The article can be viewed at http://www.cedol.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Learning-from-Commonwealth-Crossley-et-al.pd

Bray, TM

Crossley, M

Louisy, P

Packer, S

Sprague, T

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IntroductionFor all those involved in education development in small states,Mauritius is a particularly significant location for the 18thConference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (18CCEM). In1985, Mauritius hosted a seminal Commonwealth meeting inwhich key individuals concerned about small states convened forthe first time to collaborate in the development of a pan-Commonwealth strategic programme for educational development(Commonwealth Secretariat, 1986; Bacchus and Brock, 1987). Theinfluence and impact of this meeting continues to this day, in thework of the Commonwealth and beyond, and it is to the potentialoutcomes of recent and ongoing developments that we turn here.In the 2011/12 Commonwealth Education Partnerships volume(Commonwealth Secretariat, 2011), we reported on the publicationof research initiated at the 17CCEM that was designed to identifyand analyse emergent educational policies and priorities inCommonwealth small states (Crossley et al., 2011). In the presentarticle, we consider the implications of that study for allCommonwealth member states beyond 2015. In doing so, wedemonstrate how the experience of small states in thedevelopment of their education systems and practice has much tooffer the wider international community.Full circle: from Mauritius to MauritiusThe influence of the 1985 pan-Commonwealth meeting of expertson education in small states is widely recognised in the internationalliterature and among related stakeholder communities (Bray andPacker, 1993; Atchoarena, 1993). In the years following, a sequenceof national and regional consultative meetings and workshops led tothe production of a series of Commonwealth reports, books,training materials and activities that provided direct support forMinistries of Education and the strengthening of educational policyand practice across Commonwealth small states (see, for example,Baldacchino and Farrugia, 2002). Details of the nature and scope ofthis material, along with an assessment of its impact, werepresented in a 1999 review published by the CommonwealthSecretariat (Crossley and Holmes, 1999). The more recent study carried out by our own team brings thestory up to date, identifies major changes, and re-assesses thenature and extent of educational policy priorities inCommonwealth small states. Changing priorities and emergentthemes: looking beyond 2015In carrying out the research that informed our 2011 publication,the greatest emphasis was given to identifying and reportingeducational and development priorities as seen and experienced bythose working in small states. At the broadest level, this revealedthat while much of the earlier conceptual, theoretical andprofessional work on education in small states remains pertinentfor today, ‘contemporary priorities are especially concerned withhow small states can respond to major external shocks andchallenges within the environmental, economic, cultural andpolitical domains’ (Crossley et al., 2011, p. xviii).It was also clear that many small states were ‘relatively advanced intheir progress towards basic education goals and targets’ (p. xviii).They were often among the first to ‘extend the boundaries’ of theEducation For All (EFA) agenda, and to pioneer initiatives relating toissues of quality improvement and equity. In addition, this includedkeenly felt priorities for strengthening skills training and tertiaryeducation, often through harnessing new technologies for distanceand flexible learning.While the details of these emergent patterns, including case studies ofinnovative practice, are available in the publication itself, here we wishto reflect upon the overall nature and trajectory of this experience inthe light of what others, within and beyond the Commonwealth, canlearn for the future. The year 2015 is a major benchmark and targetfor the EFA objectives and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),and policy-makers, planners and analysts are already looking to whatlies beyond (Barrett, 2011; UNESCO, 2012).Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2012/13 123Learning from Commonwealth small statesEducational policies and priorities beyond 2015Michael Crossley, Mark Bray, Pearlette Louisy, Steve Packer and Terra SpragueThe Commonwealth classes 32 of its member countries assmall states, adopting a broad definition that includes,alongside countries with a population of less than 1.5 million,those larger states that share many similar characteristics –Botswana, The Gambia, Jamaica, Lesotho, Namibia and PapuaNew Guinea. Small states thus comprise over half of the totalmembership. Within the group, most are at the lower end ofthe population scale: 28 have populations below 2 million, 22have populations below 1 million, and 13 have populationsbelow 250,000. The Commonwealth thus has a strongmandate to give special attention to small states, and aconsiderable history of having done so.Commonwealth small statesSince many small states have long held an extendedconceptualisation of basic education, and have necessarily lookedbeyond EFA and MDG parameters, they have generated a greatdeal of insight and original experience in policy arenas from whichother countries and systems, which are now moving in similardirections, can learn. Key examples include:• Experience relating to the quality and cultural relevance of basiceducation (Thaman, 1993; Degazon-Johnson, 2003; Moeaki,2008).• Caribbean expertise in attending to gender issues concerningboys’ underachievement (Jha and Kelleher 2006; Bailey, 2009;DeLisle et al., 2010).• Innovative work on education for sustainable development inPacific island nations (Nabobo-Baba et al., 2007; Koya et al.,2010).• New developments in tertiary education (Martin and Bray, 2011;Louisy and Crossley, 2011).• Extensive experience of the small states of the South Pacific andthe Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth(VUSSC) in distance and flexible learning (West and Daniel,2009; Chandra et al., 2011). One further area for priority attention for the post-2015 debate isworkforce mobility and migration in an ever-globalising world.Small states have much to contribute to these debates, particularlyregarding the effects of brain drain and brain rotation (Baldacchino,2006). This kind of mobility has increased as small states haveprogressively participated in the global knowledge economy(Bacchus, 2008).The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol(CTRP) discussed elsewhere in this volume of CEP (see articles byPenson; Ochs and Yonemura) is a clear example of larger stateslearning from the experience of small states.All Commonwealth member states and the wider internationalcommunity can learn much from small states about the importanceof contextual differences in both educational policy developmentand implementation. The ‘question of scale’ helps greatly indemonstrating the limitations of simplistic educational policytransfer, or ‘borrowing/replicating best practice’, from one contextto another. At the same time, the small state experience showshow they have much in common with each other, and much tobenefit from the support of the ‘Commonwealth factor’ and fromongoing Commonwealth partnerships and collaborations withinand between regions.Connecting cultures and workingtogetherAs a group, Commonwealth small states can be justly proud oftheir educational achievements. What is evident from our owncollaborative research is that they should not only showcase theseachievements but also strengthen their creative and analyticcapacities. This can benefit not only the small states themselves butalso other Commonwealth states and beyond. The Commonwealth Secretariat has done much to support existinganalysis, and it has the comparative advantage to do more. Byconnecting cultures, listening to a diversity of needs and workingtogether, the Commonwealth continues to demonstrate whyCommonwealth Education Partnerships 2012/13T h e  C o m m o n w e a l t h  f a c t o r124As recently as two decades ago, some small state analysts feltthat, in spite of their numbers, the world community had not yetthought its way through the phenomenon of small states. Indeed,former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Sir Shridath Ramphal,believed that for the most part small states were ignored,imposed upon and generally discounted. Vulnerability andopenness were the international community’s mantras wheneverthe circumstances of small states were discussed.Their achievements in fashioning appropriate, workable andaffordable responses to the challenges of scale were dismissed bysome as making a virtue out of necessity. While it was universallyacknowledged that small states have an ecology of their own, theunspoken understanding was that this could not be compared, orat least not favourably, with that of large states. The idea oflearning from the South – particularly the small South – was notalways palatable or popular.The educational priorities of the majority of Commonwealth smallstates are no longer simply the provision of basic education oruniversal primary education (UPE), or to increase access toeducation for girls. Today’s priorities also encompass a broadercanvas relating to the potential for cross-sectoral and sustainabledevelopment. This involves how to incorporate the realities ofclimate change, migration and global interconnectedness infinancial services, for example, into the school curriculum; how toequip citizens to respond to these new economic, environmental,cultural