The five strands of CREATE

There are five main strands to CREATE’s programme of research. These are:

  • The Pathways to Access Research Monographs
  • The Country Analytic Reviews
  • The Community and School Studies
  • Changing Patterns of Access
  • Political Economy of Education for All
  • The Pathways to Access accumulation of research monographs provides an extensive portfolio of research based insight and analysis into educational access broadly defined. These analytic papers capture a wide range of research activity that includes analytic reviews, commissioned studies with empirical data, analyses of secondary data, and syntheses from Doctoral work. There are twelve themes to the Pathways to Access series which are:
  1. Changing Patterns of Access;
  2. Health, Nutrition, Disability;
  3. Drop Out and Push Out;
  4. Migration,
  5. Seasonality and Nomads;
  6. Small Schools and Multi-grade;
  7. Transitions to Secondary;
  8. Educational Quality and School Processes;
  9. Equity, Poverty and Exclusion;
  10. Private and Non-State Providers;
  11. Planning and Governance;
  12. Aid Architecture and the Political Economy of Education for All.

CREATE outputs grouped by theme

  • The Country Analytic Reviews (CAR) are specifically focused on issues at national level. The CARs are substantial analyses of access at national and regional level developed to provide baseline data and identify key research agendas. These reports have been used to shape empirical work. Country level Research Reports have been completed to capture outcomes from the Community and School Studies. In parallel a series of cross national and national Policy Briefs have been developed to highlight policy relevant findings. 

  • The Community and School Studies include extensive fieldwork, data collection and analysis. In India over 6,400 households have been surveyed in three districts, and data has been collected on 9,000 children, and on teachers in 90 schools. Children were tracked over four years. In Bangladesh 6,700 households have been surveyed, and fieldwork was undertaken and over 6,000 children tracked in 36 schools across six districts over three years. In Ghana 2,500 children in 29 schools in two different districts have been identified and tracked and their households in three successive years. In South Africa 14 schools in two provinces were selected and 1,400 children have been profiled. A multi-method design was developed with a portfolio of 10 instruments close coupled to research questions, zones of exclusion and methods of data collection. Reports synthesise and consolidate findings, review evidence and reach policy relevant conclusions.

    The community and school level research was framed by six questions.

    • What are current patterns of access and exclusion, who is currently excluded from basic education at different stages and why are they excluded?
    • What strategies are most effective in meeting the basic educational needs of the excluded?
    • What options are available to improve enrolment, progression, completion and transition rates? How can drop out be reduced and re-entry be encouraged?
    • What options exist to improve transition rates and participation in lower secondary education?
    • How have patterns of access been changing and has expanded access improved equity? What does analysis of cross national data uncover about how to accelerate progress towards EFA?
    • What are the political, social and economic conditions which have facilitated universal access to education? Where progress has faltered what are the reasons?

  • Work on Changing Patterns of Access focuses on analysing time series data to explore what changes in access have taken place over the last twenty years. Relationships between access and household income, social group, gender, location, health status, and other forms of vulnerability give insight into the problems that deny universal access. Th research uses multi-country large scale data sets in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. It analyses data from the CREATE household surveys, school based research, and child tracking.

  •  The Political Economy of Education for All is critical to the prospects for achieving Education for All. Political will comes in many forms and may change over time. Increased participation requires understanding of conflicts and competition between groups, the conflicting interests of different stakeholders, and insight into resource constraints and allocative decisions.  This strand of the research is based on country case studies of increased participation. It uses data from documentation and high level key informant interviews.

Alongside these five strands CREATE’s communications and dissemination work is integral to the programme. Its target audiences include policy makers and people who influence policy makers. CREATE produces products adapted to target audience needs and works with key people to communicate findings as effectively as possible.

CREATE supports a large scale programme of capacity building. There are over 50 CREATE research associates and 25 post graduate students, six of whom are Commonwealth scholars.

CREATE provides technical support to its country based research teams. It also sustains a communications network to project outputs from the research at local, national and international levels.

CREATE has produced 75 Research Monographs, four Country Analytic Reviews, four Special Issues of refereed journals (Comparative Education, International Journal of Educational and Development, Journal of Educational Policy, Prospects), six Newsletters, and 25 policy briefs. Seven books have been published drawing on CREATE research. The research outputs also include 25 DPhils/PhDs based in the UK, and others located in Partner Institutions.