Jane Oates, education advisor for Senator Edward Kennedy, stated in two different speeches this fall that what is needed (by Congress and the federal government) are not just and not just data, but stories with data and data with stories. In response to these local calls for proof and in reaction to statements such as those from Ms. Oates, educators are searching for tools and instruments to measure and document the impact of technology, particularly microcomputers, on teaching and learning. Measuring Sticks Exist Several groups have introduced within the last year measuring sticks of the impact of technology in education. The Milken Exchange has developed the Seven Dimensions for judging progress in implementing technology (www.milkenexchange.org). They continue to collaborate with state technology leaders and educational groups to further develop the dimensions and related tools. Currently, they are completing a Professional Development tool (www.milken exchange.org/pdc). Also, for the past two years they have documented in their annual report, Counts, the status of the efforts by states to implement technology. This report establishes the accomplishments of each state as well as provides comparisons of the states in various categories. The CEO Forum's School Technology and Readiness (STaR) chart (www.ceoforum.org) is another tool in use in schools and is a part of several state initiatives. The self-assessment quiz that guides respondents to label themselves as either a low tech, mid tech, high tech, or target tech school establishes a means of tracking progress in six categories. In other instruments, rubrics guide the user in pinpointing the current status in various areas from the use of technology by students and teachers to the involvement of the community in the technology program. One such instrument that has a strong set of rubrics addressing student engagement with technology is from the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium (NCRTEC). Their online instrument, entitled Learning with Technology Profile Tool, is found at www.ncrtec.org. These tracking tools probably represent just the first set of offerings, as discussions at technology meetings increasingly call for means of documenting technology progress. One State's Effort In the late fall of 1997, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Instructional Technology Division adopted the CEO Forum's STaR Chart as a tool for school districts to use in tracking the implementation of their local instructional technology plans. With permission from the CEO Forum office, the state agency added a row to the bottom of the chart. This row consisted of the Target Tech School standards for North Carolina schools. These standards, from the North Carolina Instructional Technology Plan, were closely aligned to those in the Target Tech row of the STaR Chart. These modified charts were distributed to school districts as part of a package of tools for tracking technology implementation. School districts were encouraged to use the North Carolina version of the STaR chart with the accompanying self-assessment quiz as part of their efforts to revise their local instructional technology plans. When the revised plans were submitted to the state office in June 1998, approximately one-third of the 117 school districts had followed the recommendation and used the STaR Chart. Some had every school complete the self-assessment quiz in order to stake out where that school was at the end of the first two years of the local plan implementation. Most of those districts indicated their plans to continue collecting this data yearly. Other districts reported using the STaR chart to determine areas to focus on in the revised technology plan. …