Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) - Volume 21, Issue 1 - Special Issue 2019 - Expectations, Distrust and Corruption in Education

Oct 15, 2026

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Research on how education environments shape participants’ propensity to engage in corrupt practices presents findings from desk research, interviews, and focus groups in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Tunisia, and Ukraine. Using a rational choice and routine activity framework informed by economic models, the study identifies systemic circumstances that create opportunities to abuse regular education processes and provide incentives for corrupt conduct. The work frames corruption research as guidance for systemic education improvement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Conceptual approach and scope of corrupt conduct

Research setting and methods

Findings on incentives and opportunities

Guidance for systemic improvement in education

Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) Volume 21, Issue 1, Special Issue 2019 Expectations, Distrust and Corruption in Education: Findings on Prevention through Education Improvement Mihaylo Milovanovitch* Center for Applied Policy and Integrity and European Training Foundation In this article we present results from research on how education environments may influence the propensity of education participants to engage in corrupt practices. We approached this task with the help of a conceptual framework that draws on rational choice and routine activity theory, and on economic models of human behaviour. The framework guided a collection of evidence through desk research, numerous interviewsand focus groups on behalf of authorities and civil society in five countries (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine). Our findings suggest that circumstances in education influence problematic conduct in two major ways – by opening opportunities for the abuse of regular processes in education, and by providing education participants with incentives to engage in it. This contribution offers some insights concerning the incentives of education participants to participate in corruption and discusses why research on corruption can be a valuable source of guidance for systemic improvement in education. Introduction Education matters for the wellbeing of individuals and societies alike, but its significance makes it also vulnerable to corruption – a problem important enough to have been singled out as a reason for the failing of targets in the first decade of the global Education for All initiative1 (World Education Forum, 2000), and also persistent enough to be on the anti-corruption agenda of numerous countries around the world today (Transparency International, 2013, p. xix; OECD, 2018). This article discusses selected findings from an ongoing exploration of corrupt practices in education and the systemic circumstances which may provide education participants with reasons to engage in them. The work was initiated under the name of INTES (Integrity of Education Systems) in the context of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and included the development of a conceptual framework of education integrity, as well as the integrity research presented here.2 Following an insight from international anti-corruption practice that sector-specific solutions can be more effective than measures that are imposed from the “outside”(Boehm, 2014), the objective was to gather insights into how corruption in education can be addressed from within the sector, through improvements in areas that are within the professional remit of education practitioners and policy makers, such as assessment of student achievement, teacher policies, admission procedures, etc. The scope of “corrupt conduct” in this research includes both practices for which thereis criminal liability as well as softer, sector-specific actions, which are harmful, but may not qualify as corrupt by international standards (OECD, 2018) .“Education” and“education system” refer to all education providers in a country, regardless of their © 2019, Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Current Issues in Comparative Education 21(1), 54-68. Milovanovitch ownership or sponsorship (UIS/OECD/EUROSTAT, 2002), which are accredited or licensed to grant credentials (certificates, degrees or diplomas) through formal learning and related services. This includes also entities which set the conditions of operation of education providers and monitor their performance, such as line ministries, regional education authorities, education inspectorates, quality assurance /accreditation agencies, testing centers, and similar bodies. The research presented in this paper was carried out in five countries (Serbia, Tunisia, Ar

FAQs

What conceptual framework guides the research on corruption in education?

The study uses a conceptual framework drawing on rational choice and routine activity theory, together with economic models of human behaviour.

Which countries and education levels does the research cover?

It covers Serbia, Tunisia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, spanning school and higher education, and also pre-school education in Ukraine and Armenia.

How do education environments contribute to corrupt conduct?

Circumstances in education can influence problematic conduct by opening opportunities to abuse regular education processes and by providing incentives for education participants to engage in corruption.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