The Politics of Education in Developing Countries From Schooling to Learning

Why have many developing countries that have succeeded in expanding access to education made such limited progress on improving learning outcomes? There is a growing recognition that the learning crisis constitutes a significant dimension of global inequality and also that educational outcomes in developing countries are shaped by political as well as socio-economic and other factors. The Politics of Education in Developing Countries focuses on how politics shapes the capacity and commitment of elites to tackle the learning crisis in six developing countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.

The problem of education quality is serious across the Global South. The Politics of Education in Developing Countries: From Schooling to Learning deploys a new conceptual framework-the domains of power approach-to show how the type of political settlement shapes the level of elite commitment and state capacity to improving learning outcomes. The domain of education is prone to being highly politicized, as it offers an important source of both rents and legitimacy to political elites, and can be central to paradigmatic elite ideas around nation-building and modernity. Of particular importance is the relative strength of coalitions pushing for access as against those focused on issues of higher quality education. This book concludes with a discussion of entry points and strategies for thinking and working politically in relation to education quality reforms and critical commentaries.

Sam Hickey, Professor of Politics and Development, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, UK,Naomi Hossain, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK

Sam Hickey is Professor of Politics and Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, and Research Director of the DFID-UK-funded Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) Research Centre. His recent work on the politics of development has been published in African Affairs, Journal of Development Studies, and World Development. He has edited or co-edited six collections, including The Politics of Inclusive Development: Interrogating the Evidence (Oxford University Press, 2015, with Kunal Sen and Badru Bukenya).


Naomi Hossain is a political sociologist and Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Her work focuses on the state-society relations that make pro-poor development possible, with a focus on the provision of food security, mass education, and social protection. She is the author of The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh's Unexpected Success (OUP, 2017).

1. The Problem of Education Quality in Developing Countries, Naomi Hossain and Sam Hickey
2. Researching the Politics of Education Quality in Developing Countries: Towards a New Conceptual and Methodological Approach, Sam Hickey and Naomi Hossain
3. Decentralization and Teacher Accountability: The Political Settlement and Sub-national-level Governance in the Education Sector in Ghana, Edward Ampratwum, Mohammed Awal, and Franklin Oduro
4. The Politics of Learning Reforms in Bangladesh, Naomi Hossain, Mirza Hassan, Md Ashikur Rahman, Khondoker Shakhawat Ali, and M. Sajidul Islam
5. The Downsides of Dominance: Education Quality Reforms and Rwanda's Political Settlement, Timothy P. Williams
6. Political Transformation and Education Sector Performance in South Africa, Brian Levy, Robert Cameron, Ursula Hoadley, and Vinothan Naidoo
7. The Political Economy of Primary Education Reform in Cambodia, Tim Kelsall, Sothy Khieng, Chuong Chantha, and Tieng Tek Muy
8. The Political Economy of Education Quality Initiatives in Uganda, Anne Mette Kjaer and Nansozi K. Muwanga
9. Identifying the Political Drivers of Quality Education: A Comparative Analysis, Sam Hickey, Naomi Hossain, and David Jackman
10. Understanding the Politics of the Learning Crisis: Steps Ahead on a Long Road, Lant Pritchett
11. Similarities and Differences in Policy Reform Destinies: What do Political Settlements and Domain Politics Explain?, Merilee S. Grindle