D. Brent Edwards Jr. - Böcker

Why is it so hard for international development organizations—even ones as well-resourced and influential as the World Bank—to generate and sustain change in the way things are done in those countries where they work? Despite what, in many cases, is decades of investment and effort, why do partner governments continue to engage in those traditional patterns and styles of public service management that international development organizations have sought to supplant with methods that are supposedly more accountable, efficient, and effective? This book provides an answer to these questions. However, rather than pathologizing partner governments as the source of the problem—that is, rather than maintaining the distinction between doctor (international development organizations) and patient (partner governments), wherein the patient is seen as unwilling to take their medicine (enacting "good governance" practices)—this book instead reframes the relationship.The central argument is, first, that the programs and projects of international organizations are introduced into and are constrained by multiple layers of ritual governance, that is, performative acts and cultural logics that intersect with and reinforce the political, economic, and social structures in and through which they operate. As is shown, the contextual factors that guide governance practices are largely beyond the reach of the international development organizations; the relevant logics have their roots in state ideology but also extend back to the colonial logics that continue to operate at the heart of the state apparatus.The second the central argument is that international aid organizations and the governments with which they work are engaged in a "ritual aid dance" where each actor plays a part but does not (and cannot) acknowledge the ways that it depends on the other for its own gain. This relationship can be considered a dance because each participant responds to and needs the other, and because both sides do so in ways that are carefully choreographed, with the overall trajectory or contours of the dance being more or less known to the participants.These arguments are based on research on the World Bank’s efforts over the course of several decades to encourage, through its financing, projects, and technical assistance, the implementation of social sector reform in Indonesia related to decentralization, community participation, and school-based management.

This text explores how the dynamics of globalization and privatization have influenced State policy and impacted education reform in Honduras. It makes the argument that understanding education reform in post-colonial contexts requires that scholars go beyond a surface-level description of such trends as privatization to consider, in addition, the ways that the logics, practices, and relationships that characterized colonialism continue to be embedded in the apparatus of modern States. The first part of the volume documents historical trends and the evolution of privatisation in Honduras, while the second part explicitly engages in an extended discussion of State theory, before shifting to present a framework for depicting how these logics are the foundational layer upon which states and global governance have been constructed. The framework draws upon scholarship from political economy, world systems, and post-colonialism to depict the "ethos of privatization" at the core of post-colonial States, wherein what drives the system is private benefit, in the interest of individuals and their networks, but not in the interest of those outside the State. Applying this unique framework to the case of Honduras and offering empirical analysis of the Honduran education sector, the changing role and priorities of the State, and the increasing involvement of international organizations, NGOs, and private actors in the provision of education, the text increases understanding of how State theory interacts with broader global dynamics to impact education. This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with a focus on international and comparative education, policy analysis, globalization, and international development.

This text explores how the dynamics of globalization and privatization have influenced State policy and impacted education reform in Honduras. It makes the argument that understanding education reform in post-colonial contexts requires that scholars go beyond a surface-level description of such trends as privatization to consider, in addition, the ways that the logics, practices, and relationships that characterized colonialism continue to be embedded in the apparatus of modern States. The first part of the volume documents historical trends and the evolution of privatisation in Honduras, while the second part explicitly engages in an extended discussion of State theory, before shifting to present a framework for depicting how these logics are the foundational layer upon which states and global governance have been constructed. The framework draws upon scholarship from political economy, world systems, and post-colonialism to depict the "ethos of privatization" at the core of post-colonial States, wherein what drives the system is private benefit, in the interest of individuals and their networks, but not in the interest of those outside the State. Applying this unique framework to the case of Honduras and offering empirical analysis of the Honduran education sector, the changing role and priorities of the State, and the increasing involvement of international organizations, NGOs, and private actors in the provision of education, the text increases understanding of how State theory interacts with broader global dynamics to impact education. This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with a focus on international and comparative education, policy analysis, globalization, and international development.

