Local Government Performance: Evaluating Efficiency, Efficacy, and Effectiveness at the Basic Education Level.
| Autor | Paschoalotto, Marco Antonio Catussi |
| Cargo | Research Article |
INTRODUCTION
According to the World Bank (2018), in contrast to any other policy, education is extremely powerful, as it improves freedom and benefits, as well as provides a better life to the members of a society. Although over recent years access to education has increased, there is seen a significant worldwide disparity in its delivery and effectiveness, mainly due to poverty, sociodemographic conditions, and disability (World Bank, 2018). In the search for solutions to such problems, it is necessary to improve elementary schooling, the outcomes and environment for education, along with its equality (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF], 2017).
Therefore, for governments to achieve social improvement goals set through improved education, improvements to the efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness of national educational systems are necessary (Rosser & Sulistiyanto, 2013; UNICEF, 2017; World Bank, 2018). In our case, Brazil has a socially unequal basic education system, according to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2018), with a low level of expenditure per student against OECD countries, with different salaries paid to teachers and number of students per state, as well as one of the highest disparities in income found among OECD countries and partners.
The main challenge facing the Brazilian basic education system is how policymakers and practitioners can improve the quality and impartiality concerning outcomes through better evaluations and governance (OECD, 2015). The problem in Brazil exacerbates further, as shown in the state of Sao Paulo: despite being the richest state in Brazil (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica [IBGE] 2010; Campoli, Ferraz, & Rebelatto 2019), it has the title of being one of the least efficient states in Brazil in terms of education. While spending more money than any other, it still demonstrates the same or even worse results than other poorer states.
In the Brazilian context, according to the Federal Constitution (Brazil, 1988), municipalities are responsible for executing the educational policies from nursery until the first part of the elementary school--grade five. Nevertheless, this decentralized model has caused some problems due to the incapacity on the part of municipalities to attend to educational demands (Fabrino, Valle, & Gomes, 2014). Consequently, there is an academic and practical gap in the public management performance area, at the local government performance level, when studying efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness on a road map conception, starting from efficiency, passing to efficacy, and finishing with effectiveness at the basic education public school on a subnational level (Avellaneda & Gomes, 2015; Olvera & Avellaneda, 2019).
To collaborate in finding solutions to the gaps and problems mentioned above, our research question is 'How socioeconomic conditions influence local government performance (efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness), at the basic education level?' To answer this question, we have analyzed the influence of socioeconomic conditions on local government performance of the 3Es (efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness), at the basic education level. Therefore, through use of our study, we are stimulating advances concerning public administration studies, mainly in area of local government performance theory, by use of the 3Es analysis, while at the same time covering two periods of political mandates.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Public management performance, at local levels, has discussed the influence of sociodemographic, economic, and cultural factors concerning efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness in municipalities (Avellaneda & Gomes, 2015; Puppim, 2017). The debate has advanced to the performance in central social policies, linked to these factors, where one finds studies based on educational efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness (Olvera & Avellaneda, 2019).
The study by Theunissen, Bosma, Verdonk, and Feron (2015), based on contributing factors in primary schools in the Netherlands, proved that sociodemographic factors are influencers in the dropout rate and efficiency associated with public schools. In support of the study by Theunissen et al. (2015), Bastos, Bottan, and Cristia (2016) discuss how the expansion in primary schools can collaborate with education coverage, under the condition that there exists better quality in the action taken by the school. Along these lines, Carnoy et al. (2017) also debate the influence of sociodemographic conditions on the effectiveness of schools in Brazil, where each state has its own profile and route toward achieving a more effective education.
H1: The sociodemographic and economic conditions have a positive impact on an efficiency model at the basic education level in the Brazilian municipalities (Carnoy et al., 2017).
On the other hand, a study developed in Ghana, a developing country, supports the idea that there is no correlation between sociodemographic and economic characteristics when dealing with educational performance in terms of efficacy and effectiveness (Amankwaa, Agyemang-Dankwah, & Boateng, 2015). Additionally, Marin, Peuker, and Kessler (2019) include psychological factors, aggregated with sociodemographic conditions, in student performance, such as alcohol consumption and pattern behaviors.
The study by Birchler and Michaelowa (2016), complementing the previous studies, discusses the relationship between economic conditions and enrolment in public primary schools, which represents a connection between a higher financial profile and a more efficient school. Likewise, the economic and efficiency indicators can impact upon the competencies developed during the school period, which results in an improvement in the efficacy and effectiveness of the school (Aesaert et al., 2015).
In addition, according to Pholphirul (2017), there is a positive relation between social status and enrollments in pre-primary education, which later affect the effectiveness of these students in reading skills, science, and mathematics. However, it is essential to emphasize equity strategies in schools, working together in the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness (Lincove, 2006).
Furthermore, studies from all over the world validate the connection between efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness. In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, researchers have shown that the national educational systems have improved their efficiency through technologies and resources (Imsen, Blossing, & Moos, 2017; Yoshida & Van der Walt, 2017). In Tunisia, research discussed a possible non-correlation between better resources and student performance, even though it pointed to poverty as a factor of inefficiency (Ramzi, Afonso, & Ayadi 2016). It is also worth mentioning the movement in South Africa, where more efficient municipalities in public education have not provided a more effective society (Monkam, 2014).
In the case of Brazil, Diaz (2012) determines that spending more resources in public schools does not guarantee achievements, as shown through a multilevel analysis study in Brazilian municipalities; in other words, more economic resources do not necessarily lead to an improvement in public education. Moreover, Rocha, Oliveira, Duarte, Gadelha, and Pereira (2017) arrived at the same results in another study based on public schools in Brazilian municipalities, where using more resources without better management practices does not generate a more effective and efficient system. Finally, Lauro, Figueiredo, and Wanke (2016) represent efficiency as vital for socioeconomics and management in terms of improving student performance in public schools.
H2: Socioeconomic conditions and an efficient model can introduce a more efficacious basic level of education to Brazilian municipalities (Lauro et al., 2016).
According to Si and Qiao (2017), contributions linked to structure and number of students per teacher can have a positive impact on performance at the basic education level. However, these contributions need to be administered correctly on a public administration level, in order not to cause under-investment, missed training teaching programs, and inequality in school infrastructure (Lu, Li, & Wu, 2015). Therefore, school efficiency in primary education provides favorable conditions for increasing the achievement of the students, through good management (Si & Qiao, 2017).
H3: Socioeconomic conditions, with an efficient and efficacious model, can provide more effectiveness at the basic education level in Brazilian municipalities (Si and Qiao, 2017).
To reach an effective public education system, it is necessary to administrate all resources with a multi-perspective view, through a social profile and economic and social policies (Adu-Gyamfi, 2014). Through a more profound investigation, Ramos et al. (2018) concluded that efficiency and effectiveness were seen as non-motivational aspects by teachers, but fundamental toward developing a good job. It is important to underline the influence of management in primary school performance, as it has the potential to shift the actual status quo to a higher level (Driessen, Agirdag, & Merry, 2016).
Subsequently, understanding which variables influence effectiveness in public schools is essential to the academic world, as is the social and economic status of the family of the pupil (Groot-Reuvekamp, Ros, van Boxtel, & Oort, 2017; Martini & Fabbris, 2017). In corroboration with this discussion, Saminathen, Laftman, Almquist, and Modin (2018) and Yogo (2017) showed that the effectiveness of public education is dependent on characteristics of the parents, as well as on the access society has in participating in school decisions.
In Finland, recognized for its educational system through the implementation of the Basic Education...
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