Maria Balarin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Maria Balarin

Hewlett Foundation, UK Aid, Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, Ministry of Foreigh Affairs of the N... more Hewlett Foundation, UK Aid, Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, Ministry of Foreigh Affairs of the Netherlands, Norad and International Development Research Centre helped fund this publication.

The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the social research production environme... more The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the social research production environments of three Latin-American, lowand middle-income countries: Bolivia, Paraguay and Perú. It draws from three case studies – one of each country – based on in-depth interviews with key informants (policymakers, researchers, leaders of higher education and research institutions) conducted under a common thematic protocol. The comparative examination of the three case studies shows important commonalities such as the weak or null presence of the state in social research policy and funding. All three countries are also marked by a common instrumentalist approach to social research production, albeit of a technocratic kind in Peru and Paraguay, while in Bolivia it is of a political/populist nature. Together, these factors have a strong impact on the low research outputs of these countries as compared to other countries in the region, as well as on the types and quality of the research produce...

En linea con la literatura que concibe a la juventud como un proceso de transicion que se desarro... more En linea con la literatura que concibe a la juventud como un proceso de transicion que se desarrolla en un contexto economico, social y politico particular que configura trayectorias diferenciadas, este estudio analiza las principales barreras y oportunidades con que se encuentran los jovenes peruanos de contextos urbanos vulnerables en su paso a la adultez. A traves de un trabajo participativo con jovenes de los distritos de San Juan de Lurigancho y Ventanilla, de entrevistas a representantes de institucionales locales y de la revision de bases de datos, se encuentra que si bien existen factores comunes que repercuten en la transicion a la vida adulta de esta poblacion —como la falta de recursos economicos que influye en su posibilidad de acceder a credenciales educativas y, con ello, a empleos de calidad—, este proceso se ve tambien influenciado por otros elementos —como las particularidades y el grado de precariedad del contexto local, el capital social y las caracteristicas fami...

Understanding School Segregation

education policy analysis archives

Over the last decades, Peru has experienced an extraordinary rise of low-fee private schools (LFP... more Over the last decades, Peru has experienced an extraordinary rise of low-fee private schools (LFPSs). While global debates on the quality of this modality of schooling have been gaining currency, research on the organizational practices of LFPSs remains comparatively underdeveloped. This paper aims at identifying and describing the managerial, business and organizational practices exhibited by Peruvian LFPSs– and at understanding them in relation to the social norms and institutional arrangements specific to the context in which they operate. The study draws on a combination of archival analysis, interviews with decision-makers, and interviews with school owners and principals. The results of our research show that the specificities of the socioeconomic, cultural and regulative environments in which Peruvian LFPSs operate have led to the consolidation of a particular subsistence model of LFPS where profit-making appears to play a limited role. This model is also characterized by the...

SSRN Electronic Journal

This study aims to identify the effects of Juntos, the conditional cash transfer program in Peru,... more This study aims to identify the effects of Juntos, the conditional cash transfer program in Peru, on women's empowerment. Although the program does not envisage women's welfare as an objective per se, women play a key role as they are the main recipients of the cash transfer and are responsible for compliance with the program's conditions; thus, their empowerment level can be affected by the intervention. The study applies mixed methods complementing quantitative econometrics with qualitative methods to identify the effects of Juntos on six dimensions of empowerment: economic household decision-making, freedom of movement, gender ideology, agency, self-esteem and perceptions of life. Using two data sources for the quantitative approach (ENDES and Young Lives Study), the study finds positive significant effects on women's empowerment, specifically on economic household decision-making (even when considering large purchases and resources earned by the partner), self-esteem and perceptions of life; the latter of which is found when women have been part of the program for more than three years. These results are strongly reinforced and explained by the findings of a qualitative approach. No significant results were found on agency, freedom of movement or gender ideology, but the qualitative fieldwork results show improvements on agency and freedom of movement mainly because of women's participation in training sessions and informal socialization, where they are able to exchange ideas that are then incorporated into their daily lives. However, these improvements may be hampered in some cases by local management of the program in which vertical interaction between the government representatives and beneficiaries occur; women appear as the passive subjects who only receive benefits, conditions and instructions from the program. JEL: I38; J16.

Estudios De Filosofia, Jun 13, 2012

Cambridge Journal of Education, 2012

... Ankie Hoogvelt); (3) The Global Auction, Skill Bias Theory and Graduate Incomes: Reflections ... more ... Ankie Hoogvelt); (3) The Global Auction, Skill Bias Theory and Graduate Incomes: Reflections on Methodology (Hugh Lauder, Phillip Brown and ... Young); and (9) The Problem With Competency Based Training (and Why Constructivism Makes Things Worse) (Leesa Wheelahan). ...

Balarin, M., Brammer, S., James, C., Mccormack, M., 2008. Current issues of concern in school gov... more Balarin, M., Brammer, S., James, C., Mccormack, M., 2008. Current issues of concern in school governance in England. In: Annual Conference of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS Annual Conference 2008), 4-6 July 2008, ...

education policy analysis archives

This study aims to identify the effects of the conditional cash transfer program of Peru, Juntos,... more This study aims to identify the effects of the conditional cash transfer program of Peru, Juntos, on women's empowerment. Although the program does not envisage women's welfare as an objective per se, women play a key role as they are the main recipients of the cash transfer and are responsible for compliance with the program's conditions and thus their empowerment level can be affected by the intervention. The study complements econometric quantitative and qualitative methods to identify the effects of Juntos on six dimensions of empowerment: economic household decision-making, freedom of movement, gender ideology, agency, self-esteem and perceptions of life. Using two data sources for the quantitative approach (ENDES and Young Lives Study), the study finds positive significant effects on women empowerment, specifically on economic household decision-making (even when considering large purchases and resources earned by the partner), self-esteem and perceptions of life, in this last case, particularly when women have been part of the program for more than three years. These results are strongly reinforced and explained by the findings of qualitative approach. No significant results are found on agency, freedom of movement or gender ideology, but the qualitative fieldwork results show improvements on agency and freedom of movement mainly because of women participation in training sessions and informal socialization, where they are able to exchange ideas that are then incorporated into their daily lives. However, these improvements may be hampered in some cases by local management of the program in which vertical interaction between the government representatives and beneficiaries are reproduced; women appear as the passive subjects, who only receive benefits, conditions and instructions from the program. JEL: I38; J16.

Go back to search results or Start a new search Vocational and business training to improve wome... more Go back to search results or Start a new search
Vocational and business training to improve women’s labour market outcomes in low- and middle-income countries

Authors: Marjorie Chinen, Thomas de Hoop, Lorena Alcázar, María Balarin, Josh Sennett
Published date: 2017-12-21
Coordinating group(s): International Development
Volume: 13
Title (1064 downloads)
Protocol (860 downloads)
Review (112 downloads)
Plain Language Summary (92 downloads)
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About this systematic review
This Campbell systematic review examines the impact of vocational and business training targeted at women in low- and middle-income countries. The review summarises evidence from thirty-five quantitative studies with an experimental or quasi-experimental design. The review summarises the impact of 30 interventions, containing data from over 80,000 women. The qualitative narrative meta-synthesis includes findings from 50 studies.

En línea con la literatura que concibe a la juventud como un proceso de transición que se desarro... more En línea con la literatura que concibe a la juventud como un proceso de transición que se desarrolla en un contexto económico, social y político particular que configura trayectorias diferenciadas, este estudio analiza las principales barreras y oportunidades con que se encuentran los jóvenes peruanos de contextos urbanos vulnerables en su paso a la adultez.

A través de un trabajo participativo con jóvenes de los distritos de San Juan de Lurigancho y Ventanilla, de entrevistas a representantes de institucionales locales y de la revisión de bases de datos, se encuentra que si bien existen factores comunes que repercuten en la transición a la vida adulta de esta población —como la falta de recursos económicos que influye en su posibilidad de acceder a credenciales educativas y, con ello, a empleos de calidad—, este proceso se ve también influenciado por otros elementos —como las particularidades y el grado de precariedad del contexto local, el capital social y las características familiares— que llevan a experimentar trayectorias diferentes, algunas más favorables que otras. Asimismo, se halla una serie de factores diferenciados por género —como la carga doméstica y de cuidado en el caso de las mujeres y la carga económica en el de los hombres— con un peso importante en la configuración de las trayectorias de vida de estos jóvenes.

Sobre la base de estos hallazgos, el estudio reflexiona sobre las políticas públicas como determinantes para facilitar la transición a la adultez en contextos de precariedad. Si bien existen actualmente políticas relevantes par la juventud peruana, se halla también una marcada ausencia del Estado en los espacios urbanos marginales.

The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the social research production environme... more The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the social research production environments of three Latin-American, low- and middle-income countries: Bolivia, Paraguay and Perú. It draws from three case studies – one of each country – based on in-depth interviews with key informants (policymakers, researchers, leaders of higher education and research institutions) conducted under a common thematic protocol. The comparative examination of the three case studies shows important commonalities such as the weak or null presence of the state in social research policy and funding. All three countries are also marked by a common instrumentalist approach to social research production, albeit of a technocratic kind in Peru and Paraguay, while in Bolivia it is of a political/populist nature. Together, these factors have a strong impact on the low research outputs of these countries as compared to other countries in the region, as well as on the types and quality of the research produced and on the circulation of research in academic journals. While there are important differences too, for instance in the degree of institutional development and the profesionalization of research work – where Perú stands out as the more developed of the three countries – the bottom line is that research is still experienced as a solitary pursuit which suffers from the lack of research communities and critical mass.

