Who Shapes Education Reform Policies in Lebanon? The Role Of Research Centres. Submitted by Maha Shuayb

Transcription

1 Who Shapes Education Reform Policies in Lebanon? The Role Of Research Centres Submitted by Maha Shuayb November

2 Table of Content Introduction... 3 Policy makers and Research think tanks... 3 Methodology... 7 Sample... 9 Findings... 9 Education Reform and Research Centres: policy makers view... 9 Education reform in Aims and objectives of the research institute The organizational structure of LAES The activities of the association Advocacy LAES and policy makers LAES role in Education reform in LAES and 2010 Education reform Other LAES encounters with policy makers Discussion References

3 Introduction Education Policy in the Arab world has undergone immense change in the last 50 years. While many Arab countries managed to achieve big steps in increasing student enrolment and widening access to education, the poor quality of education offered in most Arab countries continued to raise major concerns resulting in calls for new reforms in education. As a result we see several Arab countries launching large education reforms such as Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. One of the questions that poses itself with the recurrent attempts of reform education in the Arab countries is how these reforms are being carried out? Who is involved in designing and implementing them? who funds them? what role do academics, researchers, teachers and the local community play in shaping these reforms? This investigates one of the questions concerning education reform that is the role of research centres in designing education reform. It focuses on Lebanon as a case study of an Arabic country which witnessed two education reforms in the past twenty years. The study aims to examine the following question: What role do research centres play in education reform attempts in Lebanon? To answer this question, the study examined on the one hand, policy makers perceptions of the role of research when planning education reform. To have more concrete evidence on policy makers approach to research centres we analysed the process of developing the last to education reform strategies ( ) and the role research played in them. On the other hand, the study investigated the views of one research centre on their perceived role in policy making. The paper is composed of two main parts: the first analysis the perspective of policy makers on the role of research and research centres when reforming education. The second part focuses on the experience of research centres in influencing educational policies. However, before we embark on the case of Lebanon we shall examine what the first the relationship between research and policymaking. Policy makers and Research think tanks 3

4 The Arab world has witnessed several education reforms in the past thirty years. Despite these big initiatives in many part of the Arab world especially in relation to widening access to education, the quality of education in most Arab countries continue to be questionable (The World Bank, 2008, the Arab Knowledge Report, 2009, and the Arab World s Education Report Card, 2012). Analysis of why these various initiatives did not succeed in improving the quality of education requires further investigation. Lebanon underwent two education reforms since the end of the civil war in There is a paucity of research which reflects critically on the process of planning and designing education reform in Lebanon particularly the role of academic and research institutions in shaping this reform (El-Amine, 2005, Karami, 2010). Most of what has been written on education reform focused on the objectives and effectiveness of the reform (LAES, 2003, Shuayb, 2005). Nonetheless, the few critical studies on education reform in the Arab countries attributed the limited success of the various education reform policies in the Arab world to a top-down approach (Bashur 1984, 2005) and policies being primarily driven by political agendas while experts and professionals have been often excluded from reform (Karami, 2014). Other concluded by calling for a stronger link between knowledge producers and policymakers and for a greater acknowledgment of knowledge produced locally when conducting education reform (Karami, 2014, El-Amine, 2005). Beyond the education sector and more broadly, Hanafi and Arvanitis (2015), highlight the fragmentation between policy making and knowledge production and knowledge translation in the Arab world. Moreover, they identify a disjunction between knowledge production and its translation to policy-making and to public and a condescending attitude toward public and policy social research by some professional and critical social scientists. Their findings are supported by other studies such as (El-Jardali et al. 2012) who reported a lack of policy impact for many of the research centers. Hanafi and Arvanitis (2015) highlight the dominance of a positivist approach to research by many professional researchers who have taken set aside their ethicaluuuiui8uiiiyj responsibilities by avoiding both expressing their views (pro or con) in public forums and 4

