Annex 7: Inception Report

Transkript

1 Evaluation of the Education Sector of Austria s Development Cooperation and Cooperation with South-East Europe GZ /1-PP/2005 Annex 7: Inception Report ÖSB Consulting GmbH / L&R Sozialforschung OEG, in cooperation with KEK-CDC Consultants Vienna, 26 May 2006 (revised version) Commissioned by the Austrian Development Agency

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3 Evaluation of the Education Sector of Austria s Development Cooperation and Cooperation with South-East Europe GZ /1-PP/2005 Inception Report ÖSB Consulting GmbH / L&R Sozialforschung OEG, in cooperation with KEK-CDC Consultants Vienna, 26 May 2006 (revised version) Commissioned by Austrian Development Agency ÖSB Consulting GmbH Meldemannstraße A-1200 Wien Phone: Fax: Lizzi.Feiler@oesb.at Lechner, Reiter und Riesenfelder Sozialforschung OEG Liniengasse 2A A-1060 Wien Phone.: Fax: reiter@lrsocialresearch.at

4 Content List Foreword 4 1. Evaluation framework Mandate, aims and limitations of the evaluation Theoretical framework education Gender issues The international context Policy goals Emerging good practices System perspective Program-based approaches Capacity development National legal context and framework Key elements of the Sector Policy: Austria s Educational Cooperation Educational cooperation as strategic pillar of Austria s Development Cooperation Objectives of the AEC Gender issues in AEC Portfolio of Austria s Educational Cooperation Budget allocation Regional priorities Project portfolio by educational level Provisional remarks Program and project portfolio International comparison of educational expenses Sector policy Sectoral vs. instrumental function of education Leading questions and approach Sector policy education Portfolio analysis Implementation gaps Field research Revised schedule and activity plan 32 Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 2

5 Annexes: A1 List of abbreviations 33 A2 References 34 A4 Theoretical framework and terminology (German) 40 Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 3

6 Foreword ÖSB Consulting, in cooperation with L&R Socialresearch and Matthias Jäger of KEK-CDC Consultants presents a completely revised version of the inception report. The revised version responds to the feed back received from various desks from the BMaA, from ADA and from other organisations to the initial inception report, dated 13 March This report reviews the evaluation mandate and the leading questions to be addressed, and it proposes a considerably revised concept and approach for the evaluation. As far as possible within the given time constraints, the international context, the Austrian framework conditions, and the general challenges for development cooperation in the educational sector are outlined here. However, the present document is living document; it outlines the context, the leading questions and the anticipated processes. The evaluation team is confident that the proposed approach represents a sound basis for an evaluation process which provides usable results. On behalf of the evaluation team Lizzi Feiler Vienna, 26 May 2006 Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 4

7 1. Evaluation framework 1.1 Mandate, aims and limitations of the evaluation The mandate to evaluate the education sector in Austria s development cooperation with the East and the South outlines the following main objectives: The evaluation shall contribute to the further development of a coherent educational sector policy, covering cooperation with the South, as well as with the East, and taking into account Austrian as well as international expertise and state of the art approaches. The results of the evaluation lessons learnt and recommendations will be a basis for the improvement of programmes and measures in Austria s Educational Cooperation (AEC). The main focus is future-oriented, and the expectation is that the evaluation could contribute to policy reform. This implies that the evaluation can not only be based on what is already the practice in AEC, but should also include the gaps in implementation in the light of emerging international mega-trends. It is not the purpose of this evaluation to assess country programs and individual projects. Case studies and field research shall contribute to the overall learning. 1.2 Education Working definitions Education is always determined culturally. Thus, worldwide, different definitions apply. The German term Bildung not only describes a process, but it also represents a goal in itself. Historically, Bildung is closely linked with the humanistic perception of mankind. Thus, the roots of the German term Bildung, including the resulting pedagogy and didactics, have philosophical roots. This is fundamentally different from the Anglo- American concept of education which has its scientific roots in learning psychology. However, this is a rather academic debate, as in the reality of development cooperation also German speaking agencies increasingly apply the concept of education. The term education features different dimensions; it not only refers to education as a delivery process: Education also represents a universal human right, it is a policy concern, and it is implemented through national systems with various sub-systems. In its connotation as a national system, education encompasses: Steering processes Delivery processes Support or quality processes Education is delivered at different levels, i.e. at primary, secondary (lower and upper), post-secondary and tertiary levels. The International Standard Classification of Education attempts to describe the universe of education at different levels and delivered through different paths in one system. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 5

