La stratégie sénégalaise du faire faire et la construction du sens de la gouvernance de l’éducation non formelle

In the past three decades, education systems throughout the world have experienced major transformations in relation to the overall quest of more relevance and effectiveness (Mundy, 2005; Lessard, 2000; Farrell, 1997). These developments took, among other forms, a trend towards decentralization of educational provision and management (Mons, 2004) considered by many researchers as a form of privatization. Today, the way the decentralization policy has been carried out is being questioned because the fact that (1) the limited financial capacity of many of the States concerned has led them to accept the recommended, if not imposed, policies by international bodies and also because (2) after several years of implementation, many countries like Senegal are still waiting for the beneficts promised (Daun, 2007). In the context of this thesis, we were interested in Senegal's experience of decentralization of education. From the 1990s, this country, as many other subsaharian African countries, facing a profound crisis of its education system, initiated a decentralization reform intended to improve their system (Pelletier, 2001; ADEA, 2001). We more precisely studied the faire faire strategy then implemented. Presented as a promising or exemplary strategy during the first years of implementation (ADEA, 2004), the strategy faces more and more criticism (Charlier & Faye 2005; Clemons, 2007). Convinced that a better understanding of the sensemaking of this initiative may help to better implement it, we analyzed it in the light of critical, post-major theories, and sensemaking by the actors’ perspectives (Ball, 1994 and 2006; Weick, 1995 and 2001; Spillane, 1998 and 2000). For the purposes of this analysis, we observed and interviewed nearly a hundred actors involved in that strategy. Processing of all the data collected allowed us to clarify the sense that the main actors give to the initiative, to see the lack of a shared sense and to point out the conflict between different meanings of the initiative. Thus, if the official discourse tries to situate the project in dynamics of participation and involvement, our extensive observation rather shows a form of commodification process and a blind application of its requirements (Charlier, 2003). Moreover, the study of the structures and rules of operation of the strategy as presented in official documents reveals a bureaucratic and centralized organization and guidance. In fact, the analysis of the sensemaking of the faire faire, highlighted the clash of the two models of democraty, i.e. participatory vs market oriented, described by Lessard (2006) as the main trends in the current developpents in education governance. The proponents of the faire faire may proclaim the quality of the project and blame insufficient resources or limited capacity of change among actors, the really remains there seems to be little concerned about the grassroots actors sensemaking. In fact, inspired by the rhetoric of international donors, the promoters held a discourse based on the first model (participatory) while setting up the second (merchant). Conceptually, the choice of a mixed analytic framework, combining sense-making, representation, critical and post-positive perspectives, helped to overcome the traditional resistance to change and the macro analyses explanations. This framework sheds new light on the implementation of public policy that may be informative for those involved in the faire faire, especially the institutional actors. With this framework, the thesis has shown that what did not work here is that there were, among others, the confrontation of at least two different meanings that cohabit in the strategy and the predominance of a formal sense of decentralization, one that is essentially and primarily oriented towards diversification of educational provision and not towards the actual demand. It also confirmed the increasing role played by the new education operators and, conversely, the limited room left to the learners and populations. Ultimately, the thesis reaffirmed the relevance of exploring the possibilities of hybridization of different actors’ meanings. In sum, the Senegalese case studied here is a pretext to discuss the implementation of public policies in education, an emerging field of knowledge. The methodology and results of this doctoral research are therefore transferable to other contexts where the same problem arises.

Keyphrases: Faire faire, Participation, Education, Reform, Governance, Decentralization, Sensemaking, Critical theory, Senegal, Faire faire, Participation, Local actor