5 lobbying public officials. Some scholars (Harb, 1996; Balqziz 1999) tend to discourage academics being involved in politics and consider that this cannot be accompanied by any critical discourse...the rupture appears not only by the fact that professional academics don t care about policy, but also the other way round. There are a number of reasons why policy makers do not use research centres and research in general such as translating think tank ideas in to policy, timing, using common language (Worpole, 1998). In understanding the relationship between research centres and policy making in UK, Schlesinger, (2009) says that the relationship was sometimes promoting policy making by think tanks and in other times think tanks were only categories or they only develop the lines to provide ideas for think tanks. The author ends by saying that think tanks role has changed because some politicians who made the ideas of think tanks reach the governments. Undoubtedly the link between research and policy making is not always clear or even existing. The disconnection between the two is present on many levels. Whitehurst who reviewed hundreds of sessions presented at the American Education Research Association (AERA) and found many titles to be arcane and idiosyncratic such as Episodes of Theory Building as Transformative and Decolonising Process: A microethnographic inquiry into a deeper Awareness of Embodied Knowing. (Cited in Bransford, 2009, p.5). Whitehurst identifies a gap between the supply side and the demand side and for an academic oriented research culture which does not either provide knowledge that can be accessed by policy makers or is always relevant. On the other hand, policy makers don't always actively seek the knowledge provided by researchers. Cohen (1985, cited in Bransford, 2009) found that policy makers rely mainly on information from the districts and governorates, and information from individuals and rarely from national or independent organisations. He also noted that information that was easy to access, received in a timely fashion, directly applicable to specific state or policy contexts, and inexpensive was the most likely information to research state policy makers. 5

6 On the other hand, using evidence-based research by policy makers is not always a straightforward task. Hacsi notes in most cases it is not clear-cut. When it seems relatively straightforward, it often lacks the specifics needed to describe exactly how programmes should be implemented. Hacsi states that policy debates are often influenced more by politics and ideology than by presentation of evidence. He highlights the complicated relationship between policy makers and education research. Researchers produce knowledge while policy makers business is to use knowledge. Most research does not provide complete answers and often answer specific questions and hence provide incomplete information. For instance we will never be able to know that a particular curriculum is the best we can offer students nor we will know exactly how to train teachers most effectively. Educators and policy makers therefore must act on incomplete information. Shwartz and Kardos (2009), describes a number of reasons why policy makers are influenced so little by the findings of education research. These include time: policy makers need a quick research turn up and are unlikely to wait for the long process of academic publishing. Yet academics are discouraged from publishing their original findings other than peer reviewed scholarly journals which counts the most in their academic career. Audience is another factor. While scholars write for other researchers and sometimes for practitioners and rarely for policy makers. Journals on the other hand favour articles that are of complex design and presentation of findings and academic language such as theoretical framework, methodology, methods of analysis, and findings. Researchers rarely discuss implications of their research on policy makers or suggest recommendations, which is what policy makers want. The length of these articles is another obstacle for policy makers. Yet bridging the gap between the two worlds is not impossible. In her study of research that ended up influencing policy makers, Susan Fuhrman, highlighted a number of conditions that helped achieve this which included: the researched topics are important, confirmed conventional wisdom, had pre-existing constituencies, were led by persuasive policy make brokers, were longitudinal, were successfully replicated, produced usable 6

7 research synthesis. The importance of the policy brokers was emphasised by other research. Here the source, communication channel, format of knowledge and the message itself are all essential for shifting the thinking of policy makers. As a result, Shwartz and Kardos (2009), highlight the important role of universities in producing policy brokers. Yet even when policy makers use evidence it is often used in various ways. Some policy makers often envision that evidence will play an instrumental role. They imagine that their civil servants will use evidence directly and centrally to provide guidance or decisions to policy and practice. However, Shwartz and Kardos (2009), point out that evidence is rarely used in this form. Evidence from evaluative data is used often in a diluted and delayed way. It is worth noting that even when evidence plays an instrumental role in decision-making, the interpretive process of evidence often affects the way they are used. In some cases evidence is used in a conceptual manner. It plays a role in influencing individual or shared working knowledge even when it does not influence specific decisions. Delware, Fillos and Bailey (cited in Shwartz and Kardos, 2009 ) study showed evidence often provides background information on various issues rather than guiding particular decisions. Symbolic use of evidence to justify existing preference or action is another common phenomena amongst policy makers. A number of studies (Cobb et al, 2003) showed that evidence is often used o justify decisions that were already made either to suspend or introduce new policy. Decision makers also make decisions without evidence despite its availability or even commissioning it they often discard it. Shwartz and Kardos (2009), lists a number of ways to encourage the use of evidence at the district level. Encouraging collaborator with external organisation to facilitate access to the right evidence and its interpretation (p.81), policy makers can develop structures or processes to fund and support search for evidence, foster conditions for collective interpretation, develop political support for evidence use, develop new strategies for building central office capacity for evidence use. Methodology The study adopted a qualitative research methodology comprising a desk review, 7