8 It is advisable to refer to and utilise internationally applicable terms and definitions in development cooperation. Competing objectives International cooperation in education takes place in a field of competing, at times also conflicting objectives as depicted in the graph: Education as human right Poverty alleviation Education for All Gender equity Decent work for youth Overall Policy Goals Legal Framework Federal law 3-Years Program Sector policy education Traditions of AEC Good Practices / Approaches Capacity Development Program-based approaches Donor harmonisation National (Sub-)Systems Primary education Vocational education and training Tertiary education Life-long learning Science and research Professional standards Quality Education economics Coherence Within this field the relation between education and the overall goal of poverty alleviation is the most crucial issue to discuss. The OECD defines poverty comprehensively as conditions under which people are deprived of the following 1 : Economic capabilities (income and assets) Human capabilities (health, education, nutrition, water and shelter) Political capabilities (human rights and empowerment) Socio-cultural capabilities (social status and dignity) Protective capabilities (security) Under such a broad definition of poverty, poverty alleviation represents the overall goal for other measures, among others also for education. Thus, education becomes one of the instruments within poverty alleviation. However, such a broad definition of poverty also leads to a situation, where the individual dimensions of poverty and the respective objectives can conflict with each other. The individual dimensions of poverty alleviation are not in a linear cause-effect relation with each other. Nevertheless, the high positive correlations between education and economic status, between education and health, between education and political participation, between education and social security are to an extent unquestioned, which in turn makes education a pre-requisite for poverty alleviation. 1 OECD (2001): The DAC Guidelines Poverty Reduction, Paris, p.38. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 6

9 Thus, the contribution of education to poverty alleviation cannot exclusively be determined at an operationaltechnical level, but is rather the result of political negotiation processes. In the present international context this was done through the definition of the second millennium development goal, which is not subordinate to the first one. On this background education is not only one of the objectives under poverty alleviation, but also the other way round: Poverty alleviation becomes a transversal topic in designing and implementing educational programs and (sub-) systems. Demarcation Under the perception of education being a universal human right, a policy concern, and a national system, education is clearly demarcated from other terms like knowledge management or capacity development. Capacity development is an approach and good practice in development cooperation, which of course includes human resource development measures, maybe even educational measures. Capacity development focuses on the performance of institutions and systems, and it aims at developing the ability of people, organisations, and the society as whole to manage their affairs successfully 2 The Austrian sector policy differentiates two functions of education, i.e. a so-called sectoral function, and an instrumental function. The above working definitions for education apply to the sectoral function only. The instrumental function is not just synonymous to capacity development, but it might be perceived as one of its ancestors. Annex 3 contains a more elaborate version on the above topics in German. 1.3 Gender issues Current debates in gender and education The current debates concerning gender and education in development policies revolve around two main themes. The first one addresses the economic analyses of investment in female education, when the second turns to the instrumental rationale underlying the investment in female education. Economic analyses Education policies globally have routinely been formulated in the language of cost-benefit and returns, with the notion of investment developed as a central concept whereby individuals and states evaluate the costs of investment in terms of the medium to long-term returns that can be expected. Those returns are usually split in two categories, private and social returns. Private returns can be roughly defined as those that accrue to the individual or the household through increased earnings and productivity, social ones not being captured at the individual level but at a larger social one which ultimately can be used to justify states subsidies. Broadly, there seems to be an understanding that at least potentially, private returns to female are as high if not higher than male education whereas social returns to female education are commonly considered higher than those of male education. This latter claim is usually justified with arguments of knock-on improvement on child health and education and reduced fertility rates. The main critiques of this approach argue that it does 2 DAC (2006), The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working towards Good Practice, February 2006, DAC Network on Governance. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 7

