Private Enterprise And Public Education

EDUCATION / Educational Policy & Reform / General

The growth of for-profit providers in the K16 education sector has generated more than its share of controversy. From the emergence of charter schools to post-secondary options like the University of Phoenix, for-profit providers have been lauded for their capacity to serve historically underserved populations but derided for their pursuit of profitwhich, critics argue, is at the expense of the public good. This important volume takes stock of the debate, neither demonizing nor celebrating the for-profit sector, to understand what it takes for for-profits to promote quality and cost effectiveness at scale. Contributors address how policymakers and other education stakeholders can create an environment where the power of for-profit innovation and investment is leveraged to better serve students. The role that private enterprise can and should play in American education needs to be brought to the forefront of reform discussions. Editors Hess and Horn move beyond heated rhetoric to offer a thoughtful and probing analysis that will enable stakeholders to craft a viable future for public education.

Stephen Ball provides a full analytical and empirical account of the privatization of education. He questions the kind of future we want for education and what role privatization and the private sector might have, and, crucially, how justice and ethical behaviour can be balanced against a necessary pragmatism.

Businesses, philanthropies and non-profit entities are increasingly successful in capturing public funds to support private provision of schooling in developed and developing countries. Coupled with market-based reforms that include weak regulation, control over workforces, standardization of processes and economies of scale, private provision of schooling is often seen to be convenient for both public authorities and businesses. This book examines how the public subsidization of these forms of private education affects quality, equality and the realization of human rights.With original research from leading experts, The State, Business and Education sheds light on the privatization of education in fragile circumstances. It illustrates the ways in which private actors have expanded their involvement in education as a business, and shows the influence of policy borrowing on the spread of for-profit education. Case studies from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India and Syrian refugee camps illustrate the ways in which private actors have expanded their involvement in education as a business.This book will be of interest not only to academics and students of international and comparative education, but also to education development professionals in both the private and public sectors, with its empirical assessment of case studies, and careful consideration of the lessons to be learned from each.

Written to help school board members, administrators, parents, and other community residents involved in the privatization debate, this volume maintains a useful balance of scholarship and craft. It provides both theory and practice, presenting practical information to guide those who must deal with policy and procedural issues related to privatizing one or more school district functions.

Social Entrepreneurship in Education chronicles the twenty-five-year history of entrepreneurs who responded to the call of A Nation at Risk and helped launch an education industry. It tells the story of these 'education entrepreneurs' and the lessons they learned, using entrepreneurial skills to tackle public problems and improve outcomes for millions of students. This book demonstrates, firsthand, the importance of mentorship and profiles the individuals behind the businesses, highlighting the skills and characteristics that one must possess to successfully execute and operate enterprises in education. It reflects on the development of a burgeoning industry and illuminates the possibilities for applying a private sector mind-set to education. This book is fundamental for understanding the ins and outs of utilizing social entrepreneurship to improve education for American students.

As part of the restructuring of the educational system in 1989, the Vietnamese government implemented policy changes such as promoting the establishment of "people's" and community educational institutions, permitting the establishment of private institutions and transforming public institutions into private ones. Since Vietnam has only recently moved from a centrally planned to a market economy, private schools are still relatively rare in Vietnam. This paper examines the nature of private schooling in Vietnam using data from the 1992-93 Vietnam Living Standards Survey.

There has been a burgeoning of public-private partnerships in different parts of the world. The partnerships differ in form and structure, in the extent of public and private participation, and in the forms of their engagement. The essays in this volume are written mainly from the perspective of providers. They provide valuable insights into the purpose, trend and impact of public-private partnerships in different parts of the world, as well as an understanding of the barriers they face.