Pdf Reframing Education As A Public And Common Good

Sustainable Development Goals United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Education as a public and common good: Reframing the governance of education in a changing context22 Introduction The principle of education as a public... A context of growing privatization and marketization Reframing the concept of education as a public good Education as a common good Education as a public and common good: a continuum Rita Locatelli1 University of... It has traditionally implied a primary responsibility of public institutions in the provision and funding of educational opportunities. This role, however, is increasingly being challenged by the greater diversification of actors and sources of funding at all levels of education. This paper revisits the principle of education as a public good in light of current trends of privatization and marketization of education. Considering both the economic and the political implications of privatization, it reframes the theoretical debate on education in the public domain.

Building on the need to re-establish a democratic space of participation, it argues that the concept of education as a common good may represent a useful complementary framework for the governance of education in... 1 Author’s email address: rita.locatelli@unibg.it February 2018 EDUCATION RESEARCH AND FORESIGHT WORKING PAPERSEDUCATION RESEARCH AND FORESIGHT • WORKING PAPERS2 INTRODUCTION Over the course of the past few decades, development and human rights discourse has... Recent examples of this include the 2015 Incheon Declaration and the Education 2030 Framework for Action2. Indeed, Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, is grounded in long-established foundational principles of education... The notion of education as a public good underlines the primary responsibility of the State in ensuring the right to education for all, in safeguarding social justice and the public interest in education. In light of this, States are expected to directly provide or finance educational opportunities, particularly for the duration of compulsory education.

Indeed, the first target of Sustainable Development Goal 4 further stipulates the provision of twelve years of free public primary and secondary education of which at least nine years should be compulsory. However, the conceptualization of education as a public good in the development discourse is problematic for a number of reasons. First and foremost, there are theoretical limitations inherent to the transposition of the economic concept of public good to the field of education (Daviet, 2016; UNESCO, 2015b). Moreover, the lead role of the State which it implies is increasingly being questioned. This is largely the result of the changing dynamics in the global educational landscape characterized by the growing involvement of non-state actors in educational policy and provision, as well as by the growing scale... The latter, in particular, undermines the role of the State and may lead to forms of discrimination in education, as well as to a narrowing of the social purposes of education towards merely private...

While recognizing the importance of non-formal education, this analysis focuses primarily on formal education where the role of the State is more clearly established by international conventions and national legislation. THE PRINCIPLE OF EDUCATION AS A PUBLIC GOOD: DIVERSE INTERPRETATIONS Since the 1990s, a range of development partners, including international organizations, United Nations human rights treaty bodies, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have referred to... At the international level, the principle was first used by UNESCO3 to reaffirm a humanistic vision of education in contrast to more utilitarian and economic approaches prevalent in the development discourse of the 1990s. A number of reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education since 2000 have referred to education as public good in order to justify the need to safeguard the public interest. The principle of education as a public good has also been used as a reference when advocating for adequate public funding for quality education (GPE, 2016), and when reaffirming the role of the State... Indeed, several UN human rights treaty bodies4 and civil society organizations5 have referred to this notion in order to “reject calls for increased privatization or commercialization in education” (UNESCO and CCNGO, 2017, p.

5). These diverse interpretations of the principle of education as a public good in education development discourse are interrelated. Whether interpreted as a humanistic vision, a policy focus or as a principle of governance, the principle of education as a public good refers to definition and preservation of collective interests of society and... 2 The 2015 Incheon Declaration was adopted at the World Education Forum held in Incheon (Republic of Korea), 19-22 May 2015. The Education 2030 Framework for Action, adopted in November 2015, recalls the principles and vision of SDG4, fleshes out its targets, and recommends broad strategies for implementation. 3 The UNESCO report Learning: The Treasure Within, commonly referred to as the Delors Report, affirms that “education is a public good that should be available to all” (UNESCO, 1996, p.

