Session Information
23 SES 14 B, Effectiveness of Education Policy in Preventing Corruption in Education
Roundtable
Contribution
This is a proposal to present the results and open questions around the application of a novel methodology for prevention of corruption in education through policy and system integrity analysis. The roundtable will cover three points:
- Achievements and issues around the methodology
Some years ago U4, an influential international anti-corruption think-tank, started to advocate for sector-specific approaches to prevention. Today, sector solutions are still rare, hindered by the weak capacity of vulnerable public sectors to develop an understanding of their corruption problems, and design adequate responses.
Judging by corruption perception surveys, which continue to list education among the most corrupt areas of public policy, the sector seems to be plagued by the same shortcoming. Too often, efforts to fight corruption focus on isolated incidents and practices, rather than looking at the incentives or imperatives embedded in each sector’s policy framework.
In an effort to change this, the authors of this submission were supported by the Open Society Foundations in developing a novel approach to corruption prevention in education. It consists of a methodology that assesses the integrity of education systems through international comparative policy analysis, and helps to reveal the underlying reasons for malpractice. The methodology was applied in several countries in cooperation with the OECD, UNESCO and UNDP. Its implementation follows a routine of data and information scrutiny, complemented by stakeholder interviews in situ.
The approach is rooted in the conceptual traditions of rational choice and crime opportunity theories, and root cause analysis. It leads to evidence-based recommendations on how to influence the incentives and opportunities of those who commit the violations.
- Cross-country findings and policy recommendations
The successful application of the methodology in several countries has delivered insights and raised methodology and policy questions that call for a discussion as the approach continues to evolve and cover new countries and their education systems.
One of these questions is the issue of generalisation. In the countries covered so far (Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine), the observation and analysis of violations suggest that there are similarities (for instance, intentional bias in assessment results or politicisation of education management are prevalent in most countries). The same can be said of the conditions and context that trigger and enable forms of corruption, such as inadequate legislation and/or sense of impunity among perpetrators.
The roundtable will thus make a first step towards a long-term goal - to explore the feasibility of standardisation of findings, explanations and recommendations in order to empower education professionals and decision-makers to take full responsibility for safeguarding the integrity of their sector.
- Actual and anticipated impact of prevention recommendations on participants in education
The methodology covers all major areas of education policy and its suggestions and conclusions typically concern all professional and stakeholder groups participating in the education system. This is what renders the integrity assessments a powerful analytical and prevention tool.
The pragmatic value of policy recommendations is determined by the amount of positive change that they bring about. Good solutions are those that manage to reach down to the level of individual wrongdoing and change established patterns of thinking and behaviour.
Hence, the final point will be covered in a discussion with peers attending the roundtable to validate the findings. The authors and presenters of the submission have been involved in different roles in the application of the methodology in their respective country, and in designing follow-up measures to implement its recommendations. They comprise a decision-maker from Ukraine, a researcher from Serbia, a civil society representative from Armenia, and a donor representative from Budapest.
References
Chr. Michelsen Institute. (2013). Addressing corruption through sector approaches: Exploring lessons from the Moroccan anti-corruption strategy for the health sector. Bergen: U4 Chr. Michelsen Institute. Clarke, R. V. (1997). Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies. New York: Harrow and Heston. Hallak, J., & Poisson, M. (2007). Corrupt schools, corrupt universities: What can be done? Paris: IIEP. Heynemann, S. P. (2004). Education and Corruption. International Journal of Education Development, Vol 24, No. 6, 637-648. Jeffery, C. R. (1977). Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Milovanovitch, M. (2014a). Trust and Institutional Corruption: The Case of Education in Tunisia. Edmond J. Safra Working Papers No. 44. Milovanovitch, M. (2014b). Fighting Corruption in Education: A Call for Sector Integrity Standards. In H. Cisse, M. N. Menon, M.-C. Segger Cordonier, V. O. Nmehielle, & (eds.), The World Bank Legal Review, Volume 5; Fostering Development through Opportunity, Inclusion and Equity (pp. 367-380). Washington DC: The World Bank. OECD. (2013). Strengthening integrity and fighting corruption in education: the Republic of Serbia. Paris: OECD Publishing. OECD. (forthcoming). The ABC of Assessing Integrity of Education: Working Paper. Paris: OECD Publishing. OSF-Armenia. (2015). Strengthening Integrity and Fighting Corruption in Education: Armenia. Yerevan: Open Society Foundations - Armenia. Transparency International. (2013). Global Corruption Barometer. Berlin: Transparency International. Wilson, P. F., Dell, L. D., & Anderson, G. F. (1993). Root Cause Analysis: A Tool for Total Quality Management. Wisconsin, Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press.
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.