8 document analysis, and a case study one research institute, the Lebanese Association for Education Studies. The case study focused on examining the relationship between the research organization and policymaking. Case study of a research institute: The Lebanese Association for Education Studies (LAES) was selected as a case study to examine the role of research centers in shaping policy reform. LAES is a professional, non-political and non-profit organization that aims to develop and disseminate educational knowledge that would contribute to the development of educational research in Lebanon established in LAES is the only independent research organization dedicated specifically for education research. Over the past 20 years, it has been the leading research institute in education and undertook many research projects, regional and local seminars and conferences, documentation and publication. The association members include some of the most prominent educationalists in Lebanon. Consent to mention the name of the association was granted. The case study consisted of in-depth interviews with founding and current members of the association in addition to a review of the main aims and objectives documents, and publications. Research Instruments The study will adopt a qualitative research design comprising the following: Individual interviews: Individual semi-structured interviews with policy makers involved in 1994 and 2010 reform (at MEHE and CERD) were carried out and focused on the process adopted in conducting the reform particularly the role of researchers and research centres. A series of interviews were also carried out with founding and current members of LAES which sought to identify the role of the association in policy making 8

9 in Lebanon. The interviews were recorded and transcribed then analysed. Document analysis: were conducted of any white papers or publications from the MEHE concerning 1994 and 2010 reforms. A review of all CERD publications were carried out and coded according to date, type of publication (research, guidebook, textbooks) and funder. Sample It total 20 in-depth interviewed were carried out. The study interviewed 14 out of the 30 registered members of LAES. Half of these members were founding ones. In addition, we interviewed 6 policy makers: 2 ministers of education, 3 presidents of CERD and 2 senior policy makers who were involved in the two reforms at MEHE and CERD. Findings Education Reform and Research Centres: policy makers view As mentioned earlier, the study investigated policy makers views concerning the role of research in the last two education reforms in Lebanon 1994 and By studying these two specific reforms, we were able to collect more accurate and specific information on how reform is carried out in Lebanon and the role played by research centres. Moreover, by comparing the two reforms, we can also unravel if the relationship between policy makers and research centres has changed over time. Education reform in 1994 The Taif Accord, which put an end to the civil war in 1989, initiated a major educational reform. It called for the development of a new curriculum which promotes national unity. Section 3.F.5 of the Taif agreement states that the curricula shall be reviewed and developed in a manner that strengthens national belonging, fusion, spiritual and cultural 9

10 openness 1. As a result the plan for reforming education and rebuilding the public education sector started. In 1994, the government set out its Educational Recovery Plan for the reform of the educational system, which -had remained unchanged since The main objectives of the new plan were to raise the standards of education, enhance the infrastructure needed for the provision of free education to all Lebanese children, and review the transition between academic and technical education. The plan also stipulated the development of a new school curriculum. In 1995, the Council of Ministers approved the New Framework of Education in Lebanon and a new curriculum and textbooks were introduced in The Framework has been described as: a tectonic shifting from the political objectives accented by the Education Development Plan to the recognition of the structure, content and styles of pedagogy of Lebanon's curriculum (Abouchedid, et al., 2002). The 1994 Framework and its new curriculum were developed by the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD) which is made up of educational experts, teachers from different sectarian groups from the public and private sectors as well as university academics, government bodies and religious advisors. The new curriculum had two main aims: The aim is to build within the personality of the individual the ability to achieve one s goals, to carry responsibility, to value morals, to treat others with a sense of responsible citizenship and to participate. The second aim is to build a unified and cohesive Lebanese society, able to practice its cultural roles in the global community in general, and more specific roles in the Arab community in particular. New textbooks for all subjects except history and religion were developed. Process of developing the 1994 reform Following the Taif, the cabinet set up a committee of 10 ministers representing the various political and sectarian groups in Lebanon to oversee education reform. Parallel to that, the Centre for Education and Development (CERD) responsible for education 1 Government of Lebanon (1989) Taef Agreement 10

