IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/osfxxx/3kbfa.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What is the Point of Schooling? Education Access and Policy in Tanzania Since 1961

Author

Listed:
  • Opalo, Ken Ochieng'

    (Georgetown University)

Abstract

Learning is not always the goal of schooling. As policymakers around the world tackle the ongoing global “learning crisis,” it is important to understand that the logics behind the design of education systems. Using a political settlements approach, this article documents the evolution of education policy and associated outcomes in Tanzania in tandem with shifts in elite perceptions of the goals of schooling. Tanzania has experienced four phases of political settlements, each of which encapsulated a different policy posture regarding the goal of schooling. The article also shows that electoral incentives are decidedly biased in favor of increasing access to schooling, even at the expense of quality. These findings advance our understanding of the politics of education policy and the persistent failures to invest in improving learning outcomes in many countries around the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Opalo, Ken Ochieng', 2022. "What is the Point of Schooling? Education Access and Policy in Tanzania Since 1961," OSF Preprints 3kbfa, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:3kbfa
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/3kbfa
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/622405013f42ec01a0c39df5/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/3kbfa?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stasavage,David, 2003. "Public Debt and the Birth of the Democratic State," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521809672, November.
    2. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1991. "Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 24-52, Special I.
    3. Hyden, Goran & Leys, Colin, 1972. "Elections and Politics in Single-party Systems: the Case of Kenya and Tanzania," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 389-420, October.
    4. Lant Pritchett & Martina Viarengo, 2015. "The State, Socialisation, and Private Schooling: When Will Governments Support Alternative Producers?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(7), pages 784-807, July.
    5. Mani, Anandi & Mukand, Sharun, 2007. "Democracy, visibility and public good provision," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 506-529, July.
    6. Opalo, Ken Ochieng' & Habyarimana, James & Schipper, Youdi, 2021. "The Contingent Electoral Impacts of Programmatic Policies: Evidence From Education Reforms in Tanzania," OSF Preprints utpqn, Center for Open Science.
    7. World Bank, 2018. "World Development Report 2018 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2018]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28340.
    8. Ken Ochieng' Opalo, 2022. "Colonialism and Institutional Persistence: Mixed Legislative Legacies in Ghana and Kenya," Journal of Historical Political Economy, now publishers, vol. 2(1), pages 29-64, February.
    9. Theda Skocpol, 1980. "Political Response to Capitalist Crisis: Neo-Marxist Theories of the State and the Case of the New Deal," Politics & Society, , vol. 10(2), pages 155-201, March.
    10. Semboja, Joseph & Therkildsen, Ole, 1994. "Decentralization, participation and spatial equity in rural tanzania: A comment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 807-810, May.
    11. David Stasavage, 2005. "Democracy and Education Spending in Africa," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(2), pages 343-358, April.
    12. Maro, Paul S., 1990. "The impact of decentralization on spatial equity and rural development in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 673-693, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Benjamin Marx, 2018. "Elections as Incentives: Project Completion and Visibility in African Politics," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03873801, HAL.
    2. Daniel O. Gilligan & Naureen Karachiwalla & Ibrahim Kasirye & Adrienne M. Lucas & Derek Neal, 2022. "Educator Incentives and Educational Triage in Rural Primary Schools," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(1), pages 79-111.
    3. Lant Pritchett, 2014. "The Risks to Education Systems from Design Mismatch and Global Isomorphism," CID Working Papers 277, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    4. Pritchett, Lant, 2014. "The risks to education systems from design mismatch and global isomorphism: Concepts, with examples from India," WIDER Working Paper Series 039, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2020. "The role of governance in quality education in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 20/077, African Governance and Development Institute..
    6. Lant Pritchett, 2014. "The Risks to Education Systems from Design Mismatch and Global Isomorphism: Concepts, with Examples from India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-039, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Faguet, Jean-Paul & Sánchez, Fabio, 2008. "Decentralization's Effects on Educational Outcomes in Bolivia and Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1294-1316, July.
    8. Opalo, Ken Ochieng' & Habyarimana, James & Schipper, Youdi, 2021. "The Contingent Electoral Impacts of Programmatic Policies: Evidence From Education Reforms in Tanzania," OSF Preprints utpqn, Center for Open Science.
    9. Morten K. Thomsen & Julie K. Seerup & Jens Dietrichson & Anja Bondebjerg & Bjørn C. A. Viinholt, 2022. "PROTOCOL: Testing frequency and student achievement: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), March.
    10. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2017. "Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198747482.
    11. Geloso, Vincent J. & Salter, Alexander W., 2020. "State capacity and economic development: Causal mechanism or correlative filter?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 372-385.
    12. Kailthya, Subham & Kambhampati, Uma, 2022. "Political competition and public healthcare: Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Gutiérrez-Romero, Roxana & Ahamed, Mostak, 2021. "COVID-19 response needs to broaden financial inclusion to curb the rise in poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    14. Lin Wang & Feng Pan, 2023. "Incentive Mechanism Analysis of Environmental Governance Using Multitask Principal–Agent Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Susan Feng Lu, 2012. "Multitasking, Information Disclosure, and Product Quality: Evidence from Nursing Homes," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 673-705, September.
    16. Anja Schöttner & Veikko Thiele, 2010. "Promotion Tournaments and Individual Performance Pay," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 699-731, September.
    17. McCausland, David & Pouliakas, Konstantinos & Theodossiou, Ioannis, 2005. "Some are Punished and Some are Rewarded: A Study of the Impact of Performance Pay on Job Satisfaction," MPRA Paper 14243, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Patrick Legros & Andrew F. Newman & Eugenio Proto, 2014. "Smithian Growth through Creative Organization," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(5), pages 796-811, December.
    19. David Martimort & Flavio Menezes & Myrna Wooders & ELISABETTA IOSSA & DAVID MARTIMORT, 2015. "The Simple Microeconomics of Public-Private Partnerships," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(1), pages 4-48, February.
    20. Bruno S. Frey & Susanne Neckermann, 2005. "Auszeichnungen: Ein Vernachl�ssigter Anreiz," IEW - Working Papers 254, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:3kbfa. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://osf.io/preprints/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.