vCardProf. James Tooley

Prof. James Tooley
Professor of Pol. Studies in Education

Research Interests

James’s main scholarly work is on the role of the state in education, and on private education, privatisation and public-private partnerships in developing countries and transition economies. He directed the global study of investment opportunities for private education in developing countries for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private finance arm of the World Bank – which led to the publication The Global Education Industry, (IEA, 1999), now in its 2nd edition. This study explored the private education market and the regulatory and investment climate in a dozen countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, together with detailed case studies of 20 private education companies or institutions.


Since then, he has conducted considerable research and consultancy work for the IFC, World Bank (IBRD), UN, UNESCO, and Asian Development Bank Institute on private education in developing countries. He is a frequent key note and panel speaker at international conferences on the global education industry, including keynote presentations in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Ivory Coast, New Zealand, UK, and USA. In the UK, he has also been influential in policy developments involving the privatisation of failing schools and local education authorities, and serves on the UK government’s Curriculum and Assessment Committee.

To further extend and develop his global research agenda, Professor Tooley launched the E.G. West Centre for Market Solutions in Education. Established in March 2002 it is the UK’s only university research centre dedicated to understanding and developing the role of market solutions in education. The Centre's mission is to develop knowledge and understanding of how choice, competition and entrepreneurship operate in education around the world, and which regulatory frameworks best allow educational enterprise to flourish. [More Info.]

Current Work

James's current research is directed at private schools for the poor in Asia and Africa. He recently completed, in December 2005, a three year global project funded by the John Templeton Foundation, USA. The project had five components. The first was to conduct a thorough census and survey of education in the slums and villages of the five countries that made up the project: India, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and China. The second was a comparative analysis of private and public education. In all around 25,000 were tested in slum areas around the world in Maths, English and one other subject. Data were also collected on the schools, parents, pupils, teachers and school owners/managers. The third part explored possible ways to assist private schools in their endeavours to improve. The fourth part looked at the regulatory environment for private education, while the fifth component involvd dissemination. This included a feature on the BBC 2 Newsnight, a BBC World television programme - "School's Out".

Selected Publications

More Publications

Projects

Future Research

Further research will continue to explore the role of the private sector in serving the educaitonal needs of the poor.

Research Roles

James is Director of the E.G. West Centre.

Postgraduate Supervision

Postgraduate supervision is undertaken with students interested in markets in education, private schools in developing countries, regulatory issues concerning education, the history and philosophy of state intervention in education. Other areas for supervision considered.

Esteem Indicators

Top Four Esteem Indicators

(1) Gold Award Winner of the first Financial Times/International Finance Corporation 'Private Sector Development Research Paper Competition', presented in Singapore at the IMF/World Bank Annual Govenors' Meeting, 17th September 2006. The Research Paper summarised my work on private education for the poor in developing countries, under the title 'Educating Amaretch'.

(2) Invited to become Special Advisor to help set up the $100 million Orient Global Foundation Education Fund, specifically established in response to the above prize, to provide investment and philanthropic support to private schools for the poor in developing countries.

(3) 1st Prize Award, 2006 Templeton Freedom Prize for Excellence in in Promoting Liberty in Free market Solutions to Poverty, presented in Colorado springs, USA, April 2006; The 2007 Alexis de Toqueville Award for the Advancement of Educational Freedom, presented in Warsaw, May 2007; the 2007 National Free Enterprise Award, presented in London, March 2007.

(4) Frequent invited keynote speaker at international conferences, indluding: the 2007 International Convention of The Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE), Cancun, Mexico, April 2007; IV Annual Economic Convention, Lima, Peru, Oct 3rd, 2006, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC); and the Global Leadership Summit on Entrepreneurial Philanthropy and Enterprise-Based Solutions to Poverty, December 8th 2006, Nassau, Bahamas.
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Frequent invited keynote speaker at international conferences, including:

Oct 3rd, 2006, "Private Enterprise and Public Policies against poverty",
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), IV Anuual Economic Convention, Lima, Peru

Sep 27, 2006, ‘Challenging misconceptions about private education’, IAPS Conference keynote, Lisbon, Portugal

1st December 2005, Education Promotion Society for India, in collaboration with Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi, India, ‘Private Schools Serving the Poor: A Global Perspective’.

