Social Policy and Education

ICPS European Focus newsletter, No. 7, 2010

{in English and Ukrainian)

ICPS Policy Studies No. 1, 2010

(in English and Ukrainian)

A policy study, conducted byt the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD), Azerbaijan. The book was published with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

(attached in English and in Georgian)

A range of reforms to Georgia’s general education system are underway. Alongside measures to improve access to education and increase the level of transparency and democratisation within the system, one of the main aims of the reforms is the improvement of the quality of education provided.

There are a number of problems associated with quality assurance in education. Firstly, no consensus exists within society on key issues. For example, what constitutes “quality” in education? Who is responsible for ensuring the quality of education? What effects does quality education have? There is also a lack of a specific strategy on how to go about improving educational standards. The supporting infrastructure needed to improve standards in schools is inadequate. Neither the state nor schools are working in tandem to achieve agreed outcomes.

This research paper was written by an expert group of the Economic Research Center, Azerbaijan, with funding support from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

a report for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, by the Institute for Contemporary Studies (ICB), Albania

(full report and summary attached in English; summary also in Albanian)

ICPS Newsletter #27 (419), 15 September 2008,
a publication of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Kyiv, Ukraine
(in English and in Ukrainian)

a policy brief elaborated by the Research Centre of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) ‘Viitorul’ – Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, for The Brookings Institution
Transparency and Accountability Project

(in English and Romanian)

Centre for Public policy PROVIDUS, Latvia, has published Learning to welcome: the integration of immigrants in Latvia and Poland, a publication that includes research about the legislation that influences the integration of immigrants – labour-market access, family-reunification conditions, anti-discrimination and political participation. The first part of the publication includes a review of EU standards and national policies found favourable for promoting these integration principles, based on the Migrant Integration Policy Index. This part also compares the state of integration policies in Latvia and Poland in a European context. The second part consists of a research paper on the integration of immigrants in Latvia, and the third part includes a study on the integration of immigrants in Poland.

The full text of the publication is available online at the PROVIDUS website: http://www.providus.lv/public/27166.html

CASE Network Reports No. 78

The objective of this report is to present possible scenarios for future health care system revenues and expenditures in Poland, and to discuss the results.

The problems which affect Polish society – including poverty, unemployment and social marginality – are not unique to Poland. Many European inhabitants, even in Europe’s wealthiest nations, are experiencing these problems. There are differences between countries, but these differences pertain to scale and intensity rather than to the nature of situations. Thus, the differences are based on quantity, not quality. Social exclusion, which is widely understood as a combination of the above mentioned problems, is a fundamental social issue (alongside the aging of the welfare society) facing Europe today.

This publication offers a selection of articles published originally in Polish in "Trzeci Sektor" (Third Sector) Quarterly. The main focus is on the social economy and on the perception of the third sector as an important part of the labour market.

ICPS Newsletter #18 (410), 2 June 2008,
a publication of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Kyiv, Ukraine
(in English and in Ukrainian)

The provision of care in Hungary has changed dramatically since the early 90s, due to many factors, including state or state-related institutions no longer having a legal mandate for services and new institutions working in different ways. In addition, changes to care have been strongly influenced by socio-economic changes to settlement size, economic participation rates and social relations within and between households. The position paper investigates what is known about these changes, focusing in particular on the care offered to very young children, to those at risk of dropping out of school, to care of the elderly as well as changing arrangements in the balance between work and life.

This paper is one of a series of papers contributed by the Center for Policy Studies/Central European University to the Social Capital and Social Policy Network for the project "Social Cohesion, Trust and Participation: Social Capital, Social Policy and Social Cohesion in the European Union and Candidate Countries." It is supported by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs.

In this paper, we attempt to answer the question of the relationship between diversity and trust in the community by taking a broad approach to engagement, looking at membership, donations as well as neighborliness and obligations towards others. We also include the latest polls on satisfaction and the quality of life in Hungary.

Since 1990, the public opinion agency Szonda Ispos has been asking people how they would rate various state and political institutions. Their latest ‘Prestige of Institutions’ report is from October 2006. It found that there were increasing levels of trust in the police, local government, central ministries, the military and the Church. Trust in politicians and political parties was low, something that was also found in a survey by the social research institute TARKI and the Community Development Department. Low levels of trust in national politics is a consistent theme.

This paper addresses the question of how far diversity in Hungary may be connected to levels of trust in communities. We were unable to find any academic studies which addressed the relationship between trust and diversity in the terms outlined in the guidelines. We have tried to piece together various data sources and connect them to two ongoing debates, which in our view, touch this relationship between trust and diversity.

The objective of this report is to present the model of future health care system revenues and expenditures in selected Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) which are now the New EU Member States, and to discuss projection assumptions and results.

(In English and Russian)

‘Quo Vadis, Moldova?,’ published with the help of the European Integration Studies Centre in Lithuania, is a collection of 10 analytical articles which chart the complex changes within Moldova on the path to EU membership.

(in English and in Macedonian)

The majority of Macedonian citizens tend to perceive the primary health sector as nothing but a road that has to be passed through in order to reach secondary and tertiary health care institutions in the country. This policy study makes an attempt at unearthing the causes of such a trend by analysing case studies in health care use in Skopje, Tetovo, Sveti Nikole and Negotino.

The paper argues that the integration of immigrants has not been a particularly strong public policy issue in Hungary. Although national institutions have been encouraged by European policy-makers to introduce policies supportive of integration, practical action is low key on both the government and the civic side. The very low numbers of non-ethnic-Hungarian immigration and the manageable numbers of immigration of ethnic Hungarians from neighboring countries is the main reason for this.

Serious efforts at media development have been underway since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and in some cases even earlier. USAID, for example, opened its first radio station in Liberia in 1985. Despite these long-running efforts, today there is still a great need for media development assistance. Efforts at democratization will fail unless bolstered by strong, independent media. Although conditions are difficult, there are many opportunities for moving forward.

ПРИВАТНО ИЛИ ДРЖАВНО ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ - ПОСТОИ ЛИ ЛОЈАЛНА КОНКУРЕНЦИЈА? АКРЕДИТАЦИЈА НА ПРИВАТНИТЕ УНИВЕРЗИТЕТИ ВО МАКЕДОНИЈА

The main issue during the Macedonian 2006 election campaign was the state of the economy. This was not a surprise given that the growth of the Macedonian economy has been low since democratszation, foreign direct investments incidental, and the standards of living falling. Good education, qualified human resources, are the key for progress in the modern world, an area where Macedonia seriously lags behind. The fact is that the majority of the Macedonian citizens have primary school education or less. It is difficult to attract higher value added investments with unqualified cheap labour. The goal of this analysis is to discuss particular issues affecting the low quality of the Macedonian education system. This policy brief sets out to find out if there is fair competition between private and public universities, how new universities are accredited, what are the problems in the procedure and how to rectify them. The focus of this analysis is therefore on the work of the Accreditation Board.

ДА СЕ УЧИ (ВО СТРАНСТВО) ИЛИ НЕ? ПРОБЛЕМОТ НА ПРИЗНАВАЊЕ НА ДИПЛОМИ ОД СТРАНСКИ УНИВЕРЗИТЕТИ

Owing to the rapid expansion and internationalization of knowledge young and ambitious students from all over the world seek better educational conditions and possibilities. Macedonian students follow this global trend studying all over the world from the neighboring Turkey and Bulgaria to the far away Canada and USA. The Macedonian government needs young, educated, creative experts, to help in the process of the EU integration of the country.

Macedonian universities question the acceptability of qualifications awarded by other, sometimes even partner institutions. In order to validate a diploma earned abroad, Macedonian universities often ask the candidates to rewrite their theses, or take additional exams. If the academic standards at the local department are different than those at the graduate school one studied abroad, there is a risk that your diploma might be downgraded.
A special problem is the recognition of diplomas of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary studies. A rarity in Macedonia, multidisciplinary programs are common throughout Europe. Youth from Macedonia graduates at various international universities in Nationalism Studies, Minority and Human Rights Studies, or Studies in Political Tolerance. Since such academic programs do not exist back at home, they have difficulties validating their diploma.

The publication presents the findings of research conducted on small arms and light weapons (SALW) and personal security issues in Georgia by the non-governmental organizations Saferworld (UK) and the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD, Georgia).

Between April 13 and 25, 2004, the Institute for Public Affairs conducted a survey that mapped the social and political climate in Slovakia before the upcoming 2006 parliamentary elections as well as basic patterns of electoral behaviour.The data were gathered by the FOCUS agency through its network of trained interviewers from a representative sample of 1,242 Slovak citizens older than 18, using the method of face-to-face interviews.The survey was supported by the Open Society Foundation.

National stereotypes are a simplification of certain knowledge, and from this point of view they may influence relations between nations and states in a positive or negative way. Poles, like other nations, have a stereotype of “an enemy” and “an ally” deeply imprinted in their collective consciousness. It is a common, simplified and generalised image of other states and their friendly or hostile attitude towards one’s own country.

(In English, Russian and Georgian)

The main objective of this paper is to analyse problems caused by the inability of the ethnic Azeri population of Georgia, the dominant ethnic group of Kvemo Kartli province, to speak Georgian, which is the only official language in the country (excluding the territory of Abkhazia) under the 1995 constitution of Georgia. This factor has long hindered the Azeri community’s integration into Georgian society.

(In Armenian Only)

On 26th January 2006, Conciliation Resources, an international non-governmental organization from the UK, and ICHD held a presentation on research contained in ACCORD, an international review of peace initiatives. The issue entitled, "The limits of leadership: Elites and Societies in the Nagorny Karabakh Peace Process," featured contributors from diverse constituencies and presented different perspectives on the peace process and analyses of the impact of the conflict.The presentation led to a comprehensive discussion of the issue at an event attended by political analysts, representatives of the media, local and international organizations, as well as state officials.

(in English and Armenian)

The following report is the result of a unique nationwide household survey on the prevalence of drug taking, alcohol consumption and smoking among the general population of Armenia. It was conducted by the ICHD in close co-operation with the Republic of Armenia's National Statistical Service and the National Institute of Public Health.

A publication by the Center for Economic Development, Sofia (available only in Bulgarian)

(In English and Serbian)

This is a report of a roundtable discussion on social policy organized by the Jefferson Institute at the end of December 2004.

This book contains adapted and updated papers contributed by the Peace Institute researchers participating in the research project entitled “The Economics of Culture.”

A research study by the Economic Research Center, Azerbaijan

A policy brief of the International Centre for Human Development in Armenia.

(In English and Armenian)

A policy brief from the International Center for Human Development, Armenia

Policy Paper No. 15, Center for Research and Policy Making, Macedonia

After 1989 social policy, has, to a great extent, played the role of a “safety valve” for economic reforms in Poland, focusing on protective activities. After more than a decade of transformation the country has found itself at a turning point. It is no longer possible to apply traditional social solutions. It is now necessary to re-focus on programmes that will require support beneficiaries to be more active.

The “Zero Tolerance for Violence in Schools” programme presented by the government is a project of broad social intervention into the field of educational activity and the functioning of Polish schools. The immediate argument for the introduction of this project was the dramatic and tragic event in one of Gdansk secondary schools that took place in 2006. This event was interpreted as a signal and an indicator of the mass threat of peer violence within Polish schools. Due to this reason, the programme has a broad scope, covering all schools and educational institutions. It is difficult, however, to see the grounds for such an interpretation in the existing research and statistics on aggression at schools, whereas the diagnosis presented in the project is not persuasive enough to justify the introduction of this programme.

ОГРАНИЧУВАЊЕ НА МОЖН ОСТА ЛЕКАРИТЕ ВРАБОТЕНИ ВО ЈАВНОТО ЗДРАВСТВО ДА ВРШАТ ДОПОЛНИТЕЛНА ДЕЈНОСТ ВО ПРИВАТНИТ Е ЗДРАВСТВЕНИ УСТАНОВИ

(available only in Macedonian)

CRPM Policy Brief No. 12

The latest changes in the Health Care Law, among other things, feature a ban on having public-service physicians engage in additional private practices.
Is this a legitimate means to combat public service abuses and corruption, like the Government likes to say, or an encroachment upon physicians’ constitutional rights to work and equality, like some experts claim?

No-growth spending?

For Ukraine to see sustainable socio-economic growth, a slew of serious reforms need to take place:

• judiciary reform;

• reform of the residential services sector;

• reform of public services;

• the formation of a proper land market.

Statement of conclusions of the study on the concept to strengthen and improve the financing of primary health care delivery in Azerbaijan - by the Economic Research Centre, Baku

by Economic Research Centre, Baku

Economic Research Centre, Baku