Leon Tikly

Globalisation and Education in the Postcolonial World: Towards a conceptual framework

The article examines the relevance of existing accounts of globalisation and education for low income, postcolonial countries, with special reference to the education systems of sub-Saharan Africa. Using recent developments in globalisation theory, existing accounts are analysed in relation to their view of the origins, nature and future trajectory of globalisation and the implications for education. It is argued that most of the recent literature deals with Western industrialised countries and the newly industrialised countries of the Pacific Rim and therefore has limited relevance for low income countries. The literature that is concerned with low income countries often lacks a firm theoretical basis and has been limited to a discussion of the impact of economic globalisation on education. Drawing on recent work on the political economy of development and the state in Africa, the article sets out a conceptual framework for understanding various aspects of the education/globalisation relationship in low income, postcolonial countries including economic, political and cultural aspects.

Towards a framework for researching the quality of education in low-income countries

This article introduces the themes and the various contributions to the special issue. It describes the evolution of the overall approach and framework for researching education quality used by the Implementing Education Quality in Low‐Income Countries (EdQual) Research Programme Consortium (RPC). The article commences with the background to the RPC including some theoretical starting points. It provides a critique of dominant approaches to researching education quality, namely the human capital and rights based approaches. This provides a basis for setting out the approach and framework adopted by EdQual which is founded on social justice principles. The framework is outlined in relation to three intersecting contexts, namely the policy context, the home/community context of the learner and the context of the school.

Key Dimensions of Effective Leadership for Change: A Focus on Township and Rural Schools in South Africa

The article identifies key dimensions of effective leadership for change in historically disadvantaged, township and rural schools in South Africa. It is based on original case study research in 13 schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Although the sample included mainly township and rural primary and secondary schools it also included a smaller sample of historically advantaged formerly White, Indian and ‘Coloured’ schools. All schools were selected on the basis of high academic achievement and success in implementing change. Effective leadership styles were found to be contingent on context. Rather than providing a fixed set of characteristics the dimensions provide a framework against which the nature of effective leadership in the sample schools is analysed and compared. It is argued that although many aspects of effective leadership are similar to those reported in the wider international literature, they assume a specific form and emphasis related to contexts of disadvantage in South Africa.

The African Renaissance, NEPAD and Skills Formation: An Identification of Key Policy Tensions.

Abstract The aim of the article is to critically consider the implications of the African Renaissance project for skills formation policies and priorities with a focus on the education and training systems of sub-Saharan Africa. The article commences with an account of the origins of the African Renaissance idea and its latest incarnation in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It is argued that the significance of the idea lies in the attempt to formulate an indigenous, African response to globalisation, but that it needs to be linked to a clear agenda of democratisation, poverty eradication and social justice and that its implications for all areas of policy must be spelled out. The second part of the article provides a broad framework for understanding the major implications of the African Renaissance for education and training policy. Here it is suggested that existing dominant approaches towards understanding skills for development based on human capital theory are insufficient for realising the African Renaissance project. Rather, the skills formation approach will be outlined as an alternative. The basis of such an approach is to view skills formation as an aspect of wider social relations and inequalities and to link skills formation strategies to the objective of ending Africa’s economic and political marginalisation. Rather than imply a universal set of policy priorities, however, it is argued that the African Renaissance project instead represents a series of policy tensions and that resolving these tensions requires strategies specific to individual countries and regions.

Conceptualizing Teacher Leadership in a Chinese, Policy-Driven Context: A Research Agenda.

In recent years, the Western discourse on distributed leadership has attracted increased attention in Chinese societies that have traditionally relied on highly centralized administrative systems in which power is located in the person of the school principal or other unit leader. This article explores the implications of applying the concept of distributed leadership in a Chinese context and outlines a research agenda for future work in this area. The article focuses specifically on teacher leadership in early childhood education in Hong Kong as an illustrative case. It suggests that change agentry, collaboration, collegiality, power, and authority are key aspects of discourse on teacher leadership in a Chinese, policy-driven context. It is argued that existing studies of leadership have failed to recognize the complexity of employing teacher leadership in hierarchical, policy-driven, high power distance, collectivist cultural contexts.