10 not seem to be able to tackle why despite equivalent if not higher rates of return both on private and social levels, households still seem reluctant to send girls to schools, and the more so as they get older, nor why governments appear to consistently under invest in female education. This approach also notoriously turns a blind eye to what education policy should entail to redress gender biases in educational investment. In other words, economic analyses of education imply measurability where many perceptions of benefits both at private and social levels are culturally and socially informed 3. Instrumentalist argument The latest drive towards efficiency in development policy has led to the highly instrumentalist arguments for female education in terms of its positive impact on fertility reduction and improvement of female productivity. If an equality discourse, which generally focuses on ensuring equal access to existing education systems, is difficult to fit within the terms of efficiency-oriented discourses of large development agencies, it is nonetheless apparent that the instrumentalist arguments have served a purpose, albeit a short to mediumterm one. However, as in the economic analyses debate mentioned above, this instrumentalist approach fails to identify the means by which female participation in education and universal education can be meaningfully secured. Some critiques have also pointed out that instrumentalist approaches can also be used to push women into very narrow segments of the workforce thus precluding their participation in wider sectors of the economy 4. Importantly, both economic and instrumentalist arguments fail to address the content, values and structures of education systems nor do they extend the purpose of education to increasing women s well-being, decision making capacity and autonomy. They also both resonate with feminist critiques of the Women In Development (WID) approach which, roughly summarised, pointed that the add women and stir left a binary gender system continuously undervaluing women and their role in society unchallenged. The MDGs and gender MDGs have become paramount in the development agenda. If the MDGs do mention explicitly gender equality as a goal (MDG 3) and recognise that gender equality is important for achieving all of the goals, numerous women s rights advocates note that gender equality is not well reflected in the global targets and indicators as a cross-cutting issue for the achievement of all the MDGs 5. The great fear is that the MDG agenda undermines the Beijing Platform for Action, a fear further nourished by the recognition that the present post 9/11 political environment associated with the neo-liberal economic paradigm has been quite detrimental to women s rights achievements of the 90s (Kahn, 2005). Framing the understanding of gender mainstreaming as put forward in OeEZ Gender and development (1998) Originally, gender mainstreaming is rooted in a post-modern understanding of gender, which theoretically aims at subverting a binary gender system that both equal treatment and positive actions policies have left intact if not stronger. Nonetheless, the post-modern shift in gender theory is performed at the expense of the 3 Baden & Green (1994); Subrahmanian (2002). 4 Op cit. 5 United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) (2004), Pathway to gender equality CEDAW, Beijing and the MDGs, (accessed on 28/03/06). Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 8

11 female subject, resulting in the dissolution of a stable homogenous female identity. To become a political project, gender mainstreaming hence usually (as in the OeEZ s Gender and development policy document) undergoes a conceptual reshaping whereby gender is translated into women and men stripping it of much of its subversive power. This does not mean that gender mainstreaming has nothing to offer to gender equality. Rather, the concept is watered down to fit a liberal political frame and the various institutional contexts and if that can be seen as the reality of politics, it would be naïve not to point out the major risk that the policy fit entails since it fails to recognise the gendered nature of the institutions themselves: to be swept away by the mainstream altogether instead of changing it 6. Framing gender equality in education as a right The current understanding of education as a human right of course echoes the Dakar World Education Forum (2000), and is here put forward as a valuable analytical grid which distinguishes a right to, in and through education. TO IN THROUGH Frames Process Results Education should be guaranteed directly to everyone without discrimination Structures Governance Curricula Teachers Resources Pedagogy Methods of teaching and learning Content of learning Effects for individual: changed attitudes and values. Acquisition of skills, competences and abilities. Effects for society: shared democratic values and commitment. Areas for action Framework as stated in conventions Can be measured with indicators, monitored and evaluated Source: Sida, 2005, p. 17 The right to education expresses the right that an individual possess in society and the state obligation to guarantee this right. The right should be provided equally and no one should be denied the right on grounds of discriminatory practices or regulations. The right in education refer to the necessary frameworks that are needed in the creation of an educational process of teaching and learning which guarantees the individual the benefits of the right. The right through education refers to the potential benefits of shared democratic values and commitment in a society with active and socially responsible people 7. 6 Pauly, Florence (2004); Gender Mainstreaming: at the crossroads, Thesis (MSc), Bristol University. 7 Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) (2005), Education, Democracy and Human Rights, (accessed on 15/02/06). Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 9