11 research and planning in Lebanon put together a committee from its own staff representing the various sectarian groups. The committee drafted an education sector development plan which was then shared with the ministerial committee. The Ministers had their own advisors as well. The part that was examined the most was the underpinning principles, namely the political aspect of the plan concerned with the identity which the educational plan will propagate. The plan was then approved by the ministerial committee and later by the cabinet on the 17 th of August The plan had very ambitious goals: To build an advanced and cohesive Lebanese society that would allow its children to live their lives in a climate of freedom, justice and democracy, a society capable of assuming a cultural role in the Arab world and globally, through the development of the personality of the learner as an individual, a participant in the community and a law-abiding citizen who believes in the country s fundamental principles and human values (CERD, 1997, p. 2). The Educational Plan, which is a very detailed one, has a section that deals specifically with research. It highlights the studies it used in developing the plan which include data, research and statistics gathered by CERD and other public as well as local and international institutes. However, the plan does not include references to these studies. The plan lists five new studies which should be carried out to CERD these are: the framework of teachers, comprehensive educational statistics, social survey in Lebanon, the labour market and its needs, and the problems of the child as a result of the war. All of these studies were funded by CERD. Only one of these studies which was commissioned by external as well as internal experts was actually published. In 1994, a new director for CERD was then appointed who took charge of developing the new curriculum. According to the interview with him, the lack of an inclusive approach in developing the Educational Reform Plan 1994 resulted in several complaints. Hence one of his main priorities when developing the new curriculum and textbooks was to adopt an inclusive approach in selecting the members of the committees. 11

12 An executive committee was established which represented private and public educational institutions including schools as well as universities. The selection of these representatives took into account the sectarian representations as well as the educational experience. The committee also included the general directorate of the ministry as well as UNESCO representative. The decisions of this committee were then taken to the ministerial cabinet who had to rectify the new curriculum. Since the committee included representatives of the main political parties and sectarian groups, getting the approval of the cabinet was almost guaranteed. The decisions of the members of the committee depended on their own professional experience as well as their sectarian group. Concerning the role of research and research centres in this reform, the director of CERD during this period highlighted that he worked on issuing a decree to hire professors from the Lebanese university at CERD, however, the demanding nature of the work at CERD coupled with the an objection from the Council of Civil Servants, blocked this attempt despite the support of the Prime Minister Raffic Al Hariri at that time. He also highlighted the limited role of research during that stage, yet as mentioned earlier a number of studies were carried out to support the reform. The limited role of research was explained by the reliance on academics as heads and members of the various reform and subject committees. Hence, they could contribute indirectly the outcomes of their research provided that their research addressed relevant issues and was of a large scale that it could benefit the reform (Worpole, 1998). In 2000, a new director was appointed for CERD. Reflecting back on this period, the director noted that developing the curriculum and the textbooks was the main priority at that time and as a result research was overlooked. While CERD has the funding and the structure to do it, it was not considered a pressing issue. During this period we continue to see a great reliance on academics who were heavily involved in the various developments and reforms taking place at CERD. 12

13 While both presidents of CERD (1994 to 2000) considered research to be important, they reported that it did not play a big role as it probably should have when designing the education reform at that time. They noted that there was an emphasis on the role of experts rather than research and research centres at that time, partly due to the lack of research centres specialised in education. As a matter of fact, academics played a pivotal role in the 1994 reform. They were members of the executive committee of the study and chaired the heads of subject committees. Some of them were personal advisors to the various ministers. At the same time, CERD was regaining its old role as a research and education-planning centre. The education reform plan highlighted a number of research gaps and accordingly commissioned a number of studies to accompany and support the educational reform. Yet as a research centre itself, CERD commissioned the research and collaborated with external members of research centres and consultancies. The role which CERD played in 1994 reform changed in Education Reform: the rationale underpinning the reform Two decades passed on the implementation of 1994 reform. Despite the achievements of the 1994 reform, the public sector only managed to attract less than 20% of the student population in the primary stage. The gap between the public and private schools widened. Public schools became the resort of the most disadvantaged groups in Lebanon who cannot even afford the low budget private schools. The drop out of students soared. In 2004/5, drop out in elementary school ranged between 0.5% and 3.4% at elementary level; 4.5% at intermediate level; and 27% in grade 9 (Brevet) 2. Net enrolment rates for Lebanese students dropped from 92.7% (primary) to 68.5% in intermediary, which could be related to low primary completion rates, high repetition and/or drop-outs at this level. The highest share of repeaters out of all grades in the educational cycle is found in the 7 th grade the first grade of the intermediate level, with 8.5% repeaters. 3 Both gross and net enrolments for girls (at 104% and 72.5% respectively) were higher than for boys (92% and 65%) indicating likely higher repetition or likelihood to drop-out among boys. There were major 2 Lebanese Association for Education Studies (2007) National Education Strategy in Lebanon: Vision Document, Ministry of Education and Higher Education Educational Development Project, Beirut: MEHE 3 CAS, UNICEF (2009) Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 3- Lebanon 13

