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ERIC Number: ED453603
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2001-Apr
Pages: 46
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Moving Public Schools toward For-Profit Management: Privatizing the Public Sphere.
Pini, Monica Eva
A study examined the design, imagery, and language of the Web sites of six major Education Management Organizations (EMOs), companies that manage schools for profit. The six companies are Advantage Schools, Inc.; Beacon Education Management, Inc.; Edison Schools; The Leona Group; L.L.C.; Mosaica Education; and National Heritage Academies. The educational benefits promised by these companies and the strategies they use to attract students are compared with one another and with those of public schools. The primary conclusion is that the EMOs promise competitiveness, efficiency, and consumer choice, but may also ignore the concerns of equity, citizenship, and solidarity. The results also suggest that the actual difference between public and corporate education may be a difference in parental perception related to better corporate marketing, with advertising strategies based on misleading generalizations, evidence that may be absent or simplistic, and evocative rhetoric. Other concerns include: the need for continued corporate expansion to remain profitable, the tendency to have younger, and less experienced teachers or ones who do not belong to unions, and the reliance on parental volunteer work. EMO claims for having smaller classes and schools, longer school days, and more use of technology may be accurate. (Contains 42 references and 13 tables.) (RJK)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A