Linking research, policy, and strategic planning to education development in Lao People's Democratic Republic

Comparative Education Review

Volumn 45, Issue 2, 2001, Pages 220-241

  Adams, Don ^a   Kee, Geok Hwa ^a   Lin, Lin ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0035646113     PISSN: 00104086     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/447662     Document Type: Article

References (58)

1. Fernando Reimers and Noel McGinn, Informed Dialogue: Using Research to Shape Education Policy around the World (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997), pp. 21-28.
2. Marlaine Lockheed and Adrian Verspoor, Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1991); Bruce Fuller and Prema Clarke, "Raising School Effects While Ignoring Culture? Local Conditions and the Influence of Classroom Tools, Rules and Pedagogy," in Review of Educational Research 64, no. 1 (1994); Andy Hargreaves, Ann Liberman, Michael Fullan, and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 1, pp. 1-667, and Michael Fullan and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 2, pp. 671-1366, International Yearbook of Educational Change (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998).
3. Marlaine Lockheed and Adrian Verspoor, Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1991); Bruce Fuller and Prema Clarke, "Raising School Effects While Ignoring Culture? Local Conditions and the Influence of Classroom Tools, Rules and Pedagogy," in Review of Educational Research 64, no. 1 (1994); Andy Hargreaves, Ann Liberman, Michael Fullan, and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 1, pp. 1-667, and Michael Fullan and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 2, pp. 671-1366, International Yearbook of Educational Change (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998).
4. Marlaine Lockheed and Adrian Verspoor, Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1991); Bruce Fuller and Prema Clarke, "Raising School Effects While Ignoring Culture? Local Conditions and the Influence of Classroom Tools, Rules and Pedagogy," in Review of Educational Research 64, no. 1 (1994); Andy Hargreaves, Ann Liberman, Michael Fullan, and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 1, pp. 1-667, and Michael Fullan and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 2, pp. 671-1366, International Yearbook of Educational Change (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998).
5. Marlaine Lockheed and Adrian Verspoor, Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1991); Bruce Fuller and Prema Clarke, "Raising School Effects While Ignoring Culture? Local Conditions and the Influence of Classroom Tools, Rules and Pedagogy," in Review of Educational Research 64, no. 1 (1994); Andy Hargreaves, Ann Liberman, Michael Fullan, and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 1, pp. 1-667, and Michael Fullan and David Hopkins, eds., pt. 2, pp. 671-1366, International Yearbook of Educational Change (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998).
6. World Bank, World Development Report: The State in a Changing World (New York: Oxford, 1997); Yidan Wang, Public-Private Partnerships in the Social Sector: Issues and Country Experiences in Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, 2000).
7. World Bank, World Development Report: The State in a Changing World (New York: Oxford, 1997); Yidan Wang, Public-Private Partnerships in the Social Sector: Issues and Country Experiences in Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, 2000).
8. Merilee S. Grindle and John Thomas, Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991); T. Hussein, "Education, Research and Policy Making," in International Encyclopedia of Education, ed. Torsten Husén and T. Neville Postlethwaite, 2d ed. (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1994), pp. 1857-64; Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Toronto: Free Press, 1994); Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampell, Strategic Safari (New York: Free Press, 1998).
9. Merilee S. Grindle and John Thomas, Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991); T. Hussein, "Education, Research and Policy Making," in International Encyclopedia of Education, ed. Torsten Husén and T. Neville Postlethwaite, 2d ed. (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1994), pp. 1857-64; Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Toronto: Free Press, 1994); Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampell, Strategic Safari (New York: Free Press, 1998).
10. Merilee S. Grindle and John Thomas, Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991); T. Hussein, "Education, Research and Policy Making," in International Encyclopedia of Education, ed. Torsten Husén and T. Neville Postlethwaite, 2d ed. (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1994), pp. 1857-64; Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Toronto: Free Press, 1994); Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampell, Strategic Safari (New York: Free Press, 1998).
