Mission

At the end of October 2011, the USAID-sponsored Higher Education for Development (HED) hosted a round table entitled, "Higher Education and Development: Modeling International Partnership Impact." The meeting was billed as a "convening of thought leaders to advance the ability of HED to respond to the evolving policy framework of USAID regarding the measurement of development impact." A primary objective of the meeting was to develop a common understanding of what a successful international higher education partnership looks like in order to better capture success stories and demonstrate the impact of higher education in international development.

The group was given the challenging task of creating this impact statement. Recent developments in malaria prevention (through mosquito nets) and the subsequent funding that emerged from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation served as a platform for the discussion.  We were asked, "Is there a single impact statement for higher education in development? If so, how would it be stated? If you could choose one argument for convincing donors to invest in higher education as a tool for international development, what would it be?" The results of the round table discussions are being analyzed and compiled, but I found the prompt to be somewhat problematic. Mosquito nets did not decrease malaria alone. It was the right kind of net, distribution of the nets, education about proper implementation, and finally the actual use of the nets. Similarly, with higher education, I believe it is a specific type and use of higher education that will actually work in development and a single impact statement will need to highlight those elements.  Higher education is too broad and institutions span the spectrum from elitist, low quality, and profit seeking. Higher education for development will have to be more specific and directly related to the role of developing countries to expand capacity and produce knowledge that will solve local problems. If colleges and universities become central places for creation and diffusion of knowledge for public benefit, then they begin to act as an agent of development, not just a strategy. This is an important distinction from a single impact statement.

Given the recent publication of the USAID Education Strategy and the evaluation guide, the difficulty of measuring impact was also part of the discussion.  Goal 2 of the strategy is: "Improved ability of tertiary and workforce development programs to generate workforce skills relevant to a country’s development goals." Although members of the round table contributed ideas about developing adequate measures Goal 2, there was still much work to be done. It will be interesting to see how HED utilizes the feedback from the members. They are certainly to be commended for sponsoring open dialogue between academic researchers and development specialists. The dialogue alone was a model for how development agencies could collaborate with college and university faculty.

Labels: development, HED, higher education, measurement, partnerships, strategy, USAID

At the May 2010 annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), the World Bank had a larger presence than in previous years. The exhibit hall featured a booth that promoted a concept paper for a new education strategy. This concept paper was widely distributed by Bank staff that were working at the booth and attending sessions. In addition, Elizabeth M. King, Director of Education in the Human Development Network of the World Bank, was slated to make a formal presentation about the strategy. In this position, she is the World Bank’s senior spokesperson for global policy and strategic education issues in developing countries. The session was scheduled in a typical hotel conference room, but even 10 minutes before the time the session was supposed to begin, the room was filled past capacity. The President of CIES announced that the session was to be relocated to the grand ballroom of the hotel. Dr. King made a presentation about the strategy, and three scholars on the panel offered a brief response to the concept paper before the floor was opened to questions from a larger than usual audience. Questions varied in nature, but some well-known scholars from CIES asked directed questions including, “How do you explain the fact that poverty has increased on your watch?” and “Why does the World Bank not pay attention to scholarly research that should influence their practices?” These poignant questions were large scale and difficult to answer in a brief session, but Dr. King addressed the topics, albeit without providing a direct answer.

The session brought up some key questions about the relationship between a scholarly society and large agencies that enact policies and measures that have great impact on the developing world and education. For example, is a scholarly society truly an audience for a large organization like the World Bank, and in turn, is the Bank utilizing research that emerges from scholarship in places like CIES?

The finalized Strategy has become a policy statement of the Bank. Policy, however, carries a variety of meanings in this sphere. In Bank publications there are (a) formal policy statements (approved by the World Bank Board and labeled as official policy), (b) policies that guide the actions of World Bank staff (which is not limited to official policy papers and may depart from them), and (c) policies as discerned from lending practices (which in education has often differed from formally stated policy). Although these categories make World Bank policy a complex notion, the strategy carries the weight of official policy with the World Bank listed as the author. In May 2011, the Bank published the final version of the new Strategy, just in time for the CIES meeting, and although there was less Bank representation, there were at least three panels about the Strategy. 

There are two expanding literatures that address how the World Bank operates. One focuses directly on the World Bank itself and includes attention to both organizational behavior and global political role. The second focuses on aid and the aid process, and ranges from efforts to improve aid effectiveness to calls for dismantling the aid system entirely. In addition, understanding and evaluating the consultation process over time requires not only a review of calls for consultations and varied inputs, but also a careful comparison between inputs received and changes (or lack of change) in position and policy papers, from initial drafts to final versions.

