_Policy, Planning, and Research Working Paper Serles_ 24 funds are relatively small percentage of the education budget, they make an important contribution to covering maintenance and operating costs. For example, the quality of both textbooks and school buildings appears to increase with the level of local funding.

The total cost of education per student also appears to lowerin schools with greater local financing, regardless of the perceived quality of the school. Administrators and teachers have greater incentive to be cost-effective when forced to consider the effect oftheir behavior on the people who live and work in the local community.

The policy implications of these findings for the Philippines are important. They strongly suggest that decentralization will increase efficiency. Without an increase in local funding, the quality of primary education will suffer. Other developing nations, facing similar situations, might also consider more community funding for school systems.

This paper is a product of the Education and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department. Please contact Teresa Hawkins, room S6224, extension 33678.

# 70. Vocational Education and Economic Environments: Conflict or Convergence?

## Arvil V. Adams and Antoine Schwartz

_Macroeconomic policies have a direct impactontheabilityofanationtoprovide vocational education and training efficiently._ A better understanding of the relationship between economic policies and human capital formation through vocational education and training (VET) will help both development strategists and education planners.

Income policies that make the marketlesscompetitive,although designedto correct social inequality, often distort the demand for VET and lead toinefficiencies in its delivery:

* Effective minimum wage policies make enterprises less willing to provide skills training financed by reduced wages.

* Government regulated wage structures that result in wage compression, as seen in many developing countries, reduce the incentive of workers to

## invest in skills training.

Capital subsidies, and other relative factor cost distortions, may encourage the adoption of capital-intensive technologies that are inconsistent with a country's occupational skills mix and skills training resources. Such distortions will also debase the value of existing skills by accelerating their depreciation.

Trade policies can also influence incentives for efficiency in VET.

* Protectionist trade policies provide shelter to inefficient domestic producers and reduce the market incentives for efficiency in VET.

* Export-led trade policies, coupled with competitive markets for capital and labor, tend to encourage the search for cost-effective forms of VET.

Making economic policymakers aware of the consequences of their policies for human resources development will hopefully lead to the more sensitive development of these policies. By the same token, making those responsible for the development of education and training programs aware of the constraints economic policies provide to their actions will hopefully create opportunities for adapting to these constraints. The paper offers an agenda for the further study of this relationship and its outcomes.

This paper is a product of the Education and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department. Please contact Teresa Hawkins, room S6224, extension 33678.

## 71. School Effects on Student **Achievement** in **Nigeria and Swaziland**

## Marlaine Lockheed and Andre Komenan

_Student achievement is directly related to effective teaching practices, which differ from country to country. Conventional school and teacher quality variables are found less effective in boosting learning than teaching quality variables._ Multi-level analyses showed that differences between schools accounted for substantial variance in eighth grade mathematics scores in Nigeria and Swaziland. However, conventional school and teacher quality variables, such as class size, length of school year, and teacher education and experience had no effect on student achievement.

- The study the first completely

comparable cross-national comparison of - schoo]classroom effects in Africa shows that differences in achievement not attributable to student family background are largely due to differences in teaching quality (teacher's use of time for lecturing, testing, etc.).

This finding is important because little research has been conducted in developing countries to test the assumption that enhancing student achievement depends on the ability of teachers to manage the learning environment. The study indicates that the size, direction, and shape of the relationship between teaching time use and student achievement vary from one country to another.

In Nigeria, student time spent listening to the teacher lecture was positively associated with achievement, while time spent doing seat or blackboard work had a negative impact. In Swaziland, by comparison, seat and blackboard work had positive effects, but listening to lectures was unrelated to achievement.

Teaching time spent monitoring and evaluatingstudentperformancehadgood results in Swaziland, but no effects in Nigeria. In Swaziland, the use of published materials was negatively related to achievement, while in Nigeria the use of textbooks had a positive effect.

Teacher effectiveness depends on finding the appropriate mix of alternative uses of instructional time. Since this seems to differ according to the locale, more local research on teaching quality is needed.

This paper is a product of the Education and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department. Please contact Teresa Hawkins, room S6224, extension 33678.

## 72. **The Relative Efficiency of Public Schools In Developing** Countries

Emmanuel Jimenez, Marlaine Lockheed, and Vicente Paqueo _Private schools are a cost-effective option for expanding secondary education in somedevelopingcountries. Theymayalso provide some lessons for improving the efficiency of public schools._ In many developing countries, the national commitment to universal education conflicts with the necessity for fiscal restraint. One option for expanding edu-