11. Merilee S. Grindle and John Thomas, Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991); T. Hussein, "Education, Research and Policy Making," in International Encyclopedia of Education, ed. Torsten Husén and T. Neville Postlethwaite, 2d ed. (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1994), pp. 1857-64; Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Toronto: Free Press, 1994); Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampell, Strategic Safari (New York: Free Press, 1998).
12. Reimers and McGinn, chaps. 4-6.
13. C. E. Lindblom, Inquiry and Change (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990); J. Friedmann, Planning in the Public Domain: From Knowledge to Action (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987); D. Adams, "Extending the Educational Planning Discourse: Conceptual and Paradigmatic Explorations," Comparative Education Review 32 (1988): 400-415.
14. C. E. Lindblom, Inquiry and Change (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990); J. Friedmann, Planning in the Public Domain: From Knowledge to Action (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987); D. Adams, "Extending the Educational Planning Discourse: Conceptual and Paradigmatic Explorations," Comparative Education Review 32 (1988): 400-415.
15. C. E. Lindblom, Inquiry and Change (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990); J. Friedmann, Planning in the Public Domain: From Knowledge to Action (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987); D. Adams, "Extending the Educational Planning Discourse: Conceptual and Paradigmatic Explorations," Comparative Education Review 32 (1988): 400-415.
16. Reimers and McGinn, chap. 6.
17. One set of outputs of the sector assessment includes a comprehensive education-sector analysis identifying trends, problems, and priority interventions for each subsector within education. The second general output, presented separately but substantively integrated with the first, is an investment plan suggesting overall education investment and priority projects for the period 2000-2005. Neither the contractor (Hickling Corporation, Ottawa, Canada), ADB, the Lao government, nor other involved consultants necessarily agree with the views expressed here.
18. Asian Development Bank, Social Sector Profiles Study: LAO PDR (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1997).
19. International Monetary Fund, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic: Recent Economic Developments, IMF Staff Country Report no. 98/77 (Vientiane: International Monetary Fund, 1998); Lao People's Democratic Republic, National Statistics Centre, Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS) (Vientiane: National Statistics Centre, 1997), and Basic Statistics about the Socio-Economic Development in Lao PDR (Vientiane: National Statistics Centre, 1996).
20. International Monetary Fund, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic: Recent Economic Developments, IMF Staff Country Report no. 98/77 (Vientiane: International Monetary Fund, 1998); Lao People's Democratic Republic, National Statistics Centre, Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS) (Vientiane: National Statistics Centre, 1997), and Basic Statistics about the Socio-Economic Development in Lao PDR (Vientiane: National Statistics Centre, 1996).
21. International Monetary Fund, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic: Recent Economic Developments, IMF Staff Country Report no. 98/77 (Vientiane: International Monetary Fund, 1998); Lao People's Democratic Republic, National Statistics Centre, Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS) (Vientiane: National Statistics Centre, 1997), and Basic Statistics about the Socio-Economic Development in Lao PDR (Vientiane: National Statistics Centre, 1996).
22. Lao PDR remains an overwhelmingly agricultural country, with over 80 percent of the workforce engaged in subsistence agriculture. The largest groups of employment are in the informal or self-employed sector and unpaid family work sector. The smallest group is the formal sector of the economy: the civil service, employment in state enterprises, joint government/private ventures, and the private sector. This latter group, formal-sector employment outside the civil service, is expected to grow as further economic growth takes place. It is also the core group usually thought of as the target for education programs especially designed to provide the knowledge and skills for economic development.
23. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR, Country Profile (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1995).
24. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Women's Education Project, Final Report (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1997), and Social Sector Profiles Study; Unicef, Unicef and Lao Women's Union and Development for Women and Families, 1998-2002 (Vientiane: Unicef, 1998); J. Chagnon, Women in Development: Lao People's Democratic Republic (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996).
25. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Women's Education Project, Final Report (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1997), and Social Sector Profiles Study; Unicef, Unicef and Lao Women's Union and Development for Women and Families, 1998-2002 (Vientiane: Unicef, 1998); J. Chagnon, Women in Development: Lao People's Democratic Republic (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996).
26. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Women's Education Project, Final Report (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1997), and Social Sector Profiles Study; Unicef, Unicef and Lao Women's Union and Development for Women and Families, 1998-2002 (Vientiane: Unicef, 1998); J. Chagnon, Women in Development: Lao People's Democratic Republic (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996).
27. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Women's Education Project, Final Report (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1997), and Social Sector Profiles Study; Unicef, Unicef and Lao Women's Union and Development for Women and Families, 1998-2002 (Vientiane: Unicef, 1998); J. Chagnon, Women in Development: Lao People's Democratic Republic (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996).
28. D. Adams, ed., Education and National Development in Asia: Trends, Issues, Policies, and Strategies (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1998). This study examined regional trends among the 40 member countries of the ADB. Five booklets related to the study are being published jointly by the ADB and the Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong.
29. The data source for these indicators is United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report (Paris: United Nations Development Programme, 1997), p. 123. The HDI is a simple average of the life expectancy index, educational attainment index, and adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (PPP$) index. The HPI measures deprivation using the same dimensions as the HDI. "The variables used are the percentage of people expected to die before age 40, the percentage of adults who are illiterate, and overall economic provisioning in terms of the percentage of people without access to health services and safe water and the percentage of underweight children under five" (p. 14). The GDI also uses the same variables as the HDI - life expectancy index, educational attainment index, and adjusted real GDP per capita (PPP$) index. "The difference is that the GDI adjusts the average achievement of each country in life expectancy, educational attainment, and income in accordance with the disparity in achievement between women and men" (p. 123).
30. Ministry of Education, Education Development Programs, 2001-2005 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998).
31. Asian Development Bank, Future Strategic Directions: Lao PDR Human Development (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996).
32. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Country Profile; United Nations Development Programme, Organisation of the Government of the Lao PDR (Vientiane: Prime Minister's Office, 1996); B. Boase, Public Administration Reform in the Lao PDR: An Assessment and Future UNDP Public Administration Project (Vientiane: United Nations Development Programme, 1996).
33. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Country Profile; United Nations Development Programme, Organisation of the Government of the Lao PDR (Vientiane: Prime Minister's Office, 1996); B. Boase, Public Administration Reform in the Lao PDR: An Assessment and Future UNDP Public Administration Project (Vientiane: United Nations Development Programme, 1996).
34. Asian Development Bank, Lao PDR Country Profile; United Nations Development Programme, Organisation of the Government of the Lao PDR (Vientiane: Prime Minister's Office, 1996); B. Boase, Public Administration Reform in the Lao PDR: An Assessment and Future UNDP Public Administration Project (Vientiane: United Nations Development Programme, 1996).
35. State Planning Committee, Planning and Reporting Reference Manual for Provincial Authorities, vol. 1, Guidelines for Planning, Project Documentation and Reporting: Lao People's Democratic Republic (Vientiane: State Planning Committee, February 1998).
36. Ministry of Education, Education Sector Development Plan, 1996-2000 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1995), Mid-Term Education Plan, 1997-2000 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998), and The National Education Strategy, 2001-2020 (Draft) (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998).
37. Ministry of Education, Education Sector Development Plan, 1996-2000 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1995), Mid-Term Education Plan, 1997-2000 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998), and The National Education Strategy, 2001-2020 (Draft) (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998).
38. Ministry of Education, Education Sector Development Plan, 1996-2000 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1995), Mid-Term Education Plan, 1997-2000 (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998), and The National Education Strategy, 2001-2020 (Draft) (Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1998).
39. Operational responsibility for implementing primary and secondary education rests with local arms of the MOE, i.e., the Provincial Education Service (PES) and the District Education Bureau (DEB). The PES reports to the governor or, in the case of municipality, to the mayor. The governor, technically equivalent to a minister in rank, has considerable power in establishing intersectoral priorities and appointments of PES personnel. Moreover, provincial governors have discretionary funds that they may allocate to the education sector. The DEB, the lowest branch of the national educational administration, assists schools and communities in primary and preprimary education planning and prepares district plans for each academic year and term.
