Privatizing education : can the school marketplace deliver freedom of choice, efficiency, equity, and social cohesion? / edited by Henry M. Levin.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Levin, Henry M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Privatization in education--United States.

Privatization in education.

United States.

Physical Description:

xii, 373 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Boulder, CO : Westview Press, 2001.

Summary:

Privatizing Education is a collection of essays written by such luminaries as Arthur Levine, Martin Carnoy, Caroline Persell, Amy Stuart Wells, Geoffrey Walford, Gary Natriello, and Peter Cookson who examine one of the hottest topics in education today -- the efforts by some groups and lobbyists to move education from the public to the private sector. This is occurring through tuition tax credits, vouchers, and some charter school initiatives. The volume grows out of a conference that took place at Columbia University Teachers College called "Setting the Agenda".

Contents:

1 Studying Privatization in Education / Henry M. Levin 3

Setting the Agenda 12

Surveying the Horizon 17

2 Educational Vouchers and the Media / Lee D. Mitgang, Christopher V. Connell 20

The Stakes and the Stakeholders 22

The Media's Challenges 25

What Can Be Done? 30

Implementation Issues

3 The Legal Status of Privatization and Vouchers in Education / Frank R. Kemerer 39

Privatization Within the Public Sector 40

Vouchers, Tax Deductions, and Tax Credits 48

Stakeholders and the Research Agenda 54

4 Information and Choice in Educational Privatization / Mark Schneider 72

Parents as Stakeholders: Choice at the Individual Level 74

The Benefits and Costs of Gathering Information About Public Goods 79

Not Everyone Needs to Be Informed: The Concept of the "Marginal Consumer" 81

The Role of Other Stakeholders in the Provision of Information 83

The Role of Other Levels of Government and Business as Stakeholders 85

Increasing Information Levels 86

Constructing an Internet Site for Schools in the District of Columbia 88

Stratification in the Use of Information 94

Setting an Agenda for Schools and Information 97

Preschools and Higher Education

5 Preschools and Privatization / Ellen Magenheim 105

The Issues 106

Who Are the Stakeholders with an Interest in This Issue and What Are Their Interests and Concerns? 112

What Types of Studies Might Address These Concerns? 121

6 Privatization in Higher Education / Arthur Levine 133

The Major Actors 141

The Implications for Higher Education 144

International Dimensions

7 Privatization Through Vouchers in Developing Countries: The Cases of Chile and Colombia / Martin Carnoy, Patrick J. McEwan 151

Vouchers and Reform in Chile, 1980-1996 153

Lessons from the Chilean Voucher Plan 160

Targeted Vouchers in Colombia 167

Lessons from the Colombian Voucher Plan 170

8 Privatization in Industrialized Countries / Geoffrey Walford 178

Privatization in England and Wales 180

Privatization Measures in the 1990s 185

Privatization Under Labour? 188

Privatization in the Netherlands 190

Setting the Research Agenda 194

Charter Schools

9 Assessing the Growth and Potential of Charter Schools / Pearl Rock Kane, Christopher J. Lauricella 203

Charter Schools: Early History 204

The Charter School Concept 204

From Concept to Reality 205

Factors That Inhibit or Stimulate Charter School Growth 206

Charter School Demographics 207

Charter Schools as a Potential Reform 210

10 Privatization and Charter School Reform: Economic, Political and Social Dimensions / Amy Stuart Wells, Janelle Scott 234

The Multiple Meanings of Charter School Reform and Privatization 235

The Intersection of Charter School Reform and Privatization 241

Implications and Further Research 254

Perspectives of Stakeholders

11 Vouchers, Privatization, and the Poor / Gary Natriello 263

Framing the Issue 264

Major Stakeholders 266

Stakeholder Interests 267

Studies to Address the Concerns of Stakeholders 269

Existing Research 275

12 Teachers and Privatization / Caroline Hodges Persell 279

Who Are the Stakeholders and What Are Their Concerns 279

Previous Work on Privatization 283

Needed Research 295

Evaluation Designs

13 Criteria for Evaluating School Voucher Studies / David E. Myers 303

Framing the Policy Question 305

Criteria for Evaluating School Voucher Studies 306

Summary of Criteria and Illustrative Report Card 312

14 Designing Education Voucher Experiments: Recommendations for Researchers, Funders, and Users / Fred Doolittle, Wendy Connors 318

Key Policy-Related Questions 320

Key Research Methodology Questions 325.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0813366402

OCLC:

123123408