Small States and Big Institutions - USAID and Education Policy Formation in El Salvador

Oct 15, 2026

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An article analyzes how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) wields institutional power in the formation of education policy in El Salvador during 2003–2005. Findings explain how bi- and multi-lateral institutions leverage financial and intellectual resources to shape agenda-setting, defining which policies become acceptable and desirable. The study shows influence through engineered key events and information inputs that create future opportunities, while also arguing that domestic leadership may still be insufficient against international agendas.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Policymaking in small states and international influence

Institutional power framework

Data collection and analysis approach

Results and discussion

Dynamics among key actors

Small States and Big Institutions: USAID and Education Policy Formation in El Salvador D. Brent Edwards Jr. University of Maryland, College Park This article analyses the institutional power of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the process of education policy formation in El Salvador during 2003- 2005. The results show how bi-and multi-lateral institutions are able to leverage financial and intellectual capital to guide the policymaking process and sway which policies are seen as acceptable and desirable. As is shown, one key to this influence is how USAID was able to manipulate the policymaking process by creating key events and producing key informational inputs that led to future events and subsequent opportunities to present and emphasize their research. Additionally, this research underscores how even exceptional leadership and political will at the national level can be insufficient to avoid the agendas that are at times advanced by international institutions. Finally, it is suggested that research on education in small states expand the notion of smallness to focus on institutional capacity, particularly within the context of the “global architecture of education.” Introduction The ways in which the power of international institutions manifests in processes of education policymaking is a particularly pressing issue for small states. That is to say, while this is an increasingly relevant issue for states of all sizes (Jones, 2007), it is an especially compelling matter for small states given the limitations of capacity and resources that often accompany their reduced size (Bray & Packer, 1993; Mayo, 2010; Randma-Liiv, 2002) . The present article takes this problematic issue as its central focus, and in so doing hones in on the dynamics of policy formulation, with particular attention to the way in which international organizations influence these processes. As will be shown, this is an area that has received insufficient scholarly attention in the literature on small states. Generally, however, it should be noted that the influence which international institutions possess and exercise in the making of education policy around the world has garnered much attention (Dale, 1999; Edwards, 2013; Mundy, 1998; Mundy & Ghali, 2009; Samoff, 2007, 2009; Verger, 2012; Verger, Novelli & Altinyelken, 2012) . In what follows, the present article unpacks and analyzes a specific process of education policy formation in El Salvador. Specifically, this article takes as its object the formulation of Plan 2021, a national strategy document for education which was produced during 2003-2005 and which was intended at the time to guide educational policy decisions through the year 2021.[1] This is done in order to demonstrate how international institutions can permeate and affect education policymaking processes such that their preferred policies remain on the agenda[2] – even when faced with a Minister of Education who possesses a significant level of authority before both domestic agents and international organizations. Necessarily, I will shed light on the realities, constraints, and challenges that can beset national educational actors in small states in the formulation of education policy. By breaking down the process through which Plan 2021 was created, the article will go beyond simply showing that actors from the national and international levels are inter-twined in such processes to also show how certain international organizations can subtly and purposively exercise what Barnett and Duvall (2005) define as institutional power (discussed below) . © 2012 Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Current Issues in Comparative Education 15(1): 83-99. Edwards Jr. Tobe clear, a particular definition of policymaking process is invoked in this article. This definition sees education policy formation processes as those (often) lengthy a

FAQs

What is the central issue addressed in the article?

The article focuses on how international institutions influence education policy formation processes in small states, with El Salvador as the case.

What time period and policy document does the study examine?

It examines education policy formation in El Salvador during 2003–2005, focusing on Plan 2021, a national strategy intended to guide education policy through 2021.

How does USAID influence the policymaking process according to the findings?

The findings highlight that USAID shapes policymaking by creating key events and producing key informational inputs that lead to subsequent events and opportunities to present and emphasize its research.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni