Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T12:53:28.992Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Review of public private partnerships around girls' education in developing countries: flicking gender equality on and off

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2020

Elaine Unterhalter
Elaine Unterhalter*
Affiliation:
Department of Education, Practice and Society, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK
*
CONTACT Elaine Unterhalter e.unterhalter@ucl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The article reviews the literature on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and policy on girls’ schooling in developing countries. It considers the ways in which aims around gender equality and women's rights are positioned in policy texts concerned with girls’ education PPPs. The argument made is that these documents exemplify an oscillation, using a multipolar register, between pragmatic initiatives that recognise existing sites of power, and attempts to develop a political project that dissolves differences between public and private constituencies, who share an interest in getting girls into school. The potential and limits of this approach to support integrated policy around rights and equalities is considered using the case of DFID's Girls’ Education Challenge. An analytical framework is sketched that maps a political and epistemological process termed dispersal, which is used to consider some ways to investigate the effects of PPPs as a mechanism to address intersecting inequalities.

Keywords

Girls' educationgender equalitydevelopment assistancepublic private partnershipseducation policyintersecting inequalities
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 181 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amjad, R., & MacLeod, G. (2014). Academic effectiveness of private, public and private–public partnership schools in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 37, 22–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrabi, T., Das, J., & Khwaja, A. I. (2002). The rise of private schooling in Pakistan: Catering to the urban elite or educating the rural poor. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Ansell, N. (2002). Secondary education reform in Lesotho and Zimbabwe and the needs of rural girls: Pronouncements, policy and practice. Comparative Education, 38(1), 91–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asadullah, M. N., & Chaudhury, N. (2009). Holy alliances: Public subsidies, Islamic high schools, and female schooling in Bangladesh. Education Economics, 17(3), 377–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baksh, R., & Harcourt, W. (Eds.). (2015). The Oxford handbook of transnational feminist movements. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, S. J. (2012). Global education inc: New policy networks and the neo-liberal imaginary. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ball, S. J. (2016). Following policy: Networks, network ethnography and education policy mobilities. Journal of Education Policy, 31(5), 549–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baylis, J., Smith, S., & Owens, P. (Eds.). (2013). The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bellinger, A., & Fletcher, B. (2014). Non-traditional financing for education. London: DFID.Google Scholar
Brans, B. (2013). Public private partnerships in Uganda: More perils than promises for universal secondary education. In Verger, T., Altinyeken, H., & De Koning, M. (Eds.), Global managerial education reforms and teachers (pp. 74–90). Brussles: Education International Research Institute.Google Scholar
Chant, S. (2016). Women, girls and world poverty: Empowerment, equality or ‘essentialism? International Development Planning Review, 38(1), 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chant, S., & McIlwaine, C. (2015). Cities, slums and gender in the global south: Towards a feminised urban future. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coffey. (2015). Baseline report – step change window. Girls’ Education Challenge Fund. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/425360/Step-change-window-full2.pdfGoogle Scholar
Coffey. (2016). GEC process review report evaluation manager girls’ education challenge fund London: Coffey. Retrieved from http://www.coffey.com/en/ingenuity-coffey/girls-education-challenge-fund-process-review-what-has-worked-what-has-not-and-why-a-briefing-for-decision-makers/Google Scholar
Cornwall, A., & Eade, D. (2010). Deconstructing development discourse: Buzzwords and fuzzwords. Oxford: Practical Action.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, A., Mcloughlin, C., Aslam, M., Engel, J., Wales, J., Rawal, S., … Rose, P. (2014). The role and impact of private schools in developing countries: A rigorous review of the evidence. Final report. Education Rigorous Literature Review. Department for International Development. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439702/private-schools-full-report.pdf.Google Scholar
DFID. (2010). Learning for all: DFID's education strategy 2010–2015. London: Author.Google Scholar
DFID. (2012). Girls education challenge business case. Retrieved from http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-202372/documents/.Google Scholar
DFID. (2014). Girls’ education challenge investing in Business innovation and partnerships for girls’ education. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192643/about-strategic-partnerships.pdf.Google Scholar
DFID. (2015). Girls’ education challenge: Project profiles [online]. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415489/GEC-Project-Profile-booklet-March2015.pd.Google Scholar
DFID. (2016). Press release on GEC. London: Author. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/britain-to-help-175000-girls-in-worlds-poorest-countries-get-an-education.Google Scholar
DFID. (2017). Girls’ education challenge, annual review. Summary sheet. London: Author.Google Scholar
Draxler, A. (2015). Public private partnerships in education. In McGrath, S. & Gu, Q. (Eds.), Routledge handbook of international education and development. Routledge.Google Scholar
Draxler, A. (2016). Public-private partnerships and international education policies. In McGrath, S. & Gu, Q. (Eds.), Routledge handbook of international education and development (pp. 443–451). Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Duflo, E. (2012). Women empowerment and economic development. Journal of Economic Literature, 50(4), 1051–1079.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fennell, S. (2014). Public-private partnerships in education and the pursuit of gender equality: A view from South Asia. International Development Policy, 5(3).Google Scholar
Gee, K. A. (2015). Achieving gender equality in learning outcomes: Evidence from a non-formal education program in Bangladesh. International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 207–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, W. (Ed.). (2016). The Palgrave handbook of gender and development: Critical engagements in feminist theory and practice. Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Härmä, J. (2009). Can choice promote education for all? Evidence from growth in private primary schooling in India. Compare, 39(2), 151–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Härmä, J. (2015). Private schooling and development: An overview. In Dixon, P., Humble, S., & Counihan, C. (Eds.), Handbook of international development and education (pp. 171–199). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Härmä, J. (2016). School choice in rural Nigeria? The limits of low-fee private schooling in Kwara State. Comparative Education, 52(2), 246–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayman, R. (2011). Budget support and democracy: A twist in the conditionality tale. Third World Quarterly, 32(4), 673–688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishkanian, A. (2014). Neoliberalism and violence: The big society and the changing politics of domestic violence in England. Critical Social Policy, 34(3), 333–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haggard, S. (2014). Liberal pessimism: International relations theory and the emerging powers. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 1(1), 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HEART (Health and Education Advice and Resource Team). (2015). Evidence on girls' secondary education. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Retrieved from http://www.heart-resources.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/HEART-Helpdesk-girls-secondary-education.pdfGoogle Scholar
ICAI. (2016). Accessing, staying and succeeding in basic education - UK's aid support to marginalised girls. A Performance Review. London: Independent Commission for Aid Impact.Google Scholar
Jaeger, H. M. (2014). Neither cosmopolitanism nor multipolarity: The political beyond global governmentality. In Swynegedou, E. (Eds.), The post-political and its discontents (pp. 208–228). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2010). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. New York: Vintage.Google Scholar
Kelly, O., Krishna, A., & Bhabha, J. (2016). Private schooling and gender justice: An empirical snapshot from Rajasthan, India's largest state. International Journal of Educational Development, 46, 175–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khurshid, A. (2016). Domesticated gender (in) equality: Women's education & gender relations among rural communities in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 51, 43–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirby, P. (2015). Ending sexual violence in conflict: The preventing sexual violence initiative and its critics. International Affairs, 91(3), 457–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleine, D. (2013). Technologies of choice? ICTs, development, and the capabilities approach. Boston, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaRocque, N. (2008). Public-private partnerships in basic education: An international review. CfBT Education Trust.Google Scholar
Layne, C. (2011). The unipolar exit: Beyond the Pax Americana. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 24(2), 149–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manjrekar, N. (2013). Women school teachers in new times: Some preliminary reflections. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 20(2), 335–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marginson, S. (2016). The dream is over. Berkley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Menashy, F. (2014). Private sector engagement in education worldwide: Conceptual and critical challenges. In Alexander, W. & Wiseman, Emily Anderson (Eds.), Annual review of comparative and international education (pp. 137–165). Bingley: Emerald.Google Scholar
Menashy, F. (2016). Private authority or ambiguity? In Verger, A., Lubienski, C., & Steiner-Khamsi, G. (Eds.), The global education industry (p. 63). Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Mouffe, C. (2008). Which world order: Cosmopolitan or multipolar? Ethical Perspectives, 15(4), 453–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouffe, C. (2013). Agonistics. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Mundy, K., & Dryden-Peterson, S. (2011). Educating children in conflict zones: Research, policy, and practice for systemic change–a tribute to Jackie Kirk. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Nicolai, S., Hine, S., & Wales, J. (2015). Education in emergencies and protracted crises: Toward a strengthened response. London: Overseas Development Institute.Google Scholar
