Record Details

Decentralization of Lower Secondary School Education in the Lao PDR: Structural Transformation and Policy Impediments

Asian Review of Public Administration

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Field Value
 
Title Decentralization of Lower Secondary School Education in the Lao PDR: Structural Transformation and Policy Impediments
 
Creator Jones, Thomas; Meiji University
Chansamone, Sisonexay; Ministry of Home Affairs
 
Subject public administration, local governance
decentralization, policy impediments, secondary education
 
Description Despite being a one-party system, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has witnessed varying degrees of decentralization since 1 975. Recent policies have focused on administrative decentralization or deconcentration, as when the Ministry of Education transferred certain Lower Secondary School responsibilities from provincial to district level authorities in 2009. This study used a mixed method approach to assess implementation from a Lower Secondary School perspective, with semi-structured interviews conducted with 22 school principals in four districts of Vientiane Capita l. Results show that although mo re responsibilities have theoretically been transferred from provincial to district level, the exact division is still misunderstood and does not always meet the actual needs from the perspectives of principals. Principals place more importance on meetings with the provincial rather than the district authorities as the former remain the ultimate decision-makers for most lower secondary school matters, even though the district authorities are geographically closer and more accessible to the schools. The policy, thus, needs greater promotion and adjustment to reflect local needs, while more capacity building is also recommended, especially at district level.
 
Publisher Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA)
 
Contributor
 
Date 2016-12-01
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

literature review, quantitative analysis, survey
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://journals.sfu.ca/arpa/index.php/arpa/article/view/47
 
Source Asian Review of Public Administration; Vol 25, No 1 (2014): e-Government, Decentralization and Improving Delivery of Services; 22-38
2094-408X
2094-408X
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://journals.sfu.ca/arpa/index.php/arpa/article/view/47/43
 
Coverage Lao People's Democratic Republic
21st Century
secondary schools, Lao PDR, school principals, school districts
 
Rights Copyright (c) 2016 Thomas Jones, Sisonexay Chansamone
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0