14 disparities among regions concerning repetitions with the highest in Bekaa and North Lebanon. Students academic performance and repetition rates were linked to levels of income and type of school (public versus private) schools. 4 The above brief analysis of access and quality of education in Lebanon after 25 years on the implementation of 1994 reform, shows major gaps in the ability of the latter to improve the quality of education. As a result a new educational strategy was being developed as of 2005 which finally saw the light in It is worth highlighting that between 1994 education reform plan and 2010 Education strategy, three other reform plans were developed but did not materialise. Process of developing the 2010 Education Strategy In 2005, a National Action Plan for Education for All was adopted in Lebanon, aimed at offering all children in society a good quality education, with a particular emphasis on girls and disadvantaged children. Contrary to 1994 reform, a white paper was commissioned by MEHE to develop a strategy for the education reform. The World Bank who was funding education reform at that time highlighted the lack of an education strategy to guide the work being done at MEHE. According to one of the policy makers who were interviewed, MEHE thought of the strategy as a means to make projects and get funds. The Word Bank suggested a strategy for MEHE. They suggested advertising this but I refused and suggested that we consult the organisation that is local and represents everybody. Kabbani agreed and that is how it happened. Consequently LAES was commissioned to conduct a review of the educational situation in Lebanon. For the first time, a report, which served as a white paper on the state of education in Lebanon, was drafted. The report analysed the main gaps in the current education system by conducting a desk review and surveying the available research and statistics. It did not conduct new empirical research but sought to identify a number of educational priorities based on the research. According to the policy makers, the reason for selecting this particular research 4 Consultation and Research Institute (2000) Free Compulsory Education in Lebanon. Beirut: Ministry of Education 14

15 institute was its reputation as one of the pioneering research organisations and the personal knowledge some of the policy makers had with members of the research institute. The drafted report was then discussed at a closed meeting where feedbacks from academics and educationalists was given and the report was amended. However, the strategy was not approved until almost three years later when a new minster and cabinet came. The new minster Hassan Menimeneh took an executive summary of the plan and presented it to the cabinet which approved it in 2010 and the work on the strategy began. Interviews with senior civil servants in CERD criticized the limited involvement of CERD in developing the 2010 education strategy and noted that the latter is responsible for the planning. They also criticized the brief nature of the of strategy document which does not specify what MEHE needs to undertake under each of these headings. Based on this situation analysis carried out in the White Paper, the National Educational Strategy in Lebanon (NES) 5 was produced. It adopted 10 main priorities presented below: Table 1. Priorities for education sector development ( ) NES (2007) ESDP ( ) 1. Education available on the 1. Early childhood education basis of equal opportunity 2. Improving retention and achievement 3. Development of infrastructure 2. Quality education that 4. Professionalization of the teaching workforce contributes to building a 5. Modernization of school management knowledge society 6. Achievement assessment and curriculum development 3. Education that contributes to 7. Citizenship education social integration 4. Education that contributes to 8. ICT in Education economic development 9. National qualification framework 5. Governance of education 10. Institutional development 5 MEHE (2007) National Education Strategy Framework, Beirut: MEHE 15

16 Contrary to 1994 Education Reform Plan, 2010 strategy only provides general recommendations and priority areas which the new reform should focus on. It did not describe in detail like in 1994 plan what needs to be done in each of the priority areas. While 2010 comprised a review of the main statistics and indicators of education attainment in Lebanon, and some research carried out in various fields examined in the strategy, it cannot be considered to be review of research in all of the mentioned fields. Looking at the list of references, we see that the strategy was built mainly on the statistics from CERD in addition to a few research studies on some of the examined themes. The document also does not explain the rational for choosing to focus on the particular fields. This corresponds to Schlesinger, (2009) findings that when research centers are utilised by policy makers their role is restricted primarily to developing general ideas or recommendations without being involved in the details of the planning. While, the vision document highlights a couple of research gaps, it does not make any research recommendations to fill these gaps. Finally, the nature of the document alludes that it is a review of research, which emphasised the perception amongst some of the policy makers, involved in this reform that further research is unnecessary. If we compare the processes of developing the two reforms (1994 and 2010) we notice that CERD did not take the leadership in carrying out this reform. On the contrary MEHE and a new unit established there known as the Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) was established which has a new director. The unit is funded by the World Bank and is based at MEHE. What is common between the two plans is the reliance on academics and specialists. However, for the first time, MEHE is resorting to a research centre in developing its strategy. While the strategy took into account some research in building its rational for selecting these 10 priorities, we find that the review is not an exhaustive one and relied mainly on statistics. In contrast, the 1994 reform plan identified a number of research priorities that should be carried out as part of the education reform plan. The research was carried out by CERD who commissioned independent researchers as well as local ones. However, as the role of CERD diminished in designing and planning the reform of 2010, the potential for conducting research decreased. 16

