This article is premised on a view that early childhood education (ECE) is a public good and a child's right. As such, there is no place for ECE services to be treated as a private commodity that is bought and sold in the marketplace. Yet, despite policies to transform its ECE system under some enlightened governments, no substantive attempts have…

Ohio's voucher programs use public funds to subsidize tuition at eligible private K-12 schools. Ohio has three general education voucher programs -- EdChoice, EdChoice Expansion, and the Cleveland program -- that together provide a publicly funded voucher for any Ohio family, regardless of income. Ohio lawmakers drove an increase in the last state…

Purpose: The present study adopts the analytical framework of new managerialism (NM) to explore the progress, challenges and outlook of self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong since 2000. This study also identified issues and related managerial implications for developing this niche form of higher education in Hong Kong.…

In a globally austere policy context, state financing of public services has been positioned as perennially "in crisis" with private intervention a positive solution. There is a general assumption -- in education policy and practice -- that philanthropic donations can be a solution to reduced public funding of schooling. While much…

Drawing upon a long-term study of venture philanthropy and public schools in Australia, this paper focuses on Teach For Australia (TFA) as a major component of a venture philanthropic network, one that builds critical infrastructures and connections between non-government organisations and the state, creating a product pipeline into public…

This study examines the relationship between cost efficiency and privatization at 163 public research institutions in the United States between 2005 and 2015. We employ a spatial autoregressive (SAR) random-effects model and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate the relationship between costs and four privatization variables: auxiliary…

Since the early 2000s, billionaires have treated the Denver Public School District as a Neo-liberal education experiment. Using a tangled web of astroturf groups, nonprofits, and training organizations, billionaires have hijacked this public school district, leaving some schools, students, and democracy behind. In this report, Denver's Mike…

This study aims at the contribution of education to ASEAN low-and-lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs) economic development and particularly the role of higher education in avoiding the low-and-lower-middle-income trap (LLMIT). Panel data analysis indicates a positive relationship between GDP per capita and higher education enrollment, though…

As enrollments in school privatization programs grow, advocates continue to argue that school vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs) have positive effects on public school finances. In its "Fiscal Factbook: 2025 Edition," EdChoice, a well-known advocate of school privatization, presents a collection of data points offered in…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Community Voices Matter." Contents include: (1) Dear colleagues, family and…

This dissertation explores the complex dynamics and conflicts surrounding the privatization of public school services in New Jersey. Through detailed case studies of multiple New Jersey towns, this dissertation examines how local school districts, grappling with funding challenges, consider outsourcing educational support professional roles to cut…

In Australia, a range of financial services, including education bonds, high interest personal loans and credit card debt, have long been used to help families pay for the cost of schooling. However, innovative financial technology (fintech) solutions are emerging which align with the growth of a lower risk 'buy now, pay later' phenomenon.…

In 2019, Oakland teachers joined the wave of teacher strikes across U.S. cities sparked by teacher activism against neoliberal reforms that cut funding to public schools, increased privatization, and led to school closures. As in other cities, a group of progressive rank-and-file teachers working toward transformative change moved their union…

This working paper describes the growing influence of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in managing schools in the developing world. Promoted as a market-based reform to address state failure, PPPs often fall short and do more harm than good. This analysis lays out how PPSs are negotiated, what governments should consider before entering PPPs,…

Across the country, states have expanded their voucher programs rapidly within the past few years. School choice advocates named 2023 the "year of universal choice" because of the frequency of states adopting these programs. Universal school choice programs make school vouchers available to all families, regardless of their income level…