Session Information
13 SES 11, Educational Cost-Benefit Analysis, Digital Literacy
Long Paper Session
Contribution
Over the last two decades, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has played an increasing role in educational policymaking. Employed primarily, but not exclusively, by transnational organizations, such as the World Bank, CBA is now used not only to assess existing educational policy but also to determine future policy. While there is at present a significant body of literature that deals with the technical issues emerging from the use of CBA in educational settings, little attention has been paid to the normative and philosophical questions that stem from it. This stands in sharp contrast to the extensive normative and philosophical discussion of CBA in other areas, such as law, health, and environmental protection. In order to fill this gap, the present article examines the central philosophical aspects associated with the incorporation of CBA into educational settings. Its main argument is that from an educational perspective, even when adjustments to education have been made, CBA still has some fundamental limitations such that its use is beneficial in educational policymaking only under specific circumstances. These circumstances are presented and discussed. The article concludes by suggesting that when these specific circumstances are not in place, CBA should not be accepted as a guide to educational policymaking because it is bound to misrepresent the real value of different policy options.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ackerman, Frank, & Heinzerling, Lisa. (2001). Pricing the priceless: Cost-benefit analysis of environmental protection. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 150, 1553. Levin, Henry M. (1983). Cost-Effectiveness: A Primer. London: Sage Publications. Woodhall, Maureen. (2004). Cost-benefit analysis in educational planning ( Fourth ed.). Paris: UNESCO: International Institute for Educational Planning. Biesta, Gert. (2007). Why “what works” won’t work: Evidence‐based practice and the democratic deficit in educational research. Educational theory, 57(1), 1-22. Cziko, Gary A. (1989). Unpredictability and indeterminism in human behavior: Arguments and implications for educational research. Educational researcher, 18(3), 17-25. Eisner, Elliott. (1983). Educational Objectives: Help or Hindrance? American Journal of Education, 91(4), 549-560.
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