17 CERD was founded in 1971 as a public yet an independent institute to conduct research and develop education policies sovereign from the influence of politics and political rivalries. As its mandate explains clearly, CERD was appointed the tasks of conducting research including statistics, plan education reform, develop curriculum and textbooks and finally provide continuous teacher professional development. To achieve this CERD has a committee of specialists who are expected to have a PhD degree. This committee with the president of CERD supervises the work of the research office, which comprises several units: curriculum, Planning, assessment, and projects. The research office includes conducting various educational research and dissemination of results in appropriate ways, developing the necessary studies of curriculum and propose appropriate decision and conducting educational statistics and issue bulletins with their own analysis of the results. CERD s golden age as a research institute was in the 70s and partially 80s in spite of the civil war. However, research started to decline as can be seen in the figure below which tracks the number and type of CERD publications over the past 40 years. Figure 1 Research Conducted by CERD over the past 40 years Pre Taif Figure 1 shows how the role of research in CERD deteriorate over the past 40 years and reached its lowest stages between 1990 and 2006, while in the last nine years it witnessed 17

18 a slight increase. Another interesting characteristic of research is funding. In the first twenty years of life, CERD was the main funder of its research and publications. However we notice that in the last ten and 15 years, international donors were funding the majority of CERD publications as can be observed from the figure below. Figure 2 The role of external donors in funding CERD publications External Funders Pre Taif The donors role in funding CERD research was non-existing prior to the civil war. However, we could see how this role started to increase gradually since 1990 to research its peak in the last ten years. This obviously affected the topics of the publications. For instance, while in the 70s and 80s we see publications focused on issues such as the structure of the educational system in Lebanon, the socio-economic background of students, the income of the educational sector etc., we find that the topics changed reflecting the agenda and priorities of the donors. Hence, we see topics such as Pedestrian Safety, reproductive health, sustainable development etc. There are numerous reasons for the decline of the importance of research in CERD. According to one of the presidents of CERD, the period of developing the new curriculum put all the emphasis on textbook design rather than research. Moreover, the specialist committee and the staff of CERD responsible for conducting research retired 18

19 yet they were not replaced by new people due to the freeze policy on recruiting civil servants which plagued the public sector in various ministries. The salaries of some CERD senior staff did not increase with time while those at the Lebanese national and private universities did which made CERD an unattractive employer to academics. As the role of CERD diminished in the last 15 years, the role of research in policy reform became even more marginal. Yet one of the most important factors in strengthening the relationships between research and policy making are policy makers themselves and the importance they attributed to research which we examine the following section. Policy makers and the role of research in 1994 and 2010 reform plans To further understand the role of research and research centres in 1994 and 2010 reform, it is important to examine the views of policy makers involved in these two reforms. While all of the interviewed policy makers highlighted the important of research centres and research for policy makers, all of the interviewed policy makers noted that there is no policy of engaging in research or research centres when designing policies or reform. As one minister put it There are no policies. Only the priorities are addressed based on pressure of public or the wish and mood of the minister. Numerous reasons were cited for the poor role of research in the last two education reforms. One of the most cited factors was CERD which is an institution established to conduct independent research from MEHE yet its weak role over the past years resulted in its inability to perform this role and created a void which was not filled. Over years, CERD s work become primarily focused on curriculum development as well as teacher continuous education. MEHE on the other hand, is seen to be primarily concerned with administration which limits its role if not conflict it with CERD on who should do the strategic planning especially that the specialist committee at CERD responsible for this role has been inactive for the past 10 years. This overlap of roles as some see it, was exacerbated by the donors namely the World Bank which was funding the Education Development Plan which resulted in a new team being introduced at MEHE responsible for education planning and implementation. This was not helped by the over 19

