TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of the education sector enhancement program in Barbados
AU - Pirog, Maureen A.
AU - Kioko, Sharon N.
N1 - Funding Information:
In 1998, the Government of Barbados announced an ambitious and comprehensive education reform plan known as the Education Sector Enhancement Programme (ESEP), or, popularly, EduTech. This initiative was appropriated US$213 million, financed by the government (45%), the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB; 40%), and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB; 15%). This is a massive investment for a school system with approximately 48,000 primary and secondary school students. This education re-engineering project initiated in 1999 was anticipated to take seven years and was to be completed in 2005. However, due to obstacles encountered in implementing the reform, the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports (MES) of Barbados applied for and received a three-year loan extension, and the plans for EduTech were accordingly restructured.
PY - 2010/2
Y1 - 2010/2
N2 - Drawing on the education production function literature, we examine the short-run impact of comprehensive education reforms in Barbados on primary school student outcomes. Using a variety of specifications to test the robustness of our results, we find modest and mixed changes in student test scores. Our findings are discussed in the context of management challenges that resulted from the need to coordinate a multi-faceted project in a rapidly developing nation; alignment of goals and schedules of two multi-national development banks, the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports (MES), and the Government of Barbados; and, a very rapidly changing information technology environment that led, in part, to changes in planned capital improvements in schools, equipment needs, and had implications for teacher training.
AB - Drawing on the education production function literature, we examine the short-run impact of comprehensive education reforms in Barbados on primary school student outcomes. Using a variety of specifications to test the robustness of our results, we find modest and mixed changes in student test scores. Our findings are discussed in the context of management challenges that resulted from the need to coordinate a multi-faceted project in a rapidly developing nation; alignment of goals and schedules of two multi-national development banks, the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports (MES), and the Government of Barbados; and, a very rapidly changing information technology environment that led, in part, to changes in planned capital improvements in schools, equipment needs, and had implications for teacher training.
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U2 - 10.1080/10967490903547357
DO - 10.1080/10967490903547357
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77649259152
SN - 1096-7494
VL - 13
SP - 72
EP - 99
JO - International Public Management Journal
JF - International Public Management Journal
IS - 1
ER -