Search

Non-teaching staff in public elementary schools, a segment within the category of education workers, have long been absent from policies to encourage professional qualification. In 2007, the Initial Training in Service Program for Basic Education Professionals of Public Education Systems (Profuncionário) was instituted, as a government policy, to offer technical mid-level courses to school employees who work in municipal and state public schools. Brazil. This work presents, as research object, the evaluation of this program, based on the coordination of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará (IFCE), analyzing specifically the technical course of School Secretary, offered at Polo Caucaia, linked to the Quixadá campus, in the state of Ceará. The investigative pretension comprises a double dimension: to reflect on the process of implementation of the Profuncionário in the state of Ceará, seeking to circumscribe the reasons for possible tensions in this path, based on the legal and narrative norms of the actors involved; to analyze repercussions on the professional trajectories of the non-teaching staff attended as students of the program. The choice of the course and the pole is justified by the concentration of the largest number of students enrolled and graduated from said program, in the state. The time cut will go from the beginning of the year of the courses offered by the IFCE, that is, the second semester of 2012 until the first semester of 2017, the year of forecast of completion of the last classes, offered to students in 2015. This research evaluation was developed with inspiration in two matrices: the in-depth evaluation in the proposition of Léa Rodrigues (2008,2011); the formulation of Ozanira Silva e Silva (2008), in the organic articulation of the technical and political dimensions. In order to develop this evaluation process of the Profuncionário, within the scope of the object of study, a qualitative research was developed, based on the analysis of the narratives of the subjects involved in the program, without dispensing with the quantitative bases related to the socioeconomic profile and the students' school flow, with emphasis on the situations of conclusion and non-conclusion of the studies. Our empirical field was constituted by 258 students of the technical course in School Secretary of the Caucaia Pole, being able to develop a specific study, via questionnaire, with 50 students, and semi-structured interviews with 12 members. Evaluative research was also developed with managers at the national and local level through their discourses and perceptions about the implementation process of the program in the country, and in particular in Ceará considering the points of adjustment and tension of this process. Of the total number of students, whose academic data were collected in the survey, 42% of enrolled students were evaded. The main reasons for this evasion were, precisely, the displacement of the student to the classroom and the difficulty in reconciling the time between work and studies. The evaluation research, from the point of view of the students, reveals that despite the challenges and low effectiveness of the professional and financial rise, the program provided a significant training from the point of view of the qualification of the activities carried out in the school environment. Os funcionários não-docentes das escolas públicas do ensino básico, segmento no âmbito da categoria dos trabalhadores em educação estiveram, durante muito tempo, ausentes das políticas de incentivo à qualificação profissional. Em 2007, o Programa de Formação Inicial em Serviço dos Profissionais da Educação Básica dos Sistemas de Ensino Público (Profuncionário) foi instituído, como política de governo, para ofertar cursos técnicos de nível médio aos funcionários escolares que atuam nas escolas públicas municipais e estaduais do Brasil. Este trabalho apresenta, como objeto de investigação, a avaliação do referido programa, a partir da coordenação do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará (IFCE), analisando especificamente o curso Técnico em Secretaria Escolar, ofertado no Polo Caucaia, vinculado ao campus Quixadá, no estado do Ceará. A pretensão investigativa compreende uma dupla dimensão: refletir sobre o processo de implementação do Profuncionário no estado do Ceará, procurando circunscrever as razões de possíveis tensões nesse percurso, com base nas normativas legais e narrativas dos atores envolvidos; analisar repercussões nas trajetórias profissionais dos funcionários não-docentes atendidos na condição de alunos(as) do programa. A escolha do curso e do polo justifica-se pela concentração do maior número de alunos(as) matriculados e formados do referido programa, no estado. O recorte temporal vai do início do ano de oferta dos cursos pelo IFCE, qual seja, segundo semestre de 2012 até o primeiro semestre de 2017, ano de previsão de conclusão das últimas turmas, ofertadas para alunos(as) ingressos em 2015. Esta pesquisa avaliativa foi desenvolvida com inspirações em duas matrizes: a avaliação em profundidade na proposição de Léa Rodrigues (2008,2011); a formulação de Ozanira Silva e Silva (2008), na articulação orgânica das dimensões técnica e política. Para desenvolver este processo avaliativo do Profuncionário, no âmbito do objeto de estudo, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, a partir da análise das narrativas dos sujeitos envolvidos no programa, sem prescindir das bases quantitativas relacionadas ao perfil socioeconômico e o fluxo escolar dos (as) alunos (as), com ênfase nas situações de conclusão e não-conclusão dos estudos. O nosso campo empírico foi constituído por 258 alunos(as) do curso Técnico em Secretaria Escolar do Polo Caucaia, conseguindo desenvolver um estudo específico, via questionário, com 50 alunos(as), e entrevistas semiestruturadas com 12 integrantes. A pesquisa avaliativa foi também desenvolvida com gestores em nível nacional e local por meio dos seus discursos e percepções, sobre o processo de implantação do programa no país, e em particular, no Ceará considerando os pontos de ajuste e tensão desse processo. Do contingente total de alunos(as), cujos dados acadêmicos foram levantados na pesquisa, 42% dos matriculados evadiram-se. Os principais motivos de tal evasão foram, justamente, o deslocamento do aluno(a) ao polo presencial e a dificuldade em conciliar o tempo entre o trabalho e os estudos. A pesquisa avaliativa, na ótica dos alunos(as), revela que apesar dos desafios ocorridos e a baixa efetivação da ascensão profissional e financeira, o programa propiciou uma formação significativa sob o ponto de vista da qualificação das atividades realizadas no ambiente escolar.