To engage in a scholarly approach of understanding the development of the Strategy and the potential impact, a volume entitled, "Education Strategy in the Developing World: Understanding the World Bank’s Education Policy Revision" (Christopher S. Collins and Alexander W. Wiseman, Eds.) is set to come out in the next few months.  It is part of the "International Perspectives on Education and Society" series by Emerald. 

In general, this volume takes the approach that the language of policy documents matter.  The way in which seminal documents include and exclude certain voices is a key factor when it comes to executing ideas or strategies. Clearly the Bank matters. The sheer amount of World Bank money that goes into education lending each year is enough to make a significant impact.  Furthermore, when the Bank lends or grants money, it is not detached from knowledge or requirements. Funding is only part of the equation to execute a particular view on global education. Policy certainly matters. Decisions on where the best investments take place, how effectiveness is measured, and where the priorities lie have historically shaped the work of the Bank. The new Strategy is at the intersection of language, funding, and policy, and will likely play an important role in the way the Bank executes new ideas related to learning. The impact will only be seen in the future, but scholarly engagement and attention to strategy provides a framework for evaluating the impact of ideas.

Labels: CIES, development, Emerald Publishing, higher education, strategy 2020, World Bank

With the increasing integration of global economies and societies, the nation-state is no longer the sole force shaping and defining citizenship. New ideas of "global citizenship" are emerging, and universities, which are increasingly involved in international engagements, provide a unique opportunity to explore how fundamental understandings of modern citizenship are changing.

Drawing on case studies of universities in China, the United States, Hungary, and Argentina, Global Citizenship and the University moves beyond a narrow political definition of citizenship to address the cultural and economic complexities of contemporary social life. Rhoads and Szelényi show how universities should be mindful of the possibilities for faculty and student involvement in the production, management, and application of knowledge, and how this in turn allows for an engagement as citizens that reflects serious considerations of the global context. Ultimately, the authors challenge universities and readers alike to consider the many transnational opportunities that are redefining citizenship today.

The benefit of higher education in developing countries has been the subject of much debate over the last several decades, and the World Bank has been at the center of these debates. Over the course of time, the World Bank has shifted its policy and position on higher education and its potential as a viable strategy for poverty reduction in the developing world. Nonetheless, many questions about the World Bank remain unexplored, and many criticisms remain unverified. Evaluation of higher education as a means of poverty reduction continues to be narrow and limited. This study investigates the intersection of higher education and poverty reduction—a connection shaped by a knowledge-based economy. The rapidly changing context of the knowledge economy and international development are key factors that impact whether or not developing countries remain consumers or become active participants in the global economy. Higher education has served a key role in producing and disseminating knowledge. Countries without an infrastructure for advanced education and science and technological research are often left without a means of creating solutions for local and global problems.

For many years, development agencies like the World Bank have been the primary source of setting the education agenda for developing countries. Billions of dollars in loans serve as the incentive to guide countries toward specific development paths, including an emerging perspective on the benefit of higher education over the last 30 years. The purpose of this study is to empirically demonstrate various links between higher education and poverty reduction. This covers a range of topics and theories related to globalization, colonialism, development, and indigenous knowledge.

Through ethnographic methods, this study offers a model for cross-border partnerships between universities in developing and developed countries, which will be highly valuable for those training to be education specialists in development agencies as the model presented casts light on the potential benefits of higher education as a poverty reduction strategy. The treatment of this subject pairs historical trends with their current impacts on various populations. This is cutting-edge information within a framework of policy analysis.

This study is founded on several case studies which examine countries, including Thailand and Uganda, where impact analyses were done on World Bank loans dedicated to the expansion of higher education in science and technology. These two countries were chosen because they are in two different regions with dissimilar colonial histories and their loans are relatively recent. A case study on cross border university partnerships also provides a model which other universities and development agencies may utilize when positioning higher education as a poverty reduction strategy.

Delivering extensive front line information on education, international development, and the challenges that follow, this book also includes a review of poverty reduction strategies as well as a theoretical framework that covers colonialism, development, and indigenous knowledge. This research conducted on the World Bank and the impact of its policies in two developing countries offers primary source information on work related to the topic. A major portion of the book looks at the effort put forth by U.S. universities in partnership with universities in developing countries for the purpose of using knowledge creation and dissemination as a poverty reduction strategy. The policy recommendations presented are useful for international development agencies like the World Bank, and the model demonstrated can be used by universities interested in cross-border partnerships across lines of economic development.

This book will be valuable to educational researchers, qualitative and ethnographic researchers, international development specialists, and scholars in international education.

