Privatisation of Education to Meet the Global Call for Education for All
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Privatisation of education to meet the global call for Education for All A comparison of public and private high schools and their impact on the Right to and in Education of the most marginalised in the Philippine society Master’s thesis MARJOLEIN CAMPHUIJSEN 10764925 Graduate School of the Social Sciences Research Master’s International Development Studies Supervisors: Prof. Xavier Bonal Sarró and Dr Andreu Termes López Amsterdam 25 July 2016 Privatisation of education to meet the global call for Education for All MK Camphuijsen 2 Privatisation of education to meet the global call for Education for All MK Camphuijsen Acknowledgements The past two years, from the moment I started daydreaming about fieldwork until the final editing phase of my Master’s thesis, I received an immense amount of help, support, and inspiration from many people whom I would like to acknowledge and thank. First of all, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Xavier Bonal Sarró, whose writing on global education policies, educational inequality, and social segregation invigorated my interest in the topic. His guidance, critical feedback, and persistent help have been crucial throughout the whole research and writing process. Similarly, I would like to thank Andreu Termes López, whom I was lucky enough to meet in the Philippines and who later on became my second supervisor. His critical notes, constructive feedback, and great knowledge of the Philippine education system have greatly improved the quality of my thesis. Second, I am extremely grateful to all the people I met in the Philippines. I wish to thank my local supervisors Cecilia Soriano and Rene Raya, whose work on education privatisation in the Philippines both inspired and informed me. Their knowledge and expertise, as well as their enthusiasm, has been of great help to my research. A very special thank goes to Celyn Merino Perez, my guide during the data collection process, who helped me to gain access to the schools and served as translator whenever needed. Having her on my side made my fieldwork experience even more fun. She taught me all about the Philippines and I enjoyed every day with her. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to The Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) and Civil Society Network for Education Reforms (E-Net Philippines), which supported me throughout my fieldwork process, gave me the chance to discuss my research findings, and provided me with important feedback. Furthermore, I would like to thank all six principals who offered me the opportunity to conduct research at their schools and who facilitated me in the data collection process. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to all teachers, students, and parents whom I met and who were kind enough to share their story. Third, a special thank you goes to Jorien Hanna Oprins, with whom I shared my wonderful fieldwork experience. I greatly benefited from her understanding and support and very much enjoyed discovering the Philippines together. Finally, I would like to thank my father for this critical view on my work and his unconditional support and belief in me. Without him, there would not even have been a thesis. 3 Privatisation of education to meet the global call for Education for All MK Camphuijsen Abstract Over the past decades, the worldwide trend of privatisation of education systems has led to a debate on whether the private sector is able to reach marginalised, excluded and vulnerable children in developing societies. The Philippines are an example of a country where the Government has promoted education privatisation to respond to the global call for Education for All. This qualitative study assesses how public and private secondary schools in the Philippines fulfil marginalised students’ Right to and in Education, building on Tomaševski’s 4A-framework. Data was collected between August and November 2015 in six schools, using in-depth interviews and focus groups with school principals, teachers, students and parents as main methods. In doing so, this study adds empirical evidence to the global debate on whether private sector involvement in education is helpful and desirable and contributes to a better understanding of the Philippine education situation. Results indicate that the Philippine State’s measures neither have been sufficient to guarantee every child’s Right to Education, nor have been desirable in light of every child’s Right in Education. While the availability of schools has greatly increased over time, economic obstacles and rigid admission processes continue to restrict access to private schools, even to those most “affordable”. At the same time, both types of educational institutes can be considered inadequate on different grounds. Public schools have clearly suffered from insufficient funding and ever-increasing enrolment and have witnessed overcrowding and limited learning resources. Private schools, on the other hand have, in an attempt to keep costs as low as possible, have failed to attract a high-quality teaching labour force. These findings imply the necessity for Government officials and policy-makers to reconsider the adequacy and desirability of their current education strategy as a means to guarantee the human Right to Education. Keywords: Private schools; Public schools; Privatisation of Education; Right to Education; Right in Education; 4A-Framework; Philippines 4 Privatisation of education to meet the global call for Education for All MK Camphuijsen Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 3 Abstract ................................................................................................................................. 4 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. 5 List of Tables and Figures ................................................................................................... 8 List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ 9 Chapter 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Introduction to the topic ............................................................................................ 10 1.2 Background to the study ............................................................................................ 12 1.3 Case-study: Philippines ............................................................................................. 13 1.4 Main objectives .......................................................................................................... 15 1.5 Outline ....................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................... 17 2.1 Three approaches to education .................................................................................. 17 a. The human capital approach to education ................................................................. 17 b. The rights-based approach to education .................................................................... 18 c. The capability approach to education ........................................................................ 19 2.2 A rights-based approach to assess education in the Philippine context .................... 21 2.3 Tomaševski’s 4A-framework .................................................................................... 22 a. Availability of education ........................................................................................... 22 b. Accessibility of education ......................................................................................... 24 c. Acceptability of education ......................................................................................... 28 d. Adaptability of education .......................................................................................... 29 2.4 Research and sub-questions ....................................................................................... 31 2.5 Conceptual scheme and hypotheses .......................................................................... 32 2.6 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3. Research Design .................................................................................................. 35 3.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 35 a. Epistemological and ontological position ................................................................ 35 b. Comparative research design.................................................................................... 36 3.2 Methods and sampling ............................................................................................... 36 a. Unit of analysis .......................................................................................................... 36 b. Methods ..................................................................................................................... 38 5 Privatisation of education to meet the global call