Systems approach for better education results (SABER) school finance collects, analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminates comprehensive information on school finance policies in primary and secondary education across a range of different education systems. The goal is to enable policymakers to learn about how other countries address the same policy challenges related to school finance and thus how to make well informed policy choices that will lead to improved learning outcomes. SABER school finance is a framework that guides the collection of standardized data to characterize and assess school finance systems around the world. The project primarily examines education finance policies, relying on key informants and official document review to map out the policy landscape. To describe the essential functions of an education finance system, SABER school finance collects information in five data collection areas: (i) school conditions and resources; (ii) allocation mechanisms; (iii) revenue sources; (iv) education spending; and (v) fiscal control and capacity. After identifying how a particular education finance system functions, SABER school finance determines the extent to which the system effectively provides resources so that all children can learn, using six policy goals widely shared across countries: (i) ensuring basic conditions for learning; (ii) monitoring learning conditions and outcomes; (iii) overseeing service delivery; (iv) budgeting with adequate and transparent information; (v) providing more resources to students who need them; and (vi) managing resources efficiently. This country report uses this framework to characterize and assess the education finance system in Guinea.

Primary enrollment rates in Indonesia are near 100 percent for all students, but students from poor and vulnerable households have a difficult time completing higher levels of education. Poor households most often have heads of households with primary school education or lower while rates of illiteracy among households below the poverty line are approximately double that of non poor households. For the most recent cohort (with completed elementary and secondary education) less than 50 percent of those from poor households who enrolled in first grade made it to junior secondary and less than 20 percent made it to senior secondary (compared to 90 and over 75 percent, respectively, of those from the richest 20 percent of households who enrolled in first grade). Poor households also state that if higher education has to be rationed in their household because it is too expensive, it is more often male children who will be sent and female children kept back. The Bantuan Siswa Miskin (BSM) program, which provides cash transfers for school attendance, could provide the right solution for poor households facing rising costs and increased risk of low education. The BSM program provides transfers from central education agencies directly to students or schools in which students sit. The BSM program is actually 10 independently-run initiatives that together cover all levels of education (including vocational education) at secular and religious public schools. Unlike other household-based transfers, the BSM initiatives have neither a central coordinating unit nor a unified budget. Within each institution, separate units independently manage and execute initiatives for students from each level of schooling and for vocational education. The Kemenag-run BSM initiatives for university scholars are further fragmented by religious affiliation (of partner universities). In total, there are 10 BSM initiatives, each with its own manual, fund flow structure, and implementing procedures. There is little coordination between initiatives, even those located in the same institution. This note assesses the operation and implementation of the BSM program to determine how well poor households are served. It provides quantitative analysis of the coverage, incidence, and average benefit levels of BSM to determine both the progressivity of the program's targeting and the adequacy of benefit levels. Qualitative information on program delivery and program operations will also shed light on areas for reform. A review of the program's design and operating guidelines will offer enhancements to the program's effectiveness and relevance.

In August 2010, the Government of Vanuatu carried out early grade reading baseline assessments in English and Francophone schools with financial support from local education partners and technical assistance from the World Bank. The results of the Vanuatu Early Grade Reading Assessment (VANEGRA) are cause for concern. French language findings show that while most students develop some fundamental skills in grade levels 1, 2 and 3, by the end of grade 3, less than 1 in 4 students are able to develop fluency in reading to understand most of the text they read. The VANEGRA survey also collected data on the attributes of students, teachers and schools. Factors that were shown to be predictors of better reading performance in the early grades include: speaking French at home, owning the school textbook, having literate parents, having books at home, reading at school and at home, attending kindergarten, doing homework, and receiving help from a family member to do homework. Neither teacher experience nor in-service training showed statistical effects on student reading outcomes and two types of certification showed negative and statistically significant effects on student outcomes both in reading fluency and comprehension. VANEGRA also asked about use of seven reading instructional activities. Students who were never asked to learn the meaning of new words or practice grapheme sound correspondences showed negative and statistically significant effects. Conversely, students who were assigned reading daily in their own school time showed positive and statistically significant results. Lastly, VANEGRA asked about teacher expectations for students' reading performance. Interestingly, the fact that some teachers allowed students to consolidate some reading skills later than the median expectation was associated with better and statistically significant results. Based on the analysis presented, recommendations for improved reading instruction and greater parental involvement are presented at the end of the report.

AusAID SPHERE Trust Fund The Philippines has one of the largest public-private partnership programs in education in the world, serving more than 567,500 students who represent almost 9 percent of the 6.5 million high school students in 2009. The Government of the Philippines explicitly recognizes the complementary roles played by public and private schools in the education system. The Education Service Contracting (ESC) program aims to increase access to quality basic education at the secondary level by extending financial assistance from the public budget to 'poor but deserving' elementary school graduates to attend private high schools that have contracted with the government. The ESC program improves school quality, relieves congestion in public high schools, maintains the financial viability of private secondary schools (more than one-third of private secondary school enrollments are supported by the program), keeps the overall costs of public secondary education in check, and encourages households to invest in education.