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Understanding Education Policy Implementation in Nepal

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Understanding Education Policy Implementation in Nepal University of Massachusetts Boston ScholarWorks at UMass Boston Graduate Doctoral Dissertations Doctoral Dissertations and Masters Theses 5-2020 Lost in Translation: Understanding Education Policy Implementation in Nepal Sushmita Subedi Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations Part of the Education Commons, Education Policy Commons, and the Public Policy Commons LOST IN TRANSLATION: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN NEPAL A Dissertation Presented by SUSHMITA SUBEDI Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2020 Public Policy Program © 2020 by Sushmita Subedi All rights reserved LOST IN TRANSLATION: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN NEPAL A Dissertation Presented by SUSHMITA SUBEDI Approved as to style and content by: __________________________________________________ Amy E. Smith, Associate Professor Chairperson of Committee __________________________________________________ Francine Menashy, Associate Professor Member __________________________________________________ Michael Johnson, Professor Member __________________________________________________ Amit Patel, Assistant Professor Member ______________________________________ Heather MacIndoe, Program Director Public Policy Program ______________________________________ Michael Johnson, Chairperson Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs ABSTRACT LOST IN TRANSLATION: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN NEPAL May 2020 Sushmita Subedi, B.B.A., Purbanchal University M.A., University of Massachusetts Lowell M.S., University of Massachusetts Boston Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston Directed by Professor Amy E. Smith This study examines the impact of the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP), a national education reform in Nepal, on primary and secondary education. The study uses mixed- methods to analyze indicators of educational outcomes and identify the underlying environmental, organizational, and individual factors that affect reform implementation. The first phase of the study is a quantitative analysis of annual, district-level data on 75 districts for 10 years, from 2006 to 2016 using regression models to predict dropout and iv promotion rates. The second phase of the study is a qualitative analysis of the perceived effectiveness of SSRP using in-depth interviews with 33 stakeholders from local-, district-, and national-level education offices and schools in Kathmandu district. The interviews examined how teachers, school principals, and district education officers understood education reform and how this sense-making combined with the cooperation and resource sharing between implementing organizations affected reform outcomes. Several key findings emerge from the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. First, the study shows that policy implementation is a complex undertaking and is affected by a multitude of environmental, organizational, and individual factors. Second, results show that sense-making can vary at different levels of implementation and for different actors involved in implementation. In line with prior research, individuals make sense of policies based on their roles and their understanding and beliefs about the policy, its environment, and their own surroundings (Spillane, 2002; Coburn & Stein, 2006). Third, the study finds that teacher training during SSRP had limited effects on student dropout and promotion despite significant time and finances allotted to the professional development of primary and secondary school teachers. This finding highlights the significance of considering stakeholders’ needs, demands and the availability of resources to support policy implementation. Fourth, the study provides evidence of several socioeconomic barriers to successful education policy implementation. This finding highlights the need to integrate education policy with other socioeconomic policies that have a significant effect on educational outcomes. v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my son, Archit. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is an outcome of a long yet enjoyable journey of six years. I would like to thank everyone who made this journey worthwhile. First, I thank my advisor, Professor Amy E. Smith, for her tremendous support and encouragement. It is an honor to have her as my dissertation advisor and mentor. I can proudly say that I had the best advisor ever. I also thank the members of my dissertation committee, Professors Amit Patel, Francine Menashy, and Michael Johnson, for their constructive and timely feedback that added to the rigor of my study. I could not have made it this far in my academic journey without the love and support of my family. My father, Dr. Bhawani Shankar Subedi, has been my inspiration ever since I was a kid. He dedicated more than three decades of his life to improving education in Nepal. I am merely trying to follow his footsteps. I thank my mother, Sanila Subedi, for being my confidant and for checking-in to see how I was doing every single day even when she was thousands of miles away from me. I thank my brother and sister-in-law, Saurav Subedi and Sushmita Arjyal, for their unconditional love and support for my personal, academic, and professional growth. I thank my parents-in-law, Arjun and Tara Gautam, and the entire family for their love and encouragement while I pursued my dissertation. vii Last but not least, I thank my husband, Suman Gautam, for being my constant when so much changed and for his fierce support of and pride in my academic and professional achievements. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT… ......................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ xii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ xiv CHAPTER Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 2 Research Questions and Purpose of the Study ...................................................................... 6 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .......................................................................... 11 Education Policy Implementation ....................................................................................... 20 Environmental factors: Resource allocation and effects on educational outcomes ........ 21 Organizational actors, organizational fields: Cooperation between organizations ......... 30 Individual actors and policy cognition: How actors make sense of policy ..................... 37 Effects of Reform on Educational Outcomes ..................................................................... 41 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ........................................... 55 Analytical Component 1: Effects of Reform on Student Dropout and Promotion ............. 57 Data source and description ............................................................................................ 57 Study variables ................................................................................................................ 60 Model specification ......................................................................................................... 62 Validity and reliability .................................................................................................... 67 Analytical Component 2: Stakeholder Perception of Reform Implementation .................. 68 Population ....................................................................................................................... 69 Sampling and research setting ........................................................................................ 70 Sample size ..................................................................................................................... 71 Ethical and IRB considerations ....................................................................................... 73 Interview instrument and protocol .................................................................................. 74 Data analysis strategy ..................................................................................................... 76 Validity and reliability .................................................................................................... 80 ix CHAPTER Page CHAPTER 4: EFFECTS OF EDUCATION REFORM ON STUDENT DROPOUT AND PROMOTION ................................................................................................
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