Policy processes in the evolution of education in the Maldives : 1900–2015

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse key education policy reforms in the Maldives over the period 1900–2015, using an extended ‘policy trajectory’ framework to examine three policy contexts: policy influences, policy text production and policy practices/effects. For ease of analysis, the study period of 115 years was divided into five eras each named after a significant policy actor. A hybrid theoretical framework comprising critical theory and poststructuralism was used in this study to enable a comprehensive approach to policy analysis spanning global (macro) to local (micro) levels. These theoretical lenses underpin the concept of a ‘policy trajectory’ which forms the structural framework for the thesis, guiding research questions and presentation of findings. While policy ‘influences’, ‘texts’ and ‘practices’ are considered separately, their interconnected nature is also acknowledged. The study sought to answer four research questions. The first three research questions were framed around these three contexts. For the purpose of this study, the ‘global’ level included influences from particular international sources, the ‘national’ level encompassed the Maldivian government, and the ‘local’ level mainly comprised individual powerful policy actors. Through the fourth research question this study also sought to reveal the implications of the findings for the development of education policies in the Maldives for the future, especially with accelerating globalisation. Data collection involved a combination of document analysis and semistructured interviews. Almost all available policy documents of the study period were perused and 35 key policy actors were interviewed. Of the five eras into which the 115-year study period was divided, there were no living persons from Era 1 (1900–1934). Thus, only documents were used as data sources for this era. For the remaining four eras, both interviews and documents were used as data sources. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 participants between May 2014 and December 2016. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to determine participants who included past and present government policy elite members, institutional leaders, school administrators and teachers. The findings revealed several key themes in relation to the three contexts of the policy trajectory spanning 115 years of Maldivian education history. The dominant themes arising from the context of influences included international policy borrowing, global education trends, catering for national development needs, equity and access, resource shortages, relevance of education to the Maldives and available employment, and the role of particular powerful individual policy actors. The less prominent themes relating to influences were cultural considerations, impact on behaviour and learning and impact on schools and teachers. Quality concerns had both influenced the development of some education policies and raised them. The policy text production was characterised by the major themes: catering for national development needs, the role of particular powerful individual policy actors, equity and access, resource shortages, relevance of education to the Maldives and available employment, cultural considerations and governance. The themes relating to policy practices/effects over the study period were equity and access, catering for the national development needs, quality, resource shortages, governance, power concentration, and finally relevance of education to the Maldives and available employment. Based on these findings sixteen theoretical propositions were synthesised from the study of the evolution of education policy processes in the Maldives over five eras from 1900 to 2015. Several implications of the findings for the development of education policies in the Maldives were deduced from the study. The first of these implications deals with social efficiency, democratic equality, educational access, quality and resources. Other implications pertain to the need to contextualize overseas policies as well as improving regulatory mechanisms for quality and assessment. In addition, it was recommended that the Maldives revitalize both the technical and vocational education and training systems and higher education by prioritizing quality and labour market relevance of programmes. The thesis concludes by outlining a number of implications for future research and also providing an update on recent education policy developments in the Maldives between the conclusion of data collection in 2016 and thesis submission in mid2017.