India demonstrates many features characteristic of private higher education in much of the world. Among these features are proportional size, with roughly 30 percent of total enrollment, and fast growth. Also rather typical is finance, which comes almost exclusively from non-government sources, principally tuition, while public higher education is…

Charles Vest gave the first of three Clark Kerr Lectures on the Role of Higher Education in Society on April 19, 2005 on the Berkeley campus. This essay argues that research-intensive public and private universities increasingly have far more similarities than differences in missions, structures, and even financial support. For both, the federal…

In December 1994, San Diego City Schools' (California) Board of Education voted to discontinue competitive contracting for busing and expand its in-house transportation department, believing the new arrangement would save money. This report argues that the decision was based on a flawed financial analysis prepared by the district's in-house…

This paper draws on the metaphor of the enclosure, a forceful reconfiguration of shared space that occurred in early modern Europe, as a model for describing the current drive for privatization of education. It examines the metaphors embedded in current school transformations and contrasts the conception of democracy held by current advocates of…

The private-sector provision of school infrastructure in the form of satellite schools is discussed in this paper. Following the introduction, section 2 presents a case study of Satellite Learning Centers in Dade County, Florida, in which the schools operate as public schools on business worksites. The host-business, American Bankers Insurance…

In the past two decades choice has become a major policy proposal for promoting efficiency in schooling. This paper argues that it would be both efficient and feasible to remove government from its present roles in school finance and pupil assignment. The first part examines the revenue side of school finance and identifies four types of…

This document presents findings on the impact of privatization to date at a meeting at the Ford Foundation co hosted by the William Penn Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Ford. Increasingly, the private sector (both for-profit and non-profit) is providing resources and alternative delivery models for urban public schools. Beyond…

A growing number of private companies have emerged with the mission of providing educational services to public schools and districts. Partnerships between public schools and service companies, though not novel, only recently have become high-profile and prolific. Although welcomed by educational reformers, partnerships that involve outsourcing of…

This yearbook reaffirms the connections between the field of education finance and the wider education community. Among the topics it examines are curricula reform, outcome assessment, accountability, community control, and privatization. Twelve chapters include: (1) "Education Finance in the New Millennium: Overview and Summary" (Stephen Chaikind…

According to this article, community colleges are seeking ways to increase revenue and become less dependent on traditional state revenue resources. Increasingly, college presidents and trustees are finding empty pockets and depleted state coffers, despite the effort and hours spent lobbying legislatures for funding to support strategic plans.…

This paper examines the political economy of charter schools to understand the tendencies toward standardization and emulation that these school exhibit. It draws on the developed model of grant-maintained schools in the United Kingdom as an example of the market model's evolution in mass education. It analyzes the promise of such approaches to…

This paper discusses privatization of public higher education, noting that some form of it exists on almost every college campus and that it is part of the wider movement toward less government. Four models of privatization are defined: public production with public finance; public production with private finance; private production with public…

Discusses declining commitment to education as a public good, addressing contemporary changes in economic organization, the correlative reorganization and design of institutions, and the discourse of privatization. Privatization emphasizes the traditional family and the importance of women's unpaid work for children and schools, despite most…

Summarizes educational reform initiatives in Michigan, highlighting legislative actions such as the 1990 Public Act 25 ("the Quality Education Package"), professional certification reforms, experiments with school choice and charter schools, the Michigan Partnership for New Education; and abolition of property taxes to fund education.…

Offers strategies for contracting out school services: (1) talk with employees; (2) conduct needs assessment; (3) specify needs and expectations in writing; (4) beware of state laws; (5) investigate the contracting company; and (6) devise a backup plan. (LMI)