The effect of political stability on public education quality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis to evaluate the implications of political stability for educational quality, evident in the survival rate measure. Design/methodology/approach – Secondary analyses were conducted for data drawn from the Political Risk Service Report, the World Bank Report, the United Nations Report and the OECD Report, using a sample comprising 47 countries, 26 politically stable and 21 politically unstable during a ten-year period of time (1998-2008). Findings – The study reveals that political stability plays a major role in explaining the survival rate in education when used as a single predictor or, when introduced in the analysis with the GDP per capita. Following previously reported findings suggesting causal relations between high economic growth and regime stability, the authors’ analyses show that as far as educational quality is concerned, political stability plays a far more significant role compared to countries’ economic circumstances evident in the GDP per capita. Originality/value – These initial findings suggest that economic conditions create an essential infrastructure which in itself is not sufficient. Political stability which fosters continuity seems to be essential to enable professional considerations to dominate educational processes and allow educators to conduct pedagogical programs from start to finish.