School Choice International

Public-private partnerships in education exist in various forms around the world, in both developed and developing countries. Despite this, and despite the importance of human capital for economic growth, systematic analysis has been limited and scattered, with most scholarly attention going to initiatives in the United States. This volume helps to fill the gap, bringing together recent studies on public-private partnerships in different parts of the world, including Asia, North and South America, and Europe. These initiatives vary significantly in form and structure, and "School Choice International" offers not only comprehensive overviews (including a cross-country analysis of student achievement) but also detailed studies of specific initiatives in particular countries. Two chapters compare public and private schools in India and the relative efficacy of these two sectors in providing education. Other chapters examine the use of publicly funded vouchers in Chile and Colombia, reporting promising results in Colombia but ambiguous findings in Chile; and student outcomes in publicly funded, privately managed schools (similar to American charter schools) in two countries: Colombia's "concession schools" and the United Kingdom's City Academies Programme. Taken together, these studies offer important insights for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers into the purposes, directions, and effects of different public-private educational initiatives. Contents of this book include: (1) Perspectives in Public-Private Partnerships in Education (Rajashri Chakrabarti and Paul E. Peterson); (2) Public-Private Partnerships and Student Achievement: a Cross-Country Analysis (Ludger Wossmann); (3) Mobilizing the Private Sector in the United States: a Theoretical Overview (Thomas J. Nechyba); (4) The Practice of Public-Private Partnerships (Norman LaRocque); (5) Public-Private Schools in Rural India (Karthik Muralidharan and Michael Kremer); (6) School-Sector Effects on Student Achievement in India (Geeta G. Kingdon); (7) School Vouchers in Colombia (Assisted by Eric Bettinger); (8) The Public-Private School Controversy in Chile (Cristian Bellei); (9) The Concession Schools of Bogota, Colombia (Felipe Barrera-Osorio); (10) Public and Private Schooling Initiatives in England (Stephen Machin and Joan Wilson); and (11) Education Contracting: Scope of Future Research (Harry A. Patrinos). An index is included.

The first cross-national comparative study on school choice policies, this volume features prominent scholars who analyze experiences in countries around the world, England, Chile, South Africa, the Czech Republic, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden. Together, they answer such important questions as: Why are policies that expand educational options being adopted in such a diverse set of countries? Why have governments in widely varying circumstances come to view school choice as an apt response to educational dilemmas? What have we learned about the impacts of these policies on existing educational systems and the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom? The analyses presented here illuminate school choice policies as a critical worldwide development in education, noting both similarities and differences across countries. This volume broadens our understanding of school choice on the world stage while exploring implications for education policy in the United States.

Understanding School Choice in Canada provides a nuanced and theoretical overview of the formation and rise of school choice policies in Canada. Drawing on twenty years of work, Lynn Bosetti and Dianne Gereluk analyze the philosophical, historical, political, and social principles that underpin the formation and implementation of school choice policies in the provinces and territories. Bosetti and Gereluk offer theoretical frameworks for considering the parameters of school choice policies that are aligned and attentive to Canadian educational contexts. This robust overview successfully shifts the debate away from ideology in order to facilitate an understanding that the spectrum of school choice policy in Canada is a response to the varying political challenges in society at large. This book is essential reading for those who desire a deeper understanding of school choice policies in Canada.

The Wiley Handbook of School Choice presents a comprehensive collection of original essays addressing the wide range of alternatives to traditional public schools available in contemporary US society. A comprehensive collection of the latest research findings on school choices in the US, including charter schools, magnet schools, school vouchers, home schooling, private schools, and virtual schools Viewpoints of both advocates and opponents of each school choice provide balanced examinations and opinions Perspectives drawn from both established researchers and practicing professionals in the U.S. and abroad and from across the educational spectrum gives a holistic outlook Includes thorough coverage of the history of traditional education in the US, its current state, and predictions for the future of each alternative school choice

Access issues are pivotal to almost all charter school tensions and debates. How well are these schools performing? Are they segregating and stratifying? Are they public and democratic? Are they fairly funded? Can apparent successes be scaled up? Answers to all these core questions hinge on how access to charter schools is shaped. This book describes the incentives and pressures on charter schools to restrict access and examines how charters navigate those pressures, explaining access-restricting practices in relation to the ecosystem within which charter schools are created. It also explains how charters have sometimes responded by resisting the pressures and sometimes by surrendering to them. The text presents analyses of 13 different types of practices around access, each of which shapes the school’s enrollment. The authors conclude by offering recommendations for how states and authorizers can address access-related inequities that arise in the charter sector. School’s Choice provides timely information on critical academic and policy issues that will come into play as charter school policy continues to evolve. Book Features: Examines how charter schools control who gains and retains access.Explores policies and practices that undermine equitable admission and encourage opportunity hoarding.Offers a set of policy recommendations at the state and federal level to address access-related issues.

This volume of essays examines the empirical evidence on school choice in different countries across Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It demonstrates the advantages which choice offers in different institutional contexts, whether it be Free Schools in the UK, voucher systems in Sweden or private-proprietor schools for low-income families in Liberia. Everywhere experience suggests that parents are ‘active choosers’: they make rational and considered decisions, drawing on available evidence and responding to incentives which vary from context to context. Government educators frequently downplay the importance of choice and try to constrain the options parents have. But they face increasing resistance: the evidence is that informed parents drive improvements in school quality. Where state education in some developing countries is particularly bad, private bottom-up provision is preferred even though it costs parents money which they can ill-afford. This book is both a collection of inspiring case studies and a call to action.

Updated to reflect the latest developments and increasing scope of school-based options, the second edition of the Handbook of Research on School Choice makes readily available the most rigorous and policy-relevant research on K–12 school choice. This comprehensive research handbook begins with scholarly overviews that explore historical, political, economic, legal, methodological, and international perspectives on school choice. In the following sections, experts examine the research and current state of common forms of school choice: charter schools, school vouchers, and magnet schools. The concluding section brings together perspectives on other key topics such as accountability, tax credit scholarships, parent decision-making, and marginalized students. With empirical perspectives on all aspects of this evolving sphere of education, this is a critical resource for researchers, faculty, and students interested in education policy, the politics of education, and educational leadership.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared school voucher programs constitutional, the many unanswered questions concerning the potential effects of school choice will become especially pressing. Contributors to this volume draw on state-of-the-art economic methods to answer some of these questions, investigating the ways in which school choice affects a wide range of issues. Combining the results of empirical research with analyses of the basic economic forces underlying local education markets, The Economics of School Choice presents evidence concerning the impact of school choice on student achievement, school productivity, teachers, and special education. It also tackles difficult questions such as whether school choice affects where people decide to live and how choice can be integrated into a system of school financing that gives children from different backgrounds equal access to resources. Contributors discuss the latest findings on Florida's school choice program as well as voucher programs and charter schools in several other states. The resulting volume not only reveals the promise of school choice, but examines its pitfalls as well, showing how programs can be designed that exploit the idea's potential but avoid its worst effects. With school choice programs gradually becoming both more possible and more popular, this book stands out as an essential exploration of the effects such programs will have, and a necessary resource for anyone interested in the idea of school choice.