Parkes, J. (Ed.). (2015). Gender violence in poverty contexts: The educational challenge. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkes, J., Heslop, J., Januario, F., Oando, S., & Sabaa, S. (2016). Between tradition and modernity: Girls’ talk about sexual relationships and violence in Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique. Comparative Education, 52(2), 157–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patrinos, H. A., Osorio, F. B., & Guáqueta, J. (2009). The role and impact of public-private partnerships in education. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pestoff, V., Brandsen, T., & Verschuere, B. (Eds.). (2013). New public governance, the third sector, and co-production. Abingdon: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perezenieto, P. (2016). UNGEI good practice fund: synthesis report. ODI. Retrieved from https://www.goodpracticefund.org/documents/Synthesis-Report-v3.pdf.Google Scholar
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the 21st Century. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Robertson, S., Mundy, K., & Verger, A. (Eds.). (2012). Public private partnerships in education: New actors and modes of governance in a globalizing world. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rose, P. (2010). Achieving education for all through public–private partnerships? Development in Practice, 20(4–5), 473–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rose, P., & Subrahmanian, R. (2005). Evaluation of DFID development assistance: Gender equality and women's empowerment - Phase II thematic evaluation: Education. Retrieved from http://www.ungei.org/resources/files/dfid_wp11.pdfGoogle Scholar
Schendel, R., & McCowan, T. (2016). Expanding higher education systems in low-and middle-income countries: The challenges of equity and quality. Higher Education, 72(4), 407–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, W. C., & Joshi, D. K. (2016). Public vs. private schooling as a route to universal basic education: A comparison of China and India. International Journal of Educational Development, 46, 153–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Srivastava, P. (2010). Public–private partnerships or privatisation? Questioning the state's role in education in India. Development in Practice, 20(4–5), 540–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutherland-Addy, E. (2002). Impact assessment study of the girls’ education programme in Ghana. Accra: UNICEF.Google Scholar
Switzer, H. (2013). (Post) Feminist development fables: The girl effect and the production of sexual subjects. Feminist Theory, 14(3), 345–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UK. 2010. Government policy in developing countries. London. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-education-in-developing-countries/2010-to-2015-government-policy-education-in-developing-countriesGoogle Scholar
UNESCO. (2010). Education for all, global monitoring report “Reaching the marginalised.” Paris: Author. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001866/186606E.pdf.Google Scholar
UNESCO. (2015). Early unintended pregnancy. What role for education? Paris: Author. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/health-education/single-view/news/early_and_unintended_pregnancy_what_role_for_education/.Google Scholar
UNESCO. (2016). Education for people and planet: Creating sustainable futures for all. Global Education Monitoring Report 2016. Paris: Author.Google Scholar
Unterhalter, E. (2005). Fragmented frameworks? Researching women, gender, education and development. In Aikman, S. & Unterhalter, E. (Eds.), Beyond access: Transforming policy and practice for gender equality in education (pp. 15–35). Oxford: Oxfam.Google Scholar
Unterhalter, E. (2012). Mutable meanings: Gender equality in education and international rights frameworks. Equal Rights Review, 8, 67–84.Google Scholar
Unterhalter, E. (2007). Gender, schooling and global social justice. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Unterhalter, E. S. (2015). Global inequalities, multipolarity, and supranational organizations engagements with gender and education. Journal of Supranational Policies of Education, 3, 10–28.Google Scholar
Unterhalter, E. (2016). Gender and education in the global polity. In Mundy, K., Green, A., Lingaard, B., & Verger, A. (Eds.), Handbook of global education policy (pp. 111–127). New York: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Unterhalter, E. (2017). Balancing pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will: Some reflections on the capability approach, gender, empowerment, and education. In Clark, D., Frediani, A., & Biggeri, M. (Eds.), The capability approach, empowerment and participation: Concepts, methods and applications. London: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Verger, A. (2012). Framing and selling global education policy: The promotion of public–private partnerships for education in low-income contexts. Journal of Education Policy, 27(1), 109–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warner, A., Malhotra, A., & McGonagle, A. (2012). Girls education empowerment and transitions to adulthood: The case for a shared agenda. Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women.Google Scholar
Webster, J. (2014). Shaping women's work: Gender, employment and information technology. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wild, L., & Elhawary, S. (2016). The UK's approach to linking development and security: assessing policy and practice. In Brown, S. & Gravingholt, J. (Eds.), The securitization of foreign AID London (pp. 42–63). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winthrop, R., & Matsui, E. (2013). A new agenda for education in fragile states. Washington, DC: Center for Universal Education at Brookings.Google Scholar
Woodhead, M., Frost, M., & James, Z. (2013). Does growth in private schooling contribute to education for all? Evidence from a longitudinal, two cohort study in Andhra Pradesh, India. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(1), 65–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar