Mladen Koljatic and Mónica Silva
The purpose of this paper is to document the process of change of the admission tests in a developing country, Chile focusing on equity issues, particularly on the outcomes for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to document the process of change of the admission tests in a developing country, Chile focusing on equity issues, particularly on the outcomes for test takers from marginalized groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper deals with equity issues associated to the change in admission tests to higher education in Chile. It addresses the omission of a validity framework, the ensuing implementation problems, and the unfulfilled expectations that the new tests would increase access to higher education for marginalized groups. The paper is built as a case study, using media accounts and archival data to document the process of change.
Findings
Three years after the debut of the new tests, the expected outcomes of increased access to higher education were not met. The performance gap in the admission tests between the underprivileged group of applicants from public municipal high‐schools and the applicants from private schools widened.
Research limitations/implications
Two limitations of the study were the restricted access to primary information and the peripheral involvement of the authors had in the controversy over the new tests. To control for the potential bias in the discussion of the issues, the authors consulted with local and foreign experts not involved in the controversy in order to validate judgments and the interpretation of data and events.
Originality/value
An understanding of the overslights and flaws in the process of change can serve to inform national policy debates in countries where educational reforms are under way.
Details
Keywords
Mladen Koljatic and Monica Silva
The purpose of this paper is to compare assessment practices for highly visible social initiatives implemented by civil society organizations (CSOs) and businesses in Latin…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare assessment practices for highly visible social initiatives implemented by civil society organizations (CSOs) and businesses in Latin America and Spain.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a secondary analysis of field‐based case studies that focused on four dimensions of assessments carried out by companies and CSOs to determine the impact of their social initiatives. The four aspects studied were: definition of the initiative's mission and goals; creation of value for stakeholders; quality of managerial practices deployed in the social initiative; and degree of alignment of mission and strategy. Ad hoc scales were developed and two raters evaluated the cases based on these dimensions.
Findings
CSOs made a greater effort than businesses to assess their initiatives, as reflected in the four performance assessment scores.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations were the limited scope of information available for the analysis – a drawback when using secondary data – and the particular characteristics of the initiatives in this convenience sample.
Practical implications
Businesses implementing initiatives with expected social impacts as part of their CSR efforts should not rule out the possibility of outsourcing management and assessment of those initiatives to CSOs.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on the relative strengths of CSOs compared with companies with regard to managing and assessing social initiatives. The finding is somewhat unexpected, given the culture of management effectiveness that permeates the business sector. The authors conclude that further study is required to identify the reasons for higher CSO performance and suggest some venues for such studies.