12 Read through a gender lens, this analytical grid of a right to education can give an understanding of the multiple dimensions of inequalities between boys and girls. A gendered examination at a right to education will demand to observe the constraints in the family and within society that affect girls access to education. It is at this level that financing and access questions are vital. Evaluating the right in education through a gender perspective will invite a focus on how schools systems take girls specific needs into account through the curricula, teaching methods and contents and teaching environment. Finally, an examination of the right through education will raise issues of how girls perform at school and how their achievements translate into equal opportunities in the social and economic sphere The international context Generally speaking, in development cooperation the international community strives towards: the defining of internationally agreed overall policy goals, commonly agreeing on approaches and good practices, being in line with local policies, and harmonising donor efforts. Such efforts increasingly exceed the nature of declarations, they are operationalised through international commitments, and they are subject to international monitoring. The evaluation will elaborate in details on the following issues and the respective Austrian commitments, contributions and status Policy goals Article 26 of the Human Rights Declaration of 1948 stipulates access to free (and compulsory) elementary education, and making vocational and higher level education available and accessible to all, to be a human right 9. Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3 (MDG) Similarly, universal primary education for all is defined as the MDG 2 (Achieve universal primary education) 10, specified through the target that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, should be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Goal 3 (Promote gender equality and empower women) aims among others at eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than Unesco, Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Art. 26/ 1: Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and profession al education shall be make generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 10

13 EFA /DFA /FTI Though the UNESCO initiative Education for All 11 (EFA), initiated in the 90ies, preceded the MDG, it was later on further concretised through the Dakar Framework for Action (DFA) in The lack of resources and impact lead to the further operationalisation under the Fast Track Initiative (FTI), which was launched in The FTI is a global partnership between donor and developing countries to ensure accelerated progress towards the 2 nd MDG of universal primary education by FTI is built on mutual accountability. Donors provide coordinated and increased financial and technical support, in a transparent and predictable manner. Conversely, partner countries have agreed to put primary education on the forefront of their domestic efforts and to develop sound national education plans 12. Only low income countries who have developed a Poverty Reduction Strategy are eligible to join the FTI. The relevance of the FTI is mainly limited to the South (with the exception of Moldova, who joined in 2005). MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger The target of MDG 1 is to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day. The mutual relation between education and poverty alleviation has been elaborated in chapter 1.2 above and in Annex 3. European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy While most international agreements (HR, MDGs, EFA) are universally valid, the international initiative EFA/FTI does not target the South-East-European (SEE) countries. Whereas other specific international agreements play an important role, outstanding here are the European Enlargement- and Neighbourhood Policy. The European Enlargement Policy plays a determined agenda-setting role for the whole area of South- Eastern Europe. Of specific relevance for the Western Balkan region is the Stabilisation and Accession Process (SAP) 13, which is the EU s policy framework for the Western Balkan countries, all the way to their eventual accession. The status of some Black Sea countries as acceeding countries (Romania and Bulgaria), of some Western Balkan countries as candidate countries (Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey), and finally the status of Bosnia / Herzegovina, Serbia / Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo issues as potential candidate countries entails specific processes and procedures, with specific European financial instruments and with implications for the educational policies and reform processes of these countries. The mega-trends for the transition economies in SEE are to a large extend influenced and defined through the European processes. Universal primary education for all (in most countries including lower secondary education) is realised in most transition economies, although dropping out levels are on the increase. Thus, the focus of educational development in primary and lower secondary education lies in quality improvement, whereas the orientation of reform processes in vocational education, training and retraining, and in postsecondary and tertiary education are guided by the following European processes: accessed on 04/05/ for the SAP: access at 04/05/06. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 11