and political challenges within their own societies and inthe wider world; how to provide quality higher educationopportunities in the face of growing national indebtedness; andhow to take advantage of the knowledge-based economy and becompetitive in service-based markets.With the help of new information and communicationstechnologies, small states are continuing to use more and moresophisticated arrangements to deal with the increasingly complexchallenges of the new world order. But they are by no means outof the woods yet, as the 2011 study demonstrates in its analysisof the gaps that need to be filled and the imbalances betweenwhat small states need in order for them to respond meaningfullyto changing global realities and the opportunities that presentthemselves to meet these needs. The challenges are many, thespeed at which they present themselves is unrelenting, as the not-so-level playing field shifts and the goal posts keep moving.Against this backdrop, to simply continue to ask small states toimplement outward-oriented development strategies and diversifythe structure of their economies not only calls on them to take ona task of herculean proportions, but condemns them to a fate notfar removed from that of Sisyphus.Pearlette Louisy, Extract from Education in Small States (Crossleyet al., 2011)A broader canvas for small statessustainable international development prospers best in a spirit ofmutual understanding and respect (Sen, 2007). From the smallstates perspective, this distinctive spirit of Commonwealtheducation partnerships is invaluable, for while they continue toseek and benefit from external collaboration and assistance, ‘theyknow best what their own needs are and what their prioritiesshould be. They have much to contribute to international discourseand to policy deliberations worldwide’ (Louisy, 2011, p.xv).AcknowledgementWe acknowledge the input of all collaborating authors to the 2011book, namely David Atchoarena, Michaela Martin and Mindy Colin.We also thank colleagues in the Commonwealth Secretariat fortheir sustained encouragement and support for the research andpublication.ReferencesAtchoarena, D. (1993). Educational strategies for small islandstates. Paris: UNESCO/IIEP.Bacchus, M. K. (2008). 'The Education Challenges Facing SmallNation States in the Increasingly Competitive Global Economy ofthe Twenty-First Century'. Comparative Education, 44(2), pp.127–145.Bacchus, M. K. and Brock, C. (eds.) (1987). The Challenge of Scale:Educational Development in the Small States of theCommonwealth. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.Bailey, B. (2009). 'Gender and Political-Economy in CaribbeanEducation Systems'. In Commonwealth Education Partnerships2009. London: Commonwealth Secretariat, pp. 102–105.Baldacchino, G. (2006). The Brain Rotation and Brain DiffusionStrategies of Small Islanders: Considering ‘movement’ in lieu of‘place’. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 4(1), pp. 143–154.Baldacchino, G. and Farrugia, C. (eds.) (2002). EducationalPlanning and Management in Small States: Concepts andexperiences. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.Barrett, A. M. (2011). 'A Millennium Learning Goal for Educationpost-2015: A question of outcomes or processes'. ComparativeEducation, 47(1), pp. 119–133.Bray, M. and Packer, S. (1993). Education in Small States:Concepts, challenges and strategies. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Chandra, R., Koroivulaono, T. and Hazelman, V. (2011). LeveragingTechnology for Tertiary Education in the South Pacific. In M.Martin and M. Bray (eds.) Tertiary Education in Small States:Planning in the Context of Globalisation. Paris: UNESCOInternational Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), pp. 215–232.Commonwealth Secretariat (1986). Educational Development: Thesmall states of the Commonwealth Report of a Pan-CommonwealthExperts Meeting, Mauritius. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.Commonwealth Secretariat (2011). Commonwealth EducationPartnerships 2011/12. London: Nexus for CommonwealthSecretariat.Crossley, M., Bray, M. and Packer, S. (2011). Education in SmallStates: Policies and priorities. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.Crossley, M. and Holmes, K. (1999). Educational Development inthe Small States of the Commonwealth: Retrospect and prospect.London: Commonwealth Secretariat.Degazon-Johnson, R. (2003). 'School improvement in Small States:the role of the Commonwealth'. In Commonwealth EducationPartnerships 2004. London: TSO, pp. 126–130.DeLisle, J., Smith, P. and Jules, V. (2010). 