Why is it so hard for international development organizations—even ones as well-resourced and influential as the World Bank—to generate and sustain change in the way things are done in those countries where they work? Despite what, in many cases, is decades of investment and effort, why do partner governments continue to engage in those traditional patterns and styles of public service management that international development organizations have sought to supplant with methods that are supposedly more accountable, efficient, and effective? This book provides an answer to these questions. However, rather than pathologizing partner governments as the source of the problem—that is, rather than maintaining the distinction between doctor (international development organizations) and patient (partner governments), wherein the patient is seen as unwilling to take their medicine (enacting "good governance" practices)—this book instead reframes the relationship.The central argument is, first, that the programs and projects of international organizations are introduced into and are constrained by multiple layers of ritual governance, that is, performative acts and cultural logics that intersect with and reinforce the political, economic, and social structures in and through which they operate. As is shown, the contextual factors that guide governance practices are largely beyond the reach of the international development organizations; the relevant logics have their roots in state ideology but also extend back to the colonial logics that continue to operate at the heart of the state apparatus.The second the central argument is that international aid organizations and the governments with which they work are engaged in a "ritual aid dance" where each actor plays a part but does not (and cannot) acknowledge the ways that it depends on the other for its own gain. This relationship can be considered a dance because each participant responds to and needs the other, and because both sides do so in ways that are carefully choreographed, with the overall trajectory or contours of the dance being more or less known to the participants.These arguments are based on research on the World Bank’s efforts over the course of several decades to encourage, through its financing, projects, and technical assistance, the implementation of social sector reform in Indonesia related to decentralization, community participation, and school-based management.

This book challenges conventional approaches to global education policy (GEP) by exploring its often-overlooked onto-epistemic and religio-spiritual dimensions. Through eight thought-provoking chapters, leading scholars critically examine how fundamental questions of knowing, being, and worldview shape the field's theoretical foundations and practical implications.The contributors delve deep into the Western modernist assumptions that underpin GEP. From Vietnam's educational exchange with Mozambique to Christian normativity in higher education, the chapters offer diverse perspectives on how colonial legacies, religious frameworks, and philosophical traditions continue to influence educational policy and practice worldwide.The book makes a vital contribution by:Interrogating the Western-centric nature of GEP scholarshipExploring alternative epistemological and ontological frameworksExamining the intersection of rationalized bureaucracy with ritual governanceInvestigating transnational academic mobility in relation to the notion of multiple selvesThis volume is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand the deeper structures and assumptions that shape global education policy. By bringing together perspectives from comparative education, philosophy, and critical theory, it opens new pathways for reimagining the field beyond its current theoretical and methodological boundaries. It was originally published as a special issue of Comparative Education.

In the most in-depth look at education in Cambodia to date, scholars long engaged in research on Cambodia provide historical context and unpack key issues of high relevance to Cambodia and other developing countries as they expand and modernize their education systems and grapple with challenges to providing a quality and equitable education.

This book provides new insights into the phenomena of global education policies and international policy transfer.

The movement of policy is a core feature of contemporary education reform. Many different concepts, including policy transfer, borrowing and lending, travelling, diffusion and mobility, have been deployed to study how and why policy moves across jurisdictions, scales of governance, policy sectors or organisations. However, the underlying theoretical perspectives and the foundational assumptions of different approaches to policy movement remain insufficiently discussed. To address this gap, this book places front and center questions of theory, ontology, epistemology and method related to policy movement. It explores a wide diversity of approaches to help understand the policy movement phenomena, providing a useful guide on global studies in education, as well as insights into the future of this dynamic area of work.

Rooted in an international political economy theoretical framework, this book provides unique insights into the global forces and local responses that are shaping education systems in Central America and the Latin Caribbean (CALC). The book covers all Spanish-speaking countries of the CALC region and examines the effects of macro-economic pressures, geopolitical intervention, neo-colonial relationships, global pandemics, transnational gang networks, and the influence of international organizations. Chapters analyse the challenges and opportunities these global forces present to education systems in the region as well as highlighting the local efforts to address, mitigate, and counteract them. In doing so, the book illuminates how education can contribute to either maintaining or challenging inequalities and exclusion in the face of pressures from the global to local levels.

Rooted in an international political economy theoretical framework, this book provides unique insights into the global forces and local responses that are shaping education systems in Central America and the Latin Caribbean (CALC). The book covers all Spanish-speaking countries of the CALC region and examines the effects of macro-economic pressures, geopolitical intervention, neo-colonial relationships, global pandemics, transnational gang networks, and the influence of international organizations. Chapters analyse the challenges and opportunities these global forces present to education systems in the region as well as highlighting the local efforts to address, mitigate, and counteract them. In doing so, the book illuminates how education can contribute to either maintaining or challenging inequalities and exclusion in the face of pressures from the global to local levels.

Moreover, it not only unpacks the methodological, technical, political, and organizational challenges in the production of impact evaluations, but also details an approach to critically understanding and examining the role that impact evaluations, once produced, play within the political economy of global education reform more generally.