14 The Graz Process, launched in 1998 during the 1 st Austrian presidency. The Task Force Education and Youth, in the framework of the stability-pact desk Democratisation and Human Rights. The Bologna Process 14 for the reform of the higher education systems, including the participation in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The Copenhagen Process 15 for the development of a European Qualifications Framework (EQF), followed by the planned development of a European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). The Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) enhanced the Graz process, the Austrian bm:bwk was among the founding members. ERI SEE is serving as an interface between ongoing SEE education reforms at national level and European trends in order to promote common European standards in education 16. These European initiatives for the education sector are closely related with the bm:bwk. The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) 17 was developed in the context of enlargement and aims at strengthening stability, security and well-being for all concerned. The ENP applies to EU s immediate neighbour states, plus the neighbour states of the present acceeding and candidate countries Emerging good practices Systems perspective Chapter 1.2 above suggests a perception of education as a human right, a policy concern and national systems. Thus, educational cooperation irrevocably always has an implicit or explicit systems perspective. For the description of education as a delivery system, the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) as schematically depicted in the attached graph 18, defines education broadly as follows: Deliberate and systematic activities designed to meet learning needs. Thus, education is understood to involve organised and sustained communication designed to bring about learning Within the framework of ISCED, the universe of education includes in addition to regular education, adult education and special needs education All such educational activities should be classified based on their equivalence. 14 The Bologna Declaration of 1999 set the goal of establishing a European area of higher education by 2010: accessed on 04/05/ The Copenhagen Process of 2002 aims at enhancing European cooperation in Vocational Education and Training (VET): accessed on 04/05/ accessed on 04/05/ Graphic prepared by KEK-CDC Consultants on the basis of the original document at: Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 12

15 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) Second stage of tertiary education First stage of tertiary education Post-secondary nontertiary education (Upper) secondary education Lower secondary or second stage of basic education Primary education or first stage of basic education Pre-Primary education 5A 3A 2A 5B 4A 3B 4B 3C 2B 2C The key issue of this definition for development cooperation is its implication on the differentiation between formal and non-formal education and training. According to the ISCED programs are classified according to their equivalence within the overall system. Educational programs differ on dimensions like entry requirements, delivery patterns, user groups, compulsory cycles, financing, exit qualifications, belonging to educational subsystems. Thus, the differentiation between formal and non-formal education and training is a differentiation at the level of one of the system s components, not at the level of the system s definition itself. This has considerable implications in that e.g. non-formal programs in basic education should not be in competition, but rather complementary to the primary education Program-based approaches One of the recent mega trends in development cooperation is the shift from individual projects to programbased cooperation. Projects tend to be poorly linked to the wider context. Dissatisfaction with the sustainability, impact and ownership has led to the development of more broadly based approaches and finally to the development of new instruments like program-based approaches, with sector-wide approaches (SWAps) representing their most advanced and comprehensive form. Harmonisation and alignment 19 are core principles of program-based approaches Capacity Development Capacity development is a major challenge, and widely recognised by donor organisations as emerging good practice. It involves much more than enhancing the knowledge and skills of individuals. It depends crucially on the quality of the organisations in which they work 20. This clearly indicates the high relevance of a system approach. 19 Harmonisation refers to the effort of donors and development partners to bring their procedures, requirement and systems together and streamline their interaction with governments in developing countries. Alignment refers to the commitment by donors to support country led plans and align behind these, rather than developing their own agenda and programs. 20 DAC network on governance (2006), The challenge of capacity development: working towards good practice. DCD/DAC/GOVNET(2005)5/REV1. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 13