'Evaluating theGeography of Gendered Achievement Using Large-ScaleAssessment Data from the Primary School System of the Republicof Trinidad and Tobago'. International Journal of EducationalDevelopment, 30(4), pp. 405–417.Jha, J. and Kelleher, F. (2006). Boys’ Underachievement inEducation: An exploration in selected Commonwealth countries.London: Commonwealth Secretariat.Koya, C. F., Nabobo-Baba, U. and Teadero, T. (eds.) (2010).Education for Sustainable Development: Pacific stories ofsustainable living. Suva, Fiji: School of Education, University ofthe South Pacific & Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO.Louisy, P. (2011). Foreword. In Education in Small States: Policiesand priorities. London: Commonwealth Secretariat, pp. xiii–xv.Louisy, P. and Crossley, M. (2011). 'Tertiary Education in SaintLucia: Challenges and priorities within the evolving globalenvironment'. In M. Martin and M. Bray (eds.) Tertiary Educationin Small States: Planning in the context of globalization. Paris:UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP),pp. 149–166. Available at: http://www.iiep.unesco.org/information-services/publications/abstracts/2011/tertiary-education-in-small-states.html.Martin, M. and Bray, M. (eds.) (2011). Tertiary Education in SmallStates. Planning in the context of globalization. Paris: UNESCOInternational Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP).Moeaki, K. (2008). 'PRIDE Helps Put ECE and IE on TongaEducation Map'. Ministry of Education, Women Affairs andCulture. Available at: http://www.tongaeducation.gov.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=194:pride&catid=115:outcomes&Itemid=306 [Accessed February 19, 2011].Nabobo-Baba, U., Koya, C. F. and Teadero, T. (eds.) (2007).Education for Sustainable Development: Continuity and survivalin the Pacific. Suva, Fiji: School of Education, University of theSouth Pacific & Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO.Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2012/13L e a r n i n g  f r o m  C o m m o n w e a l t h  s m a l l  s t a t e s125Teacher training in small states – Brunei is debating newlearner-centred approachesPhoto:CommonwealthSecretariatPenson, J. and Yonemura, A. (eds.) (2012). Next Step in ManagingTeacher Migration: Papers of the sixth Commonwealth ResearchSymposium on Teacher Mobility, Recruitment and Migration.London: Commonwealth Secretariat with UNESCO.Sen, A. (2007). Civil Paths to Peace: Report of the CommonwealthCommission on Respect and Understanding. London:Commonwealth Secretariat.Thaman, K. H. (1993). Culture and the Curriculum. ComparativeEducation, 20(3), pp.249–260.UNESCO (2012). 'Towards EFA 2015 and Beyond – Shaping a newvision for education'. UNESCO Education Policy and Reform Unit.Available at: http://www.unescobkk.org/education/epr/erf[Accessed June 16, 2012].West, P. and Daniel, J. (2009). 'The Virtual University for SmallStates of the Commonwealth'. Open Learning, 24(1), pp. 85–95.Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2012/13T h e  C o m m o n w e a l t h  f a c t o r126Michael Crossley is Professor of Comparative andInternational Education, Director of the Research Centrefor International and Comparative Studies at the GraduateSchool of Education, and Director of the Education inSmall States Research Group, University of Bristol, UK. He isAdjunct Professor of Education at The University of theSouth Pacific and an Academician, AcSS, of the BritishAcademy of Social Sciences.Mark Bray is UNESCO Chair Professor of ComparativeEducation at the University of Hong Kong. He has worked atthe University of Hong Kong since 1986, prior to which hetaught in secondary schools in Kenya and Nigeria and at theuniversities of Edinburgh, Papua New Guinea and London.He has served as Director of UNESCO’s International Institutefor Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris. Dame Pearlette Louisy has been serving as GovernorGeneral of Saint Lucia since 1997. Prior to that she was thePrincipal of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, SaintLucia. She holds an Honorary degree of Doctor of Lawsfrom the Universities of Bristol, Sheffield and theUniversity of the West Indies and continues to pursue herinterest in tertiary education issues.Steve Packer is an independent consultant. He has workedfor the Commonwealth Secretariat (where he initiated thesmall states programme in the early 1980s); the UK’sDepartment for International Development (DfID); and theEducation for All Global Monitoring Report.Terra Sprague is a research fellow in the Research Centrefor International and Comparative Studies at the Universityof Bristol Graduate School of Education, UK. She has fieldexperience in the small state of Armenia and is currentlyworking on the impact of standardised examinationsystems upon the cultural traditions of small states.

Learning from Commonwealth small states: educational policies and priorities beyond 2015

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Learning from Commonwealth small states: educational policies and priorities beyond 2015

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