M. Bakri Musa
May 23rd, 2010
[Last of Three Parts]

[Part One discusses the crucial role of workers’ cognitive abilities (language skills, mathematical competency, and science literacy) rather than years of formal schooling in determining and contributing to a country’s economic development. The second part addresses issues of quality, quantity and equity in Malaysian education. In this last part, I recap the experiences elsewhere and the lessons we could usefully learn.]

Clinical Trials in Educational Initiatives

In addressing the issue of equity, we should not be content only with providing what we perceive to be “equal opportunities.” For if the results do not improve equity despite our intervention, then we must have the humility to examine our premise and be prepared to accept that what we thought of as “equal opportunities” are anything but that.

We may think that by making schools “free” we have leveled the playing friend and provided for “equal opportunity,” but if the results do not improve, then we must be prepared to re-examine our premise. It could be that the major constraint is not tuition fees but transportation and other costs. That was certainly the case when I was growing up. Thus to effectively level the playing field we should provide for transportation, especially for those living far away. American schools provide not only free transportation but also textbooks, another major cost item in education. For children of the poor, these schools also provide hot meals. Thus providing a truly “equal opportunity” entails spending more on the poor.

In educating children, we have to be aware of the Matthew effect, or accumulated advantage. This refers to the biblical verse, “For those who have, more will be given … ” (Matthew 25:29). When we provide “equal opportunity” to children on their first day of school, those who are already prepared (as having been to preschool or have parents with superior education) will gain considerably more than those who are not so advantaged, and this gap only widens with time. To effectively overcome this entails giving more to the disadvantaged, for if you continue with your “equal opportunity” you are effectively giving less to the disadvantaged.

The other pertinent observation is that the earlier this added help is given, the cheaper and more effective it would be. Meaning, it would be much cheaper and more effective to give extra help at the preschool than at first year in school; at primary than at secondary school, and at school than at university. James Heckman, the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics, have written persuasively on the economic advantages of these early interventions, quite apart from the moral arguments. Read the rest of this entry »