16 There a various definitions of capacity development or capacity building, but the evaluation team solely uses capacity development in the sense defined by the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: The capacity to plan, manage, implement, and account for results of policies and programmes, is critical for achieving development objectives from analysis and dialogue through implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Capacity development is the responsibility of partner countries with donors playing a support role. It needs not only to be based on sound technical analysis, but also to be responsive to the broader social, political and economy environment, including the need to strengthen human resources. 21 Following this definition, capacity development is a guiding principle for all sectors in development cooperation, including the educational sector. 1.5 National legal context and framework Legal framework Austria s Development Cooperation (ADC) legislative framework is the Development Cooperation Act (EZA- Gesetz) 2002 and the amendment of , which reformed the law on development cooperation from The act defines the general objectives, while the 3-Year Programme of Austrian Development Policy 23 delineates the strategic guidelines and indicative budgetary framework for operational activities. In 2000, the responsibility for cooperation with the East 24 was shifted from the Federal Chancellery to the BMaA, Section VII, Development Cooperation, in the following renamed Section VII, Development- and East Cooperation. Institutional set-up The Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (BMaA), Section Development- and East Cooperation is responsible for policies and strategies. The BMaA negotiates budgets, elaborates the Three-Year Programme, organises and approves country programming as well as policy development and it represents Austrian development cooperation officially 25. A structural reform led to the creation of a separate executing agency. The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) was founded in 2004 and is responsible for the intermediary implementation of the bilateral programs. ADA itself delegates the implementation of projects partly to NGOs, and to private enterprises. ADA maintains Coordination Offices in priority countries of development cooperation. Since the European initiatives for the education sector in SEE are closely related with the Ministry for Education, Science and Culture (bm:bwk), there is a need for policy coherence, specifically in the cooperation agenda with the East. 21 DAC network on governance (2006), p EZA-Gesetz-Novelle 2003, Bundesgesetzblatt 2003/65; EZA-Gesetz 2002, Bundesgesetzblatt 2002/ Current version: BMaA (2005), Dreijahresprogramm der Österreichischen Entwicklungspolitik, , Fortschreibung 2005, Vienna, Sektion Entwicklungs- und Ostzusammenarbeit. 24 This included Central- and South-East European Countries (whereby accession and candidate countries are phasing out), and partly NIS countries. 25 OECD/DAC (2004), DAC Peer Review Austria, Paris. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 14

17 NGOs play a major role in implementing projects in development cooperation, but with smaller importance in SEE. NGOs are also making use of European Commission funds. Budgetary framework condition In line with the EU decision to raise the Official Development Aid (ODA) to 0.56% of member states GNI by 2010, Austria is committed to increase its ODA from a relatively low level (0.26% of GNI in 2002, 0.20% of GNI in 2003) to the EU level. For 2006, Austria committed itself to 0.33% of GNI. Austria s ODA budget includes a high share of debt relief. It is Austria s intention to increase its programmable aid. The allocation of a considerable higher budget will challenge the administrative and managerial capacity. the effective use of ODA increases will prove challenging, given the shortage of staff resources and limited use of new funding modalities OECD/DAC (2004), p.12. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 15

