Education and Training

5.Evidence and Use Education

B-SPAN — Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Impact evaluations assess the degree to which a particular policy, program or policy has affected the wellbeing of individuals. They can play a tremendous role in making effective policy and necessitate a larger discussion in the context of efforts to improve development effectiveness. On January 15 to 16 2008 the conference Making Smart Policy Using Impact Evaluation for Policy Making was held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The conference was organized by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM), Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), and Development Economics (DEC) networks of the World Bank, with cosponsorship by DFID and the Government of the Netherlands.

The breakout session on Education was introduced by Halsey Rogers, Senior Economist in DECRG at the World Bank. Rogers outlined the questions around which the session was framed what attempts were made to influence policy, and how much influence did these impact evaluations have? He stated that the session would be an opportunity to test the various hypothesis proposed during the main sessions.

The first presenter, Antonie de Kemp, IOB for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke about an impact evaluation of primary education in Uganda. He gave a brief background of the evaluation. Kemp also outlined the objectives of the intervention, which were to analyze the effects of interventions, obtain more insight of their effectiveness individually, and see how the information the management information system could be used for evaluations. On the methodology, Kemp explained the evaluations contextual approach, with a large group of local specialists and consultants. Kemp explained that at the start, learning achievements in the projects 45 schools were below national average. Next, Joseph Eilor, Principle Education Planner in the Ministry of Education and Sports of Uganda, spoke about the projects findings. He stated that there has been enormous progress in improving access to education, and investments in teachers, classrooms, and books. The study has enabled the Ministry of Education and Sports to demonstrate progress and accountability to Parliament in a concrete way, Eilor said. He stated that one of the biggest problems of primary education in Uganda is the absenteeism of both students and teachers, and that the results of the evaluation has given them the tools to make an argument for this problem. He outlined a few of the proposals and methodology that came out of the evaluation. Among the challenges, Eilor pointed out the high costs.

Deon Filmer, Senior Economist in DECRJ at the World Bank, delivered the next presentation. Filmer talked about an impact evaluation concerning scholarship program for secondary education in Cambodia, where enrollment in secondary school is very low. Filmer stated that the evaluation sought to look at the impact of the program on attendance and attention, the difference of impact between the levels scholarship grants, as well as the impact on other dimensions such as learning, interhousehold issues, child labor, ect.

The final presenter, Miguel Urquiola, Assistant Professor at Columbia University, spoke about the effects of the School Choice program in Chile. He stated is the projects objective was to improve the quality education, not the quantity. He outlined the history of the Chilean school systems, explaining recent reforms and how these are related to the projects findings.

The session concluded with a question and answer session, where participants posed questions and comments to the speakers.

Lunchtime discussion on Aid effectiveness in action 25 donors and one national education plan

B-SPAN — Monday, March 03, 2008

At the 2002 G8 Summit, the World Bank and leading education donors launched the Education for All � Fast Track Initiative (FTI). This global education partnership, recognized by donors, participating developing countries, the Commission for Africa Report, NGOs and the UN Millennium Report, is considered one of the most important initiatives toward the Millennium Development goal of universal primary education. On March 3, 2008, in a session entitled Lunchtime discussion on Aid effectiveness in action 25 donors and one national education plan, key constituents for this initiative met to discuss the progress of the program and ways to enhance its effectiveness

eLearning

B-SPAN — Thursday, November 08, 2007

The event eLearning ReThinking Education, which took place at the World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C. on November 8th featured Robert Schank, Founder of the Institute of eLearning and Professor at Northwestern University. Harry Patrinos, Lead Education Economist at the World Bank introduced the speaker and chaired the event.

Enhancing Chinas Competitiveness Through Lifelong Learning

B-SPAN — Monday, September 17, 2007

Chinas economy is growing at a tremendous and unprecedented speed, and constant adaptation and innovative problem solving are necessary to successfully face the challenges that result from such change. One of the greatest challenges, and one for which such adaptation is so crucial for continued economic success, is education. The book Enhancing Chinas Competitiveness Through Lifelong Learning, which was launched at World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, on September 17, explained how the educational system must be reformed for China to remain competitive in todays knowledge economy.

The Challenge of Achieving World Class Performance Education in the 21st Century

B-SPAN — Monday, September 10, 2007

Building better educational systems is a challenge whose success will determine the outcome of all major world crises, from global warming to poverty. This is what Michael Barber, a consultant for McKinsey and Co., argued at the conference The Challenge of Achieving World Class Performance Education in the 21st Century. The event was held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, on September 10, 2007. Maureen Lewis, Advisor for the Human Development Network of the World Bank, introduced the speaker. She pointed out the breadth of Michal Barbers experience as a teacher, a labor union member, and a member of Tony Blairs government, and also his success in engendering change in these different environments.

Curtis Franklin on podcasting

B-SPAN — Sunday, July 01, 2007

How does podcasting work and what role can it play in delivering information?

8. Parallel Session Participant Presentations