8th September 2005, ‘Private schools for the poor’, The Cato Institute, Washington DC, USA.

7th September 2005, ‘Is Free Enterprise Education Good for the Poor’, The Fraser Institute, Toronto, Canada.

17th March 2005, ‘Private education and the poor’, Centre for Development and Enterprise, Johannesburg, South Africa

Invited paper to the Opportunity International Leadership Conference, Sydney, Australia, February 20-23, 2006.

Global Leadership Summit on Entrepreneurial Philanthropy and Enterprise-Based Solutions to Poverty, December 9-11 2005, the Lyford Cay Club, Nassau, Bahamas, organised by the John Templeton Foundation and The Roosevelt Group.

International Academy for Leadership, (Internationale Akademie für Führungskräfte), The Friedrich-Naumann Foundation, Germany, 17th November, 2005, lecture on Private Schools and Education for All, to a high-level seminar of 30 participants from developing countries.

Adviser, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, from Dec 2005
Member of Academic Advisory Council for the following thinks tanks: Reform (London), Civitas (London), Institute of Economic Affairs (London), Globalisation Institute (London), and the Edupreneurs Council of India (New Delhi).

Annual IFC-FT Essay Competition Gold Prize Winner: "Business and Development: The Private Path to Prosperity". Research Essay entitled "Educating Amaretch: Private Schools for the poor and the new frontier for investors" Awarded September 2006, IFC 50th Anniversary Conference, Singapore - www.ifc.org/competition

Winner of the 2006 Templeton Freedom Prize for Excellence in Promoting Liberty in Free Market Solutions to Poverty, 1st Prize, presented in Colorado Springs, USA, April 2006 (prize for E.G. West Centre, which I direct).

Background

James joined the School in July 1998. He gained his Ph.D. from the Institute of Education, University of London and has held educational research positions at the Universities of Oxford and Manchester and the National Foundation for Educational Research, as well as brief teaching appointments at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, and Simon Fraser University, Canada. Prior to entering educational research and policy he was a mathematics teacher in Zimbabwe.

Roles and Responsibilities

James is Head of the Education Section and Associate Director of the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences. He is also Director of the E. G. West Centre.

Qualifications

PhD, 1994, Institute of Education, University of London
MSc, 1987, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex
BSc, 1983, Logic and Mathematics, University of Sussex

Previous Positions

University of Manchester
University of Oxford
National Foundation for Educational Research

Memberships

Adviser, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, from Dec 2005

Member of Academic Advisory Council for the following thinks tanks: Reform (London), Civitas (London), Institute of Economic Affairs (London), Globalisation Institute (London), and the Edupreneurs Council of India (New Delhi).

Invited Member, QCA Curriculum and Assessment Committee, 1998 to 2003

Conference Organiser and Officer, Executive Committee, Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, 1991 to 2003

Invited Member, Mont Pelerin Society, from 2003 (The Mont Pelerin Society is an invitation only elite group of social scientists, founded by F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman in 1947, with 9 Nobel Prize Winners amongst its members).

Honours and Awards

First Place Winners - EG West Centre for research in Asia and Africa. The 2006 Templeton Freedom Prize for Excellence in Promoting Liberty in Free Market Solutions to Poverty. Presented in Colorado Springs, USA April 2006

Winner of the 2006 Alexis de Tocqueville Award for the Advancement of Educational Freedom, to be presented in Texas, USA in May 2007 (personal prize).

Postgraduate Teaching

MEd (International Development and Education) pathway.
EDU8211 Education Policy for Development
EDU8212 Placement Module