Community Development

G Model

EDEV-1478; No. of Pages 13
International Journal of Educational Development xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

International Journal of Educational Development
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev

An analysis of community involvement in primary schools in Malawi
Edward Barnett
Department of Social Policy, London School ofEconomics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AR, United Kingdom

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Primary education Sub-Saharan Africa Community involvement Multilevel modelling

Through a secondary analysis of standardised test data, the paper reviews community involvement in Malawian primary schools and examines the extent to which it explains variationin pupil test scores. In so doing, the study deconstructs the concept of community involvement, demonstrating that it is not a unitary concept but rather made up of multiple effects which can be categorised into different modes: ‘‘learner support’’, ‘‘financing’’ and ‘‘networking’’. The framework developed may help with future research and the results caution policymakers in Malawi on the currentreality of community participation and how this relates to existing policy ambitions. ß 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction Since the international commitment to Education For All (EFA) (UNESCO, 2000), there have been significant increases in primary school enrolments with the number of children out of school globally falling from 113 million to 70 million (UNESCO, 2008). Malawi wasamong the first countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to abolish primary school fees in 1994, leading to a 51% increase in enrolment (World Bank – UNICEF, 2009). Despite significant progress on access there has been a deterioration in completion and drop-out with low attainment remaining a persistent challenge. A central theme of the 2004 World Development Report is the importance of accountability toimprove the provision of basic education services (World Bank, 2003). The 2009 EFA Global Monitoring Report reviews the current international trend in devolving authority away from central government and towards schools in an effort to hold providers to account and increase participation (UNESCO, 2008). In both these reports, there is an emphasis on the role the community plays to improve the qualityof education delivery. Yet the reality in most countries is that ‘client’ power is weak with little to no influence and parents are only considered a means to mobilise resources (World Bank, 2003). Furthermore there is a lack of guidance on the roles that local communities should play to support education. In line with this policy discourse, the Malawi National Education Sector Plan prioritisesmobilising communities to participate in ‘whole-school development’ as a key strategy to improve the governance, management and quality of primary education (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2008).

This builds on the 2004 national strategy on community participation in education which states that: The promotion of access to and quality of primary education requires a combined effortfrom all stakeholders. The role of local communities . . . can therefore not be overemphasised. (MoEST, 2004:2) This paper explores whether the international faith in community participation is supported by existing realities in Malawian primary schools. Through a secondary analysis of standardised test data, the study reviews the status of community involvement in Malawian primary schools andexamines the extent to which it is associated with quality education. Specifically, it asks to what extent community involvement can explain variation in education quality (as measured by pupil reading and maths scores)? In so doing, the study deconstructs the concept of community involvement, demonstrating that it is not a unitary concept but rather made up of multiple effects which can be usefully...