The ethnic minority achievement grant: a critical analysis

This article critically analyses the extent to which the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) has been successful in meeting its core objective of raising the achievement of minority ethnic groups who are at risk of underachieving. The article provides an historical analysis of the Grant, sets the Grant within the context of the Labour government’s policies relating to minority ethnic groups and social inclusion and reports on the authors’ research into the use made by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) of EMAG based on an analysis of LEA EMAG action plans. It suggests that although there have been some improvements in closing the gaps between minority ethnic achievement and national averages since the introduction of the Grant, these have been largely limited to groups receiving English as an Additional Language (EAL) support, although these groups continue to underachieve. Further the relative achievement of some groups, notably Black Caribbean pupils, has not improved at all since the introduction of the Grant. The article proposes that if the government wishes to more effectively tackle minority ethnic underachievement then it needs to increase the overall amount spent on the Grant, which has been frozen in recent years, and demonstrate more commitment to tackling institutionalized racism within the education system and the national curriculum. Although the government is issuing guidance to schools to address historic weaknesses in the way that the Grant has been deployed, the guidance itself does not go far enough in acknowledging the role of schools and particularly LEAs in tackling underachievement. Nor does the proposed new guidance recognize the importance of including the perspectives of local Black and Asian communities in decisions on how the Grant is deployed.

The barriers to achievement for white/black Caribbean pupils in English schools

Pupils of White and Black Caribbean descent make up the largest category of mixed heritage pupils in the United Kingdom. As a group they are at risk of underachieving and are proportionally over‐represented in school exclusions. Yet little is known to date about the barriers to their achievement. The common‐sense explanation for their underachievement is often in relation to the perception that mixed‐heritage people are more likely to have ‘identity problems’ and low self‐esteem because of their mixed backgrounds. In some cases, this view is further compounded by low teacher expectations associated with the socio‐economic background and household structure of some mixed heritage pupils. By drawing on qualitative data from recent research, 1 this article will explore the barriers to achievement faced by White/Black Caribbean pupils in English schools. We argue that although White/Black Caribbean pupils are likely to experience a similar set of barriers to achievement as Black Caribbean pupils, there are important distinctions to be made. The specific barriers to achievement identified for White/Black Caribbean pupils derive from socio‐economic disadvantage, low teacher expectation linked to misunderstandings of mixed heritage identities and backgrounds, and the behavioural issues and attitudes towards achievement linked to peer group pressures.

Teaching Comparative and International Education: A Framework for Analysis

Cet article se base sur les debats qui ont eu lieu au cours du dixieme congres mondial de leducation comparee qui sest tenu au Cap en 1998. Le theme aborde au cours de ces discussions est celui de lenseignement de leducation comparee. La question centrale inherente a ce colloque apportait une reflexion supplementaire concernant une integration plus marquee de ce domaine detudes dans les departements deducation.

Education Quality: Research Priorities and Approaches in the Global Era

The aim of this chapter is to develop a critical view of education quality appropriate for sub-Saharan African countries facing the challenges of globalisation in the twenty-first century and to discuss the implications of such a view for research. The chapter begins with a review of existing approaches to conceptualising education quality within the Education for All (EFA) movement, most especially the framework presented in the 2005 EFA Global Monitoring Report, The Quality Imperative (UNESCO 2005). This will be used as a basis for setting out our own approach which draws inspiration from Sen’s (1999) notion of capabilities and for considering the research implications of this through a focus on the research processes and approaches of the Implementing Education Quality in Low Income Countries (EdQual) Research Programme Consortium (RPC). Before proceeding, however, and in order to contextualise the debate, it is worth setting out some of the basic features of the EdQual RPC and what we understand by a capabilities approach.

Researching mixed race in education: perceptions, policies and practices

Although the ‘Mixed’ primary and secondary school population is rapidly growing in both size and recognition, pupils from mixed racial and ethnic backgrounds are largely invisible in current educational policies and practices regarding minority ethnic pupils. In light of initial Local Education Authority‐level data which suggested that pupils from Mixed White/Black Caribbean backgrounds were significantly underachieving and over‐represented in school exclusions, the authors of this article conducted a research project which, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, explored the educational attainment, experiences and needs of this group of pupils. Drawing on the qualitative data from the project, this article will discuss three key areas of findings. Firstly, by presenting data from the case study interviews with pupils, parents, teachers and specialist educational (local Ethnic Minority Achievement Service) advisors, the authors will discuss how the perceptions of the White/Black Caribbean pupils they encountered in the schools encompassed both traditional constructions of ‘mixedness’—which conceptualise mixed identities as inherently problematic—and emerging ‘new wave’ constructions—which conceptualise mixed identities not only as unproblematic, but as positive and celebratory. Secondly, the authors discuss the extent to which these perceptions and their potential impact on pupils’ achievement are supported or challenged by existing educational policies and practices. They conclude by highlighting some of the methodological and theoretical challenges encountered in researching mixedness in the educational context and discuss the implications of these for both their research project and the field of ‘mixed race studies’ as a whole.