ERIC Number: ED460033
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2001-Sep
Pages: 44
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Handling Hierarchy in Decentralized Settings: Governance Underpinnings of School Performance in Tikur Inchini, West Shewa Zone, Oromia Region. Africa Region Working Paper Series.
Girishankar, Navin; Alemayehu, Abebaw; Ahmad, Yusuf
This paper provides a survey-based analysis of the governance of school performance in Tikur Inchina, a "woreda" (a sub-national unit of government) in Ethiopia's Oronia Region. A World Bank team piloted the "assessing constraints" survey tool to collect quantitative and perception data on the governance underpinnings of primary schooling. The pilot also identified options for institutional reform that would be feasible and credible in the eyes of woreda administrators, community representatives, and school officials. The reality in Tikur's educational system was one of almost exclusive reliance on topdown or hierarchical controls during allocation and implementation. The use of hierarchy produced mixed results. Systematic interventions by higher levels of government prevented woreda and school officials from making legitimate allocative choices. This overly centralized approach also generated budgetary uncertainty and various operational inefficiencies. In meeting these constraints, school and woreda officials responded in ways that could be instructive in future attempts to deepen democratic decentralization. Schools and communities demanded and demonstrated greater openness and accountability in key areas. The paper concludes that Tikkur's schools and woreda institutions are well positioned to exercise greater autonomy in allocating and managing resources because of their demonstrated capacity to monitor budgets, manage personnel, and undertake monitoring and evaluation. Includes 7 notes, 1 figure, 9 charts, and 1 information box. Extensive data are annexed. (BT)
Descriptors: Decentralization, Developing Nations, Educational Administration, Educational Change, Educational Research, Elementary Education, Evaluation Methods, Foreign Countries, Surveys
World Bank InfoShop, 1818 H Street, N.W., MSN J1-100, Washington, DC 20433. Tel: 202-458-4500; Fax: 202-522-1500; e-mail: pic1@worldbank.org. For full text: http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/index.htm.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: World Bank, Washington, DC.
Identifiers - Location: Ethiopia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A