Pergamon Int. J. Educational Development, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 207 211. 1996

Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain 0738-0593196 $15.00 + O,t~l

BOOK REVIEW

Coping with Crisis: Austerity, Adjustment and Human Re- sources: Joel Samoff (ed.). Cassell and UNESCO, London, 1994, ISBN 0 304 33094 9 and 0 304 33095 7 paper, £45 and

15.99 paper.

This thought-provoking book reports on a comparative study of the effects of declining resources on the educa- tional systems of Brazil, Costa Rica, Hungary, Senegal and Tanzania, sponsored by the ILO and UNESCO. The authors are interested in who made the policy decisions, what happened, and what the effects were. While it is difficult to distinguish between economic austerity and the structural adjustment which has often followed, it is possible to examine the political choices and power exercised by various groups over time: politicians, elites, parents, teachers, employers, citizens. It demonstrates, not surprisingly, that those who can organise and make their interests known have the best chance of getting more of scarce resources. The problem that is posed is how more power can be put into the hands of ordinary people, especially in rural areas, so that primary or basic education gets its share in the face of strong demands from higher education. The increasing privatisation of schooling is also examined.

Part 1 introduces the study and discusses the framework of national responses to fiscal crisis. How do various social, political and economic contexts affect the formulation ,rod implementation of education policies? What are the 9ossibilities for the adjustment of educational programmes when faced with a World Bank structural adjustment .0ackage? How are tensions between central administra- tors/planners and local teachers who must carry out the programme worked out in practice? Does government legitimacy and stability help it to withstand demands from foreign experts'? How did these policies, as carried out, affect educational systems, training and employment? Teams of researchers, some of them local in each case, carried out the case studies reported here, focusing on measures which were actually implemented.

Part 2 has five chapters, giving very detailed results for each country. They are particularly directed at economists, and show how funds changed over time and what they were spent on. Chapter 8, on Tanzania, has the most political "meat'. It focuses on the shift from planning to marketing, as each section of the education "industry" sought to attract as much grant aid as possible, with The World Bank, governments of industrialised countries and NGOs each pushing their favoured projects. Under these conditions, a unified education policy is impossible.

The four chapters in Part 3 summarise what has gone before and make explicit comparisons between the coun- tries studied, attempting to explain why their responses differed. There is considerable repetition of material from Part 2, with less focus on economics and more on politics and educational policy. Woodall examines the effects of austerity and adjustment programmes on the way resources are allocated and actually used, pointing

out that Costa Rican teachers" salaries and university resources suffered much less than other sectors of state education; elite parents here as in other countries could escape a deteriorating primary system into private schools. De Moura Castro and Alftham focus on whether budget cuts are mainly a response to politics rather than policies. Relative success in fights over budgets tends to depend on good organisation and information, economic power (the Matthew effect), political visibility and technical compe- tence. On each count, the poor tend to lose out. Samoff concentrates on the choices made in setting policy agenda, and includes a useful section on how to conduct research on policy-making. His warning of the many problems in quantifying educational outcomes could usefully be studied by British and American educational quantifiers. Finally, Jallade, Lee and Samoff discuss international cooperation to improve education and training, especially within the ILO and UNESCO, increasing the emphasis on equity and decreasing the stress on finance. Education is very expensive, but too much emphasis on cost (to the extent of downgrading teaching competence, efficiency and learning generally) could severely hinder national development.

This is a very useful book for policy-makers, teach- ers, students and anyone concerned with the educational enterprise.

MARGARET PEIL Universi O' of Birmingham. U.K.

Research for Educational Policy and Planning in Botswana: Shirley Burchfield (ed.). Macmillan Botswana Publishing, Gaborone, 1994, paper.

Since independence, Botswana has been fortunate to have national leaders who have not only appreciated the value of educational research, but have actually used the find- ings. This has encouraged many talented and committed educational researchers, local and international, to focus on Botswana. Their ongoing debate about the impact of research on educational practice has been captured in the present book, which examines how educational research is done, who does it, who supports it, and how it could be done better. While it is of most direct interest in Botswana, the book provides insight into the broader issues of how educational research can develop in tandem with the political, economic and social framework of a country.

The volume is organised in three sections. The first focuses on educational research in developing countries and reviews the work done in Botswana. Papers by Burchfield and Weeks review research approaches and strategies and show how difficult it is for isolated and disadvantaged people to profit from such research, partly because they are often left out of data collection, in a

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pivotal chapter, Prophet reviews the last 20 years of educational research in Botswana and shows how it was possible. He recommends greater balance, rigour and use of theoretical frameworks in future research, as well as expansion into neglected topics.