31). The humanistic vision conveyed in this publication was in line with the aims which underlay the Education for All movement and was recently reaffirmed in the 2015 Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action (see... 4 These include the Human Rights Council, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination... The full list of resolutions and reports is available at this link: http://globalinitiative-escr.org/ advocacy/privatization-in-education-research-initiative (Accessed 19 December 2017). 5 These include, among others, the Global Campaign for Education, the Right to Education Initiative, the Global Initiative for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and Education International. The principle of education as a public good […] was first used by UNESCO to reaffirm a humanistic vision of education in contrast to more utilitarian and economic approaches.EDUCATION RESEARCH AND FORESIGHT • WORKING...

It is therefore useful to recall the economic theory of public goods and to examine the main issues related to its transposition to the field of education. In doing so, particular attention must be paid to the way in which the concept of education as a public good has been interpreted as a principle of governance and how it may be... The notion of public goods has always been linked to the functions and role of the State in modern Western societies. Following a major contribution by Richard Musgrave (1939), a modern and complete theory of public goods was developed for the first time by Paul Samuelson in 1954 with the publication of his foundational paper... According to economic theory (Musgrave, 1939, 1959; Samuelson, 1954, 1958), public goods have two distinguishing properties: one person’s consumption does not diminish other people’s consumption levels of the same good (non-rivalry), and to exclude... Goods which fulfill these two properties are generally available to be enjoyed by all, and are not subject to market competition.

Traditional examples include clean air, lighthouses, national security, street lights, and railroads. Given their characteristics, public goods have been considered as market failures, requiring some forms of intervention by the State, as the competitive market may fail to guarantee the optimal provision and price these goods... Having said this, the analytical understanding of public goods has expanded since the 1950s, giving rise to diverse interpretations among economists. This has led to the multiplication of categories of public goods “to describe anomalies that cannot be fully analyzed by the concept of private goods” (Ver Eecke, 2008, p. 7). These categories differentiate, for instance, among pure public goods (possessing the two characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability) and impure public goods (which possess the two characteristics in different measures), such as common-pool resources and...

The complex classification of public goods, and the lack of consensus among economists in determining their nature, has been associated with a discussion on the role of the State in the financing and in... WHAT MAKES EDUCATION A PUBLIC GOOD? Many experts have debated the meaning and applicability of the concept of public good to education, often with conflicting visions and approaches. One set of issues can be related to the justification for state intervention. Determining whether education is a public good or not is related to considerations about the existence of conditions for state intervention. According to a narrow interpretation of the economic theory of public goods, education may be seen as a private good.

Indeed, classroom space can be excludable and a higher number of students in a class may affect the quality of education being provided and consumed, making it rivalrous (Menashy, 2009). It follows that if education were a private good, control would be left to individuals, acting through market mechanisms. Despite these considerations, in most countries basic schooling has been turned into a free, universally available and compulsory service provided by the State, thereby exhibiting the characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability typical of public... Those who consider education as an impure public good, or a public good by design, also acknowledge that it can somehow be excludable and rivalrous, but nevertheless justify state intervention onEDUCATION RESEARCH AND FORESIGHT... Moreover, in addition to aspects of economic efficiency, there may be issues of equity and social justice that also justify public intervention of a redistributive nature. The redistributive and regulatory functions should be seen as essential functions of the State to ensure equality of educational opportunity, inclusion and social cohesion.

Indeed, private supply does not guarantee the attainment of the level of production that maximizes the collective well-being. It has been argued that the notion of public good “has a clearly defined ideal content […] [which] is present only in varying degrees and has no agreed upon implementation strategy” (Ver Eecke, 2008,... 145). Education, like all other goods, may exhibit the characteristics typical of the concepts of a private or public good simultaneously. As acknowledged by Amartya Sen (1999), education, often considered as a human right and with significant public benefits, has a public- good component as well. Since education has undoubtedly important aspects of a public good, it requires state intervention.

WHAT ROLE FOR THE STATE? Another set of issues relates to how the State should intervene in education. Even though an intervention from the State is to be expected, the issue of whether state functions should refer to the provision, financing or regulation of education opportunities, and how this varies at different... Economic considerations certainly represent an important part in the choice of solutions to the problem of public goods. However, once agreed that the State has some duties and responsibilities in education, determining the nature and scale for its intervention should also be subject to non-economic considerations which do not diminish the validity... Samuelson (1954) and Olson (1965) – who first addressed the two characteristics of public goods – also concluded that a general optimal economic solution to the problem of public goods does not exist.

Implementation therefore requires “ethical and political judgments” and an analysis of socio-political dimensions (Ver Eecke, 2008, p. 113). These considerations partly reflect the existing human rights framework which sets out obligations for States in education and would require a more detailed analysis which, however, falls outside the scope of this paper. For now, it is important to highlight that under international human rights law, education is an individual right which corresponds to positive obligations States have in order to respect, protect and fulfill this entitlement. Seeing education as a public good also implies considerations of public policy which relate to the governance of the education system. These have also to do with the way in which States relate to other actors and to how forms of privatization can or should be regulated.

THE APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC GOODS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EDUCATION Traditionally, the concept of education as a public good has different implications with regard to the role of the State at... At the compulsory level, the common assumption that education is a public good has been associated to the main role of the State in the direct delivery and funding (Draxler, 2014; Riddle, 2014). The State has played a significant role in the development of public education systems, and this function has been seen as “one of the main rationales for the existence of the State” (Desai, 2003,... 63). Moreover, maintaining education as a public service has been considered fundamental to ensuring equity and social justice (Lewin, 2015; Draxler, 2014; Green, 2014). This is in line with the principles underpinning the right to education, whereby States have the responsibility to ensure that at least primary education is available free to all.

However, the terms of the discussion change significantly when considering post-compulsory levels of education. While the right to education translates into national legislation in terms of a compulsory duration of education for all children and youth, at post-compulsory levels, it implies equality of educational opportunity and non-discrimination in... The question of what share of youth and adults should access different levels and types of educational/ training provision beyond compulsory levels is a strategic policy option. For instance, discussion of the concept of public goods as applied to the level of higher education has mainly centered on issues of funding and on the function of higher education institutions, rather than... Forms of state funding and regulation are necessary to ensure equitable and affordable higher education Education, like all other goods, may exhibit the characteristics typical of the concepts of a private or public good... A CONTEXT OF GROWING PRIVATIZATION AND MARKETIZATION The application of the concept of public good in education needs to be re-examined within a changing context which sees the traditional role of the State called...

PRIVATIZATIONS: A VARIETY OF TYPES AND FORMS Privatization has gained wide circulation since the late 1970s and early 1980s. In particular, the trend towards the privatization of education, understood “as the process of transferring activities, assets, management, functions and responsibilities relating to education from the state or public institutions to private individuals and... 73), has been increasing worldwide. In this process, a variety of non-state stakeholders are increasingly involved, including community-based groups, religious institutions, NGOs and corporations. The complex phenomenon of privatization not only refers to the growing share of enrolments in private institutions at all levels6, but also comprises a wide range of policies and activities such as voucher schemes,... Moreover, the contribution of families to education spending can also be considered as a form of privatization (UIS and IIEP, 2016; Bray and Kwo, 2013, 2014).

In this respect, some authors use the plural term privatizations to capture the “wide variety of types and forms of privatisation involving different financial arrangements and different relationships between funders, service providers and clients”... 13). RATIONALES FOR PRIVATIZATION The trend towards privatization has further intensified within the context of the move towards achieving Education for All (EFA). States have used privatization both to address the challenges resulting from the expansion of education at all levels and from the consequent greater pressure on public funding, and as a way to respond to... Indeed, despite substantial efforts made by many countries worldwide, the high number of out-of-school children, incomplete schooling and poor quality education, are factors that have led to determine the greater involvement of non-state actors. FOR-PROFIT EDUCATION AND THE ‘GLOBAL EDUCATION INDUSTRY’ While growing private sector involvement is generally considered to be a part of the process of privatization, it also reflects a greater degree of marketization or commodification,...

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