20 politicisation of MEHE as pointed by two of the ministers interviewed. Both ministers noted that the politicisation of MEHE where each political group once assuming the power at the ministry sees it as an opportunity to expand their power over the ministry. This is often done by hiring a large group of advisors, some of which are academics, rather than relying on the civil servants expertise within their various positions including CERD. When hiring academics as advisors, policy makers see this as indirectly using and deploying research in their decision-making. Ministries don't rely on research centers. The phenomena of advisors undermined research centers as advisors have their personal positions and agendas so these advisors they promote the role of the minister and his believes which is often not based on evidence. Now ministers become a service provider for the minister s allies and advancement... (Minister of MEHE). While the research is institutionalised with CERD structure and budget, the lack of a research culture amongst policy makers renders it ineffective. According to one of the interviewed minsters the lack of awareness of the need of a research culture is more important that legislations enforcing it. According to two policy makers, the lack of awareness of the importance of research by policy makers requires that research centres play a more proactive role with the ministry of education and flagging their research recommendations and building bridges between the two. The relationships between policy makers and researchers and research centres appeared to play a big role the utilisation of research. Having examined policy makers views of research, we shall now investigate the other point of view and focus on the attitudes of research centres towards influencing policies. Research centres view of their role: the Hermit versus the activist The Lebanese Association for Education Studies (LAES) was selected as a case study to examine the role of research centres in influencing education policy. LAES was founded 20

21 almost twenty years ago and is a hub that brings together academics in the field of education. The organisation was established following the end of the civil war and the start of the education reform plan. In the following section, we will examine the objectives, roles and experiences in influencing policymaking. Aims and objectives of the research institute The main objectives of LAES are to produce and disseminate research knowledge, promote a scholastic community, interact with other organizations and contribute to the development of education. The aim concerning the development of education does not specify how this would be achieved either directly or indirectly and whether this encompasses influencing policy makers too. When examining the projects of the organsiation and its publications we notice that almost all activities have been of research nature in addition to conference. Interviews with members of the association (both founding and non-founding) showed differences in views and expectations concerning the role of the organization since foundation until now. There were two opinions at the organization, one for restricting the activities of the organization to research and knowledge production only, while another believed the it should play an active role in influencing and shaping the public as well as policy makers on educational matters. Yet members differed in their views on how to influence policy making. The majority seemed to favor a less direct approach mainly by choosing research topics that are topical, conduct conferences and publish books and policy briefs on various educational issues. Others argued for a more direct approach including advocacy and producing position papers, petitions and statements. This debate continued since the foundation of the organization to date. In 2012, the aims of the organizations were revised to reflect an emphasis on the role of the organization in contributing to the development of education locally and regionally. This is achieved through its research, conferences and publications. 21

22 The organizational structure of LAES LAES membership is restricted to PhD holders in the field of education or is currently working in the field of education. Membership to the association is granted following an application process which consists of the applicant CV. Only PhD holders are eligible to apply and who have a publication record. The administrative committee then reviews the application and a decision is made. There have proposals by the admin and general assembly to introduce a new type of membership for PhD and Masters students. Yet this proposition has not been taken up. Nonetheless, the association started over a year ago a platform where PhD students from all universities can present their research and receive feedback from LAH members who mentor them. The members of the organization fluctuated between 40 to 30 members. The elitist nature of the association is seen by some a strengths by supposedly giving it a good reputation. However, a few criticized this for undermining the ability of the association to develop into a fully professional group that can promote and contribute to the development of education in Lebanon and regionally. It also limited its role in developing the capacity building of educationalists in Lebanon as it only allowed for a selective group to become members. At the same time, it limited its ability to benefit from the contributions of a larger membership body. However, it is worth highlighting that LAES activities are open to the local and regional public and private sectors. According to the founding members, the association did not have the objective of becoming a professional type of organizations. as we shall explain in the following section. The activities of the association Over the past twenty years, LAES activities include research, conference, seminars and consultancies. Below is a detailed description of these. 22

23 Research Since its foundation, to date, the organization has served two purposes: conducting research and providing a platform for educationalists to meet. The organization has succeeded to a large extent in achieving these objectives. Concerning research, over a period of twenty years, LAES produced 27 books and 10 study reports. The subjects selected for research tackled topical educational issue which is some cases as we shall explain later put the organization in a confrontational position with some officials who threatened to take legal actions against it. Yet on the challenges facing LAES in conducting research is funding. Most of the time the research was oriented by the donor. Moreover, the lack of funding limited LAES ability to conduct research in the priority areas of the members. Consultancy As the record of publications of LAES started to build up, it soon earned a name and was soon called up by international organizations to conduct research. In 2000, it was requested by UNESCO and CERD to conduct an evaluation of the 1997 curriculum. This was one of several studies that were commissioned by several national and international organisations. While this was providing some income to the organization, a few members objected completely to carrying consultancy as in their view this will undermine the role of LAES as an independent organization focused on producing knowledge that matters to the academic community. In contrast, a few believed that consultancy is a natural thing for an organization that brings together the educational specialists in Lebanon with a wide variety of expertise. Yet, LAES administration maintained that they carefully select the topics and projects they accept so that they fit both their interest and mission. Conferences and lectures One of the main activities carried out by the research institute was organizing conferences and publishing the proceedings. The 14 conferences organised by LAES 23

