UROP Project | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Educational Privatization and School Choice: The Case of Innovative Financing Mechanisms

qualitative research, academic databases, educational privatization, social impact bonds, development impact bonds

Research Mentor: Dr. Wajeeha Hazoor, she/her/hers
Department, College, Affiliation: Office of Research, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: wb24a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 5
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6 to 8, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Innovative Financing Mechanisms are an iteration of the New Public Management transformation that put performance at the centre of social development sector programming. These mechanisms in essence, focus on resolving the mismatch
in priorities of the principal- agent dynamic; here, principals (funders) ensure the alignment of interests with agents (implementing agencies) in the achievement of results by withholding project payments, in case results the principals seek
are not attained (Pearson, 2011; Mitnick, 2006). These market solutions have special relevance to the educational sector, as by minimizing risks to investors, they promise to incentivize the achievement of project results while spurring non-traditional funding resources. The latter is being increasingly are touted as one of the means to overcome the financing challenges affecting the educational sector. In this project, students will extract and analyze the impacts of innovative financing mechanisms on the educational sector in the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. As this is an emerging field, students will creatively identify limitations and strengths of these opportunities as they peruse the literature.

Research Tasks: 1) Conduct a keyword search on key academic databases.
2) Organize relevant journal articles according to themes aligning with the research questions.
3) Analyze and summarize relevant journal articles.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Recommended: Journal article analysis
Recommended: Journal article summarization
Recommended: Analytical thinking and ability to draw connections between seemingly disparate concepts

Mentoring Philosophy

My mentorship philosophy puts the mentee first and builds on a collaborative rather than a hierarchical dynamic. I take the time to understand the mentee's capacity and ambitions to fully account for them when establishing the mentoring relationship and milestones. In addition to equipping the mentee with the skills they seek to develop, I seek to equip them with sustainable skills and knowledge such as time management, communication and problem-solving that will benefit them throughout their academic career. I have strong networks in academia in the United States and Europe and am happy to leverage them to benefit the mentee's higher educational ambitions. I also have strong links in industry and can advise mentees on building upon their academic strengths to position themselves for careers in non-profits, philanthropies, and development consulting.

Additional Information

If mentees have an interest, during the UROP project period, there may be an additional opportunity to transcribe interviews and code transcripts for another project I am leading on state educational reform capacities in Nigeria and Pakistan.

Link to Publications

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5513-8049

Return to Project Database