Labels: book, Cambria Press, higher education, poverty reduction, World Bank

My First Year Seminar class at Pepperdine this semester is called, "Globalization and Equality." The class is assigned to read several books to survey this topic, including: "World on Fire" by Amy Chua, "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs, "Race Matters" by Cornel West, and "Banker to the Poor" by Muhammad Yunus. Throughout the course, students have successfully wrestled with various topics ranging from international development and colonialism to social action and poverty reduction. The class also selected three loan recipients on www.kiva.org to watch microfinance in action.

One Saturday in November the class came together to teach english lessons at the Malibu Labor Exchange. The director of the exchange shared with our group his work with Cesar Chavez and the difficulties for migrant workers to find jobs in this current economic environment. As the students listened to him speak, it was enlightening to see the theoretical become real. The students worked one on one with migrant workers (some undocumented) to help them learn some practical and conversational language skills. After getting to know their language partners for the morning, several of the workers asked the students to come back, and many students reflected that they felt as though they learned more than they taught.

Knowing that education and relationships are two factors that contribute to poverty reduction, this element of service learning proved to be crucial for a class studying this topic. It also highlights the global and local aspects of globalization. Malibu is a wealthy community with migrant workers from all over the world waiting at a trailer for an opportunity to work. When the global and local collide and the tensions of wealth and poverty meet, it has the ability to help students and researchers unlearn as much as they learn.

Labels: equality, globalization, microfinance, Pepperdine, poverty reduction, service learning

As the economy continues to go through peaks and valleys, many questions arise about the changing nature of higher education. Will mediums change, how will institutions change (or survive), and what type of learning environment will prepare students for the future? Under the topic of higher education and the recession, The Economist recently published an article with the title, "It still pays to study." The author cites the OECD's studies on the impact of learning on earning. According to the OECD: the more education, the better. After taking in to account tuition, years off for studying, and taxes, individuals still benefit in terms lifetime earnings. In terms of publicly funded education, taxpayers benefit from the subsidies based on this additional taxes paid over a lifetime of higher earnings. Given the financial crisis and the rapid rate at which universities are cutting budgets, the author speculated, "It may be worth rethinking the wisdom of ever-expanding higher education. But not this year."

The analysis represents a larger trend in higher education, where the benefits are measured by this rate of return analysis. The benefits to individuals and to taxpayers are reduced to one criteria: lifetime earnings. This narrow framework ignores the immense social benefits that are generated from research in many areas, but especially in medical sciences and engineering. Individual rates of return do not account for social health benefits, civic engagement, and other higher order benefts that result from higher education. Economists are often uncomfortable with the attempt to measure social rates of return because the reliability is not as strong as individual rates of return. In other words, there is no accepted model. As higher education continues to adapt during these economic conditions, it will be important to focus on these social rates of return. Not only does it show a greater value of the institution, it makes the institution more valuable to the degree that universities are committed to benefiting society in concrete, measurable ways. This can range from providing services in health and education to producing invaluable research to help solve problems that do not yet exist.

Labels: degree value, higher education, rate of return, recession, research, universities

Connecting universities with the overarching focus on reducing poverty is not a common refrain. It does not appeal to common sense to argue that the most impoverished areas of the world need higher education. However, in terms of long-term growth and the ability to find local solutions for local problems, higher education has the ability to contribute a piece of the puzzle in the fight against poverty.

This notion was featured in a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education: African Universities Tackle the Continent's Agricultural Crisis. The agricultural crisis is highlighted by a disease that is attacking cassava, a staple root crop common to the region. Farmers are not sure what to do about the disease and the research infrastructure that would develop a disease resistant variety is very weak. Because universities house and incubate the type of research to combat these types of problems, many parts of the African continent have been weakened by decades of constructed neglect of university education by donor agencies.

However, there are small, but positive developments that are creating a foundation for the type of network needed to respond to these agricultural problems. One scientist in East Africa, mentioned in the article, has planted about 40 different cassava varieties, some selected for their disease or insect resistance, others for their quality roots. The scientist and other students are creating hybrids that combine the best traits of different plants to build up their susceptibilities to disease. Local farmers are then able to test the varieties in their fields.

The image shown here is a photo I took of a woman outside of Kampala, Uganda. She is standing next to drying g nuts, an important source of protein, but another vulnerable plant variety. Other farmers like herself could lose an important source of income and nutrition without the infrastructure to combat evolving diseases. The model of utilizing the university for the good of the public is perhaps more visible in Africa than many other regions of the world. The benefits that come from investing in university research greatly surpass those who actually attend the university. These social benefits, highlighted by the fundamental issue of producing crops, are directly linked to reducing poverty.

-Christopher S. Collins

Labels: Africa, cassava, poverty reduction, research, universities