Section two addresses the linkage between research, planning and policy as it has been worked out in Botswana. Burchfield, Matila and Nyati-Ramahobo discuss the role of educational research in the national development planning process. While research has had considerable impact on curriculum policy in Botswana, it could be better used to inform curriculum development. Burchfield, Easton and Holmes propose a model for an educational management information system to analyse educational efficiency.

Section three focuses on institutional capacities and looks at educational research within the Ministry of Edu- cation, the University and affiliated institutions. Odotei examines ways to improve the Ministry of Education's capacity to conduct and use applied research and describes recent initiatives for this. Youngman discusses the role of the University in furthering policy- and practice-oriented educational research. It is the only institution in Bot- swana with the explicit mission of knowledge-oriented research, and many studies by University staff reflect individual interests rather than having immediate practical implications. To what extent should research be initiated by practitioners, rather than academics? Hopkin points out that little formal research has been done in teacher training colleges, though their activities contribute to the general body of knowledge about education practice and standards.

Finally, Mannathoko discusses the contribution of social networks in building local research capacity. The Botswa- na Educational Research Association and the Educational Research Network of Eastern and Southern Africa both provide opportunities for researchers, practitioners and policy makers to come together to discuss the impact of research on practice and shape future research programmes.

The overall emphasis of the book is on ways to increase the impact of educational research on school practice, strengthen institutional research capacity and improve topic selection, methodological approaches and dissemination of findings. It offers a sensible view of the relationship between research and policy - - as infusing the context with research findings rather than leading directly to action. More dialogue between researchers and policy makers is needed to improve the rigour and focus of research. The issue of where to report/publish is important. Prophet points out that research disseminated only through local reports and government documents is quickly lost, whereas research reported in international journals has a much longer life. Policy makers and planners who support research to help them do a better job are often disappointed when results only point out how complicated things are. Tension between policy makers and researchers may interfere with communication rather than improving it.

This book shows that researchers in Botswana have made considerable progress; there is much here for educationalists in other countries to learn.

DAVID W. CHAPMAN Academy for Educational Development,

Washington, DC, U.S.A.

Quality in Education: Insights from Different Perspectives: Siu Ping-kee and Tam Tim-kui Peter (eds.) The Hong Kong Educational Research Association, Hong Kong, 1995, 312pp.

This book was published to mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Hong Kong Educational Research Association. In the preface, the editors note the increasing concern with educational quality at various levels of the Hong Kong education system, but the lack of consensus over the meaning of the term 'educational quality'. The book aims to 'provide a forum for scholars to examine and to discuss the issues of educational quality from different perspectives.' Eleven of the 17 chapters are in English, the rest in Chinese. Most of the 21 authors are academics from various universities in Hong Kong.

The lack of overall coherence is a major shortcoming. There is no chapter to pulJ together common themes or clarify different viewpoints. There is also no grouping of chapters by themes; the arrangement appears to be haphazard. Quality control was also somewhat lax, with some chapters being marginal to the main focus of the book. In many, not only is no attempt made to grapple with the meaning of educational quality, there is no mention of the term at all. For example, chapters on the influence of cultural factors on Chinese students achievement, the whole school approach to guidance, the influence of cultural factors on Chinese students, teaching materials, the relevance of Zen Buddhism, and the institutional constraints on policy formulation and implementation of civic education do not relate these interests to educational quality.

On a more positive note, several chapters are ex- tremely thoughtful and insightful. Biggs summarises the characteristics of a high quality learning environment, as reported in Western educational settings, and points to an apparent paradox in 'Confucian heritage cultures' (CHCs). CHC classroom settings appear to be the antithesis of what Western observers expect, yet CHC students report a preference for high level learning strategies and outperform their Western counterparts in academic achievement. Biggs criticises existing theories of classroom learning for being too hierarchical and linear. Instead, he urges consideration of the complex interplay of factors such as teaching and learning approaches, learning outcomes, classroom environment and cultural reinforcement for learning.

Cheng begins Chapter 8 by discussing the con- ceptualisation of educational quality and various issues in assessing and monitoring educational quality. He suggests how the School Management Initiative, launched by the Hong Kong government in 1991, may be used as a mechanism to monitor educational quality. Chan discusses quality in environmental education, linking various categories of curriculum theorising with corresponding approaches not only to environmental education, but also to conccptualisations of quality, and draws out the implications for environmental education in Hong Kong.

In summary, the book is disappointing because of the inadequate selectivity and editing, and the impact of the more insightful chapters is limited by the failure to summarise areas of agreement and difference.

J TAN ENG THYE JASON State University of New York at Buffalo, U.S.A.