Desde los años 90, cuando se liberaliza la inversión educativa con fines de lucro, el Perú experi... more Desde los años 90, cuando se liberaliza la inversión educativa con fines de lucro, el Perú experimenta un crecimiento constante en la oferta y demanda por servicios de educación privada. La tendencia se ha acelerado en la última década en un contexto de crecimiento económico que ha permitido a muchas fa-milias migrar hacia dicho sector. El crecimiento del mercado de la educación privada se ha dado, en buena medida, de espaldas a un Estado que lo regula mínimamente y de manera poco efectiva. El resultado es una oferta extremadamente heterogénea, con un importante sub-sector de escuelas de bajo costo, y por lo general de baja calidad, para familias de escasos recursos. El artículo analiza este proceso, explora las decisiones de las familias pobres que optan por servicios privados de educación y plantea una serie de consideraciones sobre los efectos de la privatización por defecto sobre la equidad del sistema educativo peruano.

The study on which this paper is based set out to explore what was happening in the lowfee privat... more The study on which this paper is based set out to explore what was happening in the lowfee private schooling sector in Perú—a growing and un-explored area of public education in the country and in many parts of the developing world—and, more specifi cally, at how parents from poor backgrounds make decisions and navigate the low-fee private schooling market. The project ended up being much more comprehensive than I had originally envisaged, partly because the very little available information on low-fee private schooling in Perú required mapping privatization trends at a broader level, but also because, as I went along, a number of issues, notably with regard to the regulation of the private school market, began to emerge that were relevant not only to low-fee private schooling, but to the phenomenon of private education as a whole. While the project kept a focus on poor families who send their children to low-fee private schools, it developed into an exploration of the much broader phenomenon of ‘privatization by default’ that has taken place in the country over the past two or three decades. This paper will focus on these two aspects of educational privatization: how the process
of default privatization has taken place in an extremely weak regulatory context, and how families from poor backgrounds make decisions about sending their children to low-fee private schools. Framing the case study are a set of more conceptual refl ections drawn from the literature on how markets in education work and how some of the trends
identifi ed in more institutionalized—better regulated, publicly funded—educational markets might deepen in a much more weakly institutionalized context like that of Peru (Balarin 2008). The study’s fi ndings challenge uncritical accounts of low-fee private education which portray it as an area of hope and greater opportunities for poor families, and raises serious questions with regard to the way in which this form of privatization might be intensifying educational segregation while misleadingly capitalizing on the hopes and dreams of the poor.

Understanding School Segregation

education policy analysis archives

SSRN Electronic Journal

Estudios De Filosofia, Jun 13, 2012

Cambridge Journal of Education, 2012

education policy analysis archives

The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the social research production environme... more The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the social research production environments of three Latin-American, low- and middle-income countries: Bolivia, Paraguay and Perú. It draws from three case studies – one of each country – based on in-depth interviews with key informants (policymakers, researchers, leaders of higher education and research institutions) conducted under a common thematic protocol. The comparative examination of the three case studies shows important commonalities such as the weak or null presence of the state in social research policy and funding. All three countries are also marked by a common instrumentalist approach to social research production, albeit of a technocratic kind in Peru and Paraguay, while in Bolivia it is of a political/populist nature. Together, these factors have a strong impact on the low research outputs of these countries as compared to other countries in the region, as well as on the types and quality of the research produced and on the circulation of research in academic journals. While there are important differences too, for instance in the degree of institutional development and the profesionalization of research work – where Perú stands out as the more developed of the three countries – the bottom line is that research is still experienced as a solitary pursuit which suffers from the lack of research communities and critical mass.

This post is based on interview feedback from two women thinktankers based in Lima, Peru. Cynthia... more This post is based on interview feedback from two women thinktankers based in Lima, Peru. Cynthia Sanborn is the Director of the Centro de Investigación de la Universidad del Pacífico (CIUP), the research centre housed at the University of the Pacific, and Maria Balarín is an Associate Researcher at the Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE). The researchers offer their views on gender dynamics in think tanks on issues such as overt and subtle biases, the role of care, and pipeline challenges. They also put forward possible strategies for addressing gender issues, including affirmative action, mentorship, assessments, mobilisation strategies, and the promotion of new ways of thinking about workers’ identities. Their feedback reflects the diversity and nuance of experiences among thinktankers illustrated throughout this series and provides a similarly diverse set of responses that could be effective depending on regional context, organisational structure, work cultures among other factors.