40. Within the MOE, the relatively new Department of Planning and Cooperation (DPC) is designated as the unit that coordinates education relationships with international organizations. The DPC has assumed the responsibilities for all short- and long-term education-sector planning and in this role must coordinate the plans of all MOE departments and manage internationally funded projects. The departments in the MOE, all of which are involved in subsector planning, lack appropriate technical skills and experience in coordinating efforts to engage in strategic, sector-level planning (Ministry of Education, Decree no. 4361: ED: Regulations of Educational Staff [Vientiane: Ministry of Education, 1994]).
41. To facilitate collaboration and develop a policy and planning dialogue involving MOE personnel and the consulting team, frequent formal and informal meetings were held between the team members and their counterparts. The director of DPC supported the idea of continuing interaction between team and MOE members and during his time in office met at least once a week with the team leader. The structure of interaction between team members and counterparts typically consisted of (1) one-on-one meetings initiated by the international members of the consulting team with their counterparts and (2) group meetings that included a broad range of MOE senior staff. Participation in meetings or workshops, when concern focused on major issues or draft interim reports of the team, included other international donors and other Lao ministries. The workshop in which the final report was presented included MOE personnel, donor groups, and representation from other relevant ministries.
42. On the two indicators devoted to public expenditures spent for education, the percent of GDP and the percent of total public expenditures, Lao PDR ranks below the economically faster growing countries of Asia. However, the largest contrast with other Asian countries lies in the division between recurrent and development expenditures. The ADB team could find comparable data from no other Asian country in which recurrent expenditures were as low a percentage of GNP as in Lao PDR.
43. For details regarding the World Conference on Education for All, held in Bangkok, Thailand, March 5-9, 1990, see Unesco, World Conference on Education for All: Catalogue of Documents (Paris: Unesco, 1990), and Aftermath of the World Conference on Education for All (Bangkok: Unesco Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1992); Asian Development Bank, Women in Development: Issues, Challenges and Strategies in Asia and the Pacific (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1994); Lockheed and Verspoor (n. 2 above); M. E. Young, Investing in Young Children (Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, 1995).
44. For details regarding the World Conference on Education for All, held in Bangkok, Thailand, March 5-9, 1990, see Unesco, World Conference on Education for All: Catalogue of Documents (Paris: Unesco, 1990), and Aftermath of the World Conference on Education for All (Bangkok: Unesco Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1992); Asian Development Bank, Women in Development: Issues, Challenges and Strategies in Asia and the Pacific (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1994); Lockheed and Verspoor (n. 2 above); M. E. Young, Investing in Young Children (Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, 1995).
45. For details regarding the World Conference on Education for All, held in Bangkok, Thailand, March 5-9, 1990, see Unesco, World Conference on Education for All: Catalogue of Documents (Paris: Unesco, 1990), and Aftermath of the World Conference on Education for All (Bangkok: Unesco Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1992); Asian Development Bank, Women in Development: Issues, Challenges and Strategies in Asia and the Pacific (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1994); Lockheed and Verspoor (n. 2 above); M. E. Young, Investing in Young Children (Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, 1995).
46. For details regarding the World Conference on Education for All, held in Bangkok, Thailand, March 5-9, 1990, see Unesco, World Conference on Education for All: Catalogue of Documents (Paris: Unesco, 1990), and Aftermath of the World Conference on Education for All (Bangkok: Unesco Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1992); Asian Development Bank, Women in Development: Issues, Challenges and Strategies in Asia and the Pacific (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1994); Lockheed and Verspoor (n. 2 above); M. E. Young, Investing in Young Children (Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, 1995).
47. Alain Mingat et al., Elements on the Cost And Financing of Education in Lao PDR (Dijon: University of Dijon, 1996); Alain Mingat, Assessment of Some Basic Education Policy Issues in Lao PDR from a Cost and Financing Analysis (Dijon: University of Dijon, 1998).
