Researching the Politics of Education Quality in Developing Countries

Politics is increasingly recognized to shape education outcomes in the global South, but there is little agreement on which forms of politics really matter, or how to conceptualize or investigate them. This chapter outlines the main approaches and findings from the existing literature, before setting out a new framework for analysis, organized around the ‘domains of power’ framework. This brings together analysis of the overall organization of power within the society (the political settlement) with political analysis of the education sector (or policy domain). The chapter sets out the methodological approach that was deployed to undertake the research presented in this volume, explaining the comparative case study methodology and the focus on power relations, the role of ideas, the significance of the sector within the ordering of power, policy coalitions and legacies of past policies, and elite commitment and state capacity to deliver education quality reforms.