24 tackled some of the prime issues in education such as history, higher education and teacher education. It is worth highlighting the regional shift of LAES conferences which now covers the Arab region. LAES also organizes a lecture once every month where researchers from Lebanon and the Arab world presents their findings and discuss it with a wide audience. The written media is always invited and sometimes covers some of the lectures. A scientific community Despite their Scientific communities in the Arab world are quite rare. Historically, scientific associations have played a fundamental role in overcoming the institutional limitations and at the same time opening research avenues. They also take charge in the scientific lectures, training and continuous education of their members and support its member. Hanafi and Arvanitis (2015) notes that the creation of scientific community needs two pillars: scientific associations and research teams. LAES is probably one of the few organizations in Lebanon that promotes a scientific community of educationalist. All of the interviewed members highlighted this extremely important role that LAES plays. It was one of the main reasons why all of them joined and continue to join LAES. What the members appreciated the most is the ability of LAES to provide a platform for educationalists from various universities and institutions to meet and learn about each other s work either through the general assembly meetings or conferences and seminars. Some members noted that they were looking for opportunities for collaboration or creating research groups within the organization, yet this was not possible as it was not on the agenda or part of the plans of LAES. Creating solid research teams as Hanafi and Arvanitis (ibid) describes require a long-term vision, a strategy and a level of institutionalization. However, all of these are lacking at LAES. While LAES created research teams for the various projects it carried out, these teams were temporarily and finished with the project which were all short term. As a matter of fact, LAES never had 24

25 a research strategy or a strategy at all since its establishment. Hence its activities were more of ad hoc depending mainly on the funding and the interests of members of the administration committee. This in the opinion of many of the members was its main weakness. At the same time, mentoring and training was another factor missing from LAES according to some of the interviewed members. This is partly due to the elitist nature of the organization which selects its members following an application process. Members must be PhD holders and have a good publications record. Their application is approved after the administrative committee reviews their CV. As one of the interviewees pointed out, once accepted it is assumed that the new members do not need mentoring. The elitism of LAES limited its ability to promote and contribute to the development of education in Lebanon. It also confined its role as a professional organization who is expected to build the capacity of education researchers, and train and recruit the next generation of researchers. Here, if we compare LAES to other associations such as the British Association for Education Research, International Sociological Association, and the Lebanese Sociological Association, we see that all of them have an open membership. This not only creates more dynamism and diversity within the association but also enriches the associations with a wider expertise. Finally, one of the roles highlighted by a member of LAES is the collegial support it can give to its members in case of clashes with policy makers or other groups. While this role was informally performed when LAES was threatened to be sued by the president of the Lebanese University following the publication of its study on LU, LAES did not take a position when some of its members were denied access to conduct research in public schools by the Ministry of education. Advocacy One the roles that was highlighted by some members but is currently underplayed by LAES is advocacy. Advocacy for a research centre can take many forms such as reaching 25

26 to the wider public and policy makers through opinion pieces, statements, journal articles, petitions, social media etc. While LAES objectives were revised and amended in 2008 to include contribution to the development of education, the activities did not change to reflect this new objective. LAES continued to focus mainly on such as conferences and publications. The only change that happened was the PhD student platform which was started over a year ago. When probed about this role, most of the founding members who are the more senior people at LEAS believed that advocacy other than publication is not the right place for an academic oriented organization. Some described other methods as being too populist and contradict with the role of academics which is to produce and publish objective research. They preferred to rely on the audience to pick up their publications and do something with it rather than actively seeking to reach policy makers or the general public. There were various reasons for this, one the dominance of a positivist view of research amongst some members. Other reasons included lack of consent amongst members on one position, and time limitations of LAES members to actively advocate for an issue. LAES and policy makers Although the selected research centre did not seek directly to influence policy making, we see that there are numerous cases where it actually did affect, supported and sometimes clashed with policy makers. We shall present LAES role in 1994 and 2010 education reforms as well as other cases where it played a major role and follow it by a discussion and an analysis. LAES role in Education reform in 1994 LAES was only founded in Hence, it did not play a role as an association in 1994 reform which resulted in the development of a new curriculum in In 2000, the newly appointed president of CERD was a member of LAES. However, many of LAES members participated in the reform as members of various universities. 26