48. Alain Mingat et al., Elements on the Cost And Financing of Education in Lao PDR (Dijon: University of Dijon, 1996); Alain Mingat, Assessment of Some Basic Education Policy Issues in Lao PDR from a Cost and Financing Analysis (Dijon: University of Dijon, 1998).
49. For example, see Asian Development Bank, Institutional Strengthening of the Social Sciences (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 1996).
50. Boase (n. 18 above); World Bank, Lao PDR: Financing and Management of Education, Strategic Considerations for Strengthening the Education Sector (Vientiane: World Bank, 1997).
51. Boase (n. 18 above); World Bank, Lao PDR: Financing and Management of Education, Strategic Considerations for Strengthening the Education Sector (Vientiane: World Bank, 1997).
52. See also Asian Development Bank, Medium-Term Strategic Framework, 1995-1998 (Manila: Asian Development Bank, March 1995); Vieira da Cunha and Maria Valeria Junho Pena, The Limits and Merits of Participation (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1997).
53. See also Asian Development Bank, Medium-Term Strategic Framework, 1995-1998 (Manila: Asian Development Bank, March 1995); Vieira da Cunha and Maria Valeria Junho Pena, The Limits and Merits of Participation (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1997).
54. The preferred model is based on certain assumptions, for example: (1) lasting improvements in educational quality require knowledge and insights of those professionals and stakeholders from different levels of the system, including those closest to the processes of teaching and learning (e.g., teachers, principals, supervisors); (2) planning is a generative process and opens new communication channels to help dialogue at all levels and initiate actions; (3) local-level personnel and institutions, by themselves, often lack fiscal and technical resources to affect continuing change; (4) parental and community involvement are necessary in both the planning and implementation of successful educational change; (5) research and evaluation to be utilized must focus on problems relevant to particular phases of policy and planning cycles and to particular sets of stakeholders; and (6) new, simple, user-friendly techniques for assessment of educational quality and efficiency are needed to support increased participation of teachers and school-level administrators in decision making.
55. Within the current context of nation building and under strong centrist control, there are, nevertheless, certain local initiatives in education decision making. Even under severe fiscal constraints, well-managed, productive schools can be found throughout Lao PDR. Communities realizing that limited fiscal or technical support will be forthcoming from the center have begun to assume certain management responsibilities for their own schools.
56. The difficulty and complexity of planning and management are not diminished through increased participation and localization of functions. Indeed, many persistent issues and problems of the center will be revisited at local levels, and many of the technical skills needed in the center will also be needed in the provinces and districts. Further, under deconcentration, new problems may emerge related to resource generation, resource allocation, and staff development. Both administrative and political reforms in Lao PDR need to consider the possible negative consequences of reinforcing or extending the education gaps between the comparatively advantaged and the disadvantaged areas. Efficiency gains through better management and in the delivery of locally relevant schooling may be traded for increased burdens for the poor communities and regions both in the provision of schooling and in the quality of instruction within schools. Should decentralization include additional costs to parents, only central authorities may be able to ensure that poor communities and poor parents are provided necessary financial support.
57. Adams (n. 14 above).
58. As new approaches to policy making and planning inch their way into Lao PDR, important questions persist: To what extent can the single political party accept open policy dialogue? Can the political leadership achieve its goals through a more decentralized and participatory decision-making process in education? Or, what are the political costs of a new model of policy making, planning, and management built on transparency, research-generated information, and commitment to continued inquiry? Under what conditions does participation create better school or system performance? What categories of education policy should be subjected to dialogue? What range of options will local communities demand? How much variation in education programs across communities is tolerable in the center? Without political commitment, what are the limitations of administrative reforms in reducing corruption in the utilization of resources? Must Lao PDR first have ownership of the process of knowledge production before significant capacity building can take place and before research can influence policy? Under what conditions does reform follow capacity building? In sum, how long will it take to transform policy making and routine planning into powerful processes of inquiry and reform in Lao PDR? Explicit answers to these questions need not necessarily precede reform but need to be integral to policy dialogue.