18 2. Key elements of the Austrian Educational Cooperation The Development Cooperation Act and the Three-Year Programme of Austrian Development Cooperation are the legal framework for the sector policy for Austria s Educational Cooperation (AEC) 27. This policy paper states further guidelines: AEC s activities are designed to serve the achievement of the MDGs and the international targets of Education for All (EFA) through a set of instruments and in dialogue with partner countries 28. In 2002, the guidelines for educational cooperation with South-East Europe were issued Educational cooperation as strategic pillar of ADC The sector policy defines education as a strategic pillar of the ADC 30. Austria s Educational Cooperation (AEC) started in the 1960 s, with activities in the field of vocational training. The emergence of scholarship programmes also dates back to 40 years ago. The Act on Development Cooperation 2002 states in 2.(3) b that education, training and support for persons from developing countries is included in development cooperation measures Objectives of the AEC The objectives of AEC are defined in the sector policy education as follows 32 : Increased access to education for all, in particular for girls and women and other socially disadvantaged groups; Quality development and assurance of educational programmes; Support of reform processes and development programmes in the partner countries; Narrowing of the North-South gap in science and research. When country-programmes and country-budgets were introduced in the beginning of the 1990s, education was not integrated in these planning instruments, but remained a distinct budget line. 27 BMaA (2000), Bildungszusammenarbeit - Sektorpolitik der österreichischen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, Vienna, Sektion Entwicklungszusammenarbeit VII/A/2b. 28 BmaA (2004a), Education within the Framework of Austrian Development Cooperation (with Reference to the MDGs), p BMaA (2002), Bildungszusammenarbeit in Südosteuropa. Leitfaden der Ostzusammenarbeit des BMaA 2002 bis Version 1.0, Sektion Entwicklungs- und Ostzusammenarbeit VII/2e. 30 BMaA (2000). 31 Bildung, Ausbildung und Betreuung von Menschen aus Entwicklungsländern, EZA-G, 49.Bundesgesetz BMaA (2000), p.16. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 16

19 2.3 Gender issues in AEC International backdrop to the Austrian Gender and Development strategy The OeEZ s Gender and development policy (1998) appears to be solely founded on four international commitments: the DAC guidelines for gender equality and women s empowerment in development cooperation (1998); the EU Gender resolution (1995); the Beijing Platform for action (1995); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1980). The DAC guidelines and the EU Gender resolution echo the Beijing Platform for action in two essential aspects: Their rooting of the notion of gender equality in a rights perspective, underscored by the claim to CEDAW which is considered to be the international bill of rights for women (DAW, 2004). In this respect, gender equality and education are set against the same human rights frame. Their advertising of gender mainstreaming as a key policy instrument for the achievement of gender equality. It is important to note here that in its broad understanding of a gender sensitive approach, this evaluation will strive to collect gender differentiated data at all stages of its process, aiming at uncovering the differences between women and men, boys and girls conditions and/or situations. This approach cannot be limited to quantitative gender disaggregated data; it must also include a qualitative element aiming at unveiling the underlying dynamics sustaining the existing gender system. This will undoubtedly link with broader issues of participation and ownership, in the policy development process as well as in its implementation phase (who decides what the issues are? Who has access to what? Who has control over what? etc.). Besides mentioning extensively the international commitments of Austria in respect with gender in development, the Gender und Entwicklung document 33 provides Criteria for gender equality at the project level. This section mentions on p.69 that: the present paper is an instrument for the integration of the gender perspective at project level and is part of a strategy paper recently finished. The new gender policy for Austria s development cooperation and cooperation with the South 34 could not yet be part of the analysis for this inception report, but will be included as key policy paper for the further steps of evaluation. 33 BMaA (1998), Gender und Entwicklung Grundlagen die Gleichstellung von Frauen und Männern in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, Bundesministerium für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, Vienna, Austria. Österreichische Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. 34 BMaA / ADA (2006), Geschlechtergleichstellung und Empowerment von Frauen. Leitlinien der Österreichischen Entwicklungs- und Ostzusammenarbeit. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 17

20 3. Portfolio of Austria s Educational Cooperation 3.1 Budget allocation In 2002, the bilateral programme and project assistance (PPA) for the education sector accounted for 28.5% of the total of PPA disbursements 35. During the last 10 years, the budget for the educational sector 36 has remained more or less constant (13.2 Mio EUR 2004), with a relatively large share spent in post-secondary education (the decade s average of 53% has slightly gone down to 46% in 2004 for more details see the chart on the following page) Education within the framework of Austrian Development Cooperation, Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, This figure includes the (estimated) shares of educational activities included in other sectors and is higher than the DAC figures % for Net spendings for OEZA Educational Sector ADA/Stat/HR/ /SB-264a. 37 Unfortunately these data differ for unknown reasons from figures quoted by OEFSE, based on figures compiled by L. Saadat from the BMaA in 2004, despite those figures are also based on PPA. Evaluation of Austria s Educational Sector revised inception report 18