The merits of a marketplace model for public education have been among the most prominent themes in education policy discussions over the last two decades. Advocates of market approaches to education reform contend that creating a market in educational services will foster competition among providers and thus spur delivery of better services at…

Efforts to infuse market forces into public education are based on the supposition that these forces can improve student outcomes. This assumption does not consider the politics of implementation. This article examines state-initiated school privatization and reveals factors that influence translation of theory to practice. The cases depict what…

With some exceptions, a liberal version of neoclassical economics dominated public policy in the United States from the New Deal through the 1970s; and in many other countries as well. However, beginning in 1980, there was a visible sea change that brought conservatives and public choice economists to power. Ronald Reagan was elected President of…

Although the theory of the market is well understood, little is known about how for-profit schools will operate in practice. This paper considers why for-profit schooling has developed during the current period and not before (e.g., entrepreneurs must compete against heavily subsidized public schools, which limits their ability to charge prices…

This book contains evidence about charter schools that can provide important data on evaluating this new public-private hybrid and its success at serving the core purpose of public education. The book focuses on charter schools in Michigan, which is regarded as having one of the most permissive charter laws in the country. The first three chapters…

This is the final report of a one-year evaluation of the Michigan Public School Academy (PSA) initiative. The evaluation involved both formative and summative evaluations and used both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study was conducted between October 1997 and December 1998. Data-collection methods included a charter-school survey and a…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the students who attended one elementary school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, run by The Edison Project (Edison Schools, Inc.) made greater academic progress than comparable students who attended other district schools. The paper provides a longitudinal examination of the students' academic…

Analyzes potential effects of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on the orientation and control of national education systems. Explains concepts of space, scale, and territorialization in relation to critical shifts in GATS's activity in education. Suggests that rescaling aspects of educational governance to the global level will…

Describes the Ontario provincial government's "Lands for Life" program, which will allocate 46 million hectares of public lands to four uses: intensive forestry, multiple use, tourism, and protected areas. Expresses skepticism about government statements by juxtaposing the rhetoric with the record, with regard to environmental…

Summarizes a study that examined principals' leadership in three private schools and its implications for decentralized public schools. With the increase of charter and privatized managed schools, principals will need to redefine their leadership styles. Private schools, as decentralized entities, offer useful perspectives on developing school…

In her zeal to advocate greater public school choice, Raywid criticizes the ASCD's "Public Schools of Choice" report unfairly. Raywid denigrates the importance of balancing public and private interests, claims that choice demands a form of rigorous social experimentation unsupported by research, and overlooks the report's positive guidance for…

Hartford, Connecticut, hired Education Alternatives, Inc. (EAI), to help run the schools. EAI's key responsibility will be to help the school board implement their strategic plan for high and clear performance standards, improved assessment methods, more and better staff training, a decentralization of authority, and increased use of technology.…

Tainted by failure, rooted in myth, and marked by questionable practice, public-private partnerships in education are risky. Performance contracting failed miserably in the 1970s. Faulty privatization rationales include myths surrounding SAT test scores and the "bloated bureaucracy" and "money doesn't matter" arguments. Neither…

Educators cannot withstand the inevitable advance of alternative education and privatization efforts. Luckily, no one alternative will become the ultimate solution. Visionary educators can respond by adapting to new management and governance concepts, expecting increased accountability, creating teams, maintaining a customer orientation, planning…

As one Maryland district's experience shows, a district-operated food-and-nutrition service is capable of meeting student demands while maintaining a fiscally, administratively, and nutritionally sound program. Districts should first evaluate their food programs as to student satisfaction, financial health, performance and cost/savings incentives,…