Audrey-marie Schuh Moore, Clive Cavanagh, Mark Ginsburg, and Nagwa Megahed

1. A Systems Approach to Education Sector Reform and Evaluation in Egypt and Jordan Audrey-marie Schuh Moore, Clive Cavanagh, Mark Ginsburg, and Nagwa Megahed Global Education Center, Academy for Educational Development (AED) Perspectives on Impact Evaluation Conference, 31 March – 2 April 2009, Cairo, Egypt

2. Political Dimensions of Reform Institutional Dimensions of Reform Pedagogy Classroom management School organization Curriculum Assessment Technical Dimensions of Reform Driving Forces Civil Society Institutional Framework Politics Learning Evaluation Information Communication Institutional Capacity Leadership Resources

3. Education Reform Program in Egypt Teacher Cadre P.A.T. Quality Assurance & Accreditation Community Participation Decentralized Governance & Management

4. Jordan ERfKE Support Project Institutions capable of providing: Technically and systematically sound information systems. Effective methodological/pedagogical approaches to look at how systems change. Qualified people to ensure quality implementation and evaluation of ongoing reform efforts.

5. Overall Evaluation Objectives for Egypt and Jordan • Identify evidence (perceived and/or documented) that these strategies and activities had an impact on system policies and organizational structure. • Define conditions and other factors perceived to have constrained or enabled the implementation and impact of efforts to educational reforms.

6. Methodology and Design The evaluation depends on: • Review of official and project documents • Focus group interviews with local/central Ministry officials and personnel as well as community stakeholders every 6 months 3. Use the “stages of systemic change” technique as part of interviews: • Maintenance of the Old System • Awareness • Exploration • Transition • Emergence of New Infrastructure • Predominance of New System

7. Methodology and Design (Cont.) • Tool and procedures based on works ofNorth Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) Anderson, Beverly (1993) “Stages of Systemic Change.”Educational Leadership. 51 (1): 14-17. • Rubric evaluated: Institutional framework, capacity, information and data, vision, policy alignment, and roles and responsibilities.

8. Methodology and Design (Cont.) Administering tool to different stakeholder groups allows one to: • Track perceptions of systemic change with respect to specified reform initiatives • Compare perceptions of one group across different dimensions of systemic change • Compare perceptions of one group over time • Compare perceptions of different groups on various dimensions at various points in time

9. Administrative and Financial Decentralization Community Participation Data-Informed Educational Decision Making Teacher Cadre MIS and Professional Development Two departments researched The Training Department The Digitization Section, Curriculum Department Areas of Evaluation in Egypt and Jordan EGYPT JORDAN Institutional framework, capacity; information & data; vision; policy alignment; roles & responsibilities Institutional Policy Framework; Institutional Capacities (at Central, Local, & Community levels)

10. Measuring Systems Change Teacher Training and Professional Development (Jordan)

11. Measuring Systems Change: Teacher Cadre (Egypt)

12. Jordan Results: Training Department • The use of communication of information and data has moved into a Transitioning phase – The Department is sharing information broadly. • Training Department staff are increasingly using data and information for decision-making • Roles and Responsibilities are more clear. • Training Department completed the Training Department Vision • Institutional Framework has moved backwards – but it enabled more strategizing and led to the development of the new Teacher’s Academy; • Good example of how reform is not a linear process

13. Jordan Results: Digitization Section • Very mixed results since Section is new and trying to establish itself. Queen Rania Center taking over IT work, further complicating issues. • Challenged by lack of capacity, workload, and high staff turnover. • Information and data sharing is improving, but only slightly – no real institutionalization of systems to support.

14. Egypt Results

15. Egypt Results

17. A Broad Spectrum Predominance of New System Maintenance of old system Exploring Transition Awareness

18. Policy Implications • Data and Information. Analysis and promotion of reform has to be grounded in empirical data and the donor community is critical to supporting these data efforts • Analysis. Analysis is an areas where the Donors can provide on-going support, but the analysis has to be driven by debates about issues that require reform which are encouraged by the MoE. • Dialogue and Communication. Communication and dialogue is integral to data and analysis activities. • Importance of Integrated Approaches

19. Discussion Institutional • Evaluation Implications • Linking technical activities to broader reform context • Inst. Context • Political Context Technical Political EQUIP2 – Dimensions Of Reform

20. Thank you! Look forward to our discussion…