The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced the No Child Left Behind Act with great fanfare and enthusiasm. Granting more power to states and curbing what was seen as federal overreach was well received. However, the new legislation maintains a predominately test-based accountability system with a federal mandate for interventions in well over…

While past annual "Profiles" reports have focused on either for-profit EMOs (education management organizations) or nonprofit EMOs, this is the first annual "Profiles" report to cover both categories in a single report which allows for easier comparisons. The 2010-2011 school year marked another year of relatively slow growth in the for-profit…

Public officials are increasingly contracting with the private sector for a range of educational services. With much of the focus on private sector accountability on cost-effectiveness and student performance, less attention has been given to shifts in democratic accountability. Drawing on data from the state of New York, one of the most active…

For decades, for-profit educational provision has been merely tolerated, often grudgingly. In the world of charter schooling, for-profit providers are lambasted and sometimes prohibited. In higher education, for-profit institutions have grown rapidly, enrolling millions of nontraditional students and earning enmity, suspicion, and now…

Education management organizations, or EMOs, emerged in the early 1990s in the context of widespread interest in so-called market-based school reform proposals. Wall Street analysts coined the term EMO as an analogue to health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Proponents of EMOs claim that they bring a much needed dose of entrepreneurial spirit…

Purpose: This paper aims to trace the evolution of two initiatives--the direct subsidy scheme and independent schools initiative--their genesis, rationale, current form and take-up rate. It also analyses them as education reforms in terms of policymaking dynamics. The very notion of the term "privatization" will be examined.…

This highly acclaimed volume in the "Defending Public Schools" series is now available in paperback from Teachers College Press. It is a practical, necessary addition to the work of administrators, teachers, policymakers, and parents as they negotiate the difficult path of how to best teach and educate today's children and youth. This…

The Chicago Public Schools, along with the city of Chicago itself, serve as an exemplary case of neoliberal reorganization, as corporate and governmental "leaders" remake Chicago into a global city meeting the needs of capitalism. As such, Chicago provides us with an example of "actually existing neoliberalism," in which…

This paper reviews the development of the public monopoly of degree-granting institutions of higher education in Ontario, Canada. It examines arguments for private universities which suggest improved accessibility, diversity, and quality and finds the arguments to be insufficiently strong. A recommendation is made for improvement of Ontario's…

Describes a Russian exhibit of scientific and technological applications for education. Discusses how the nation's transition to a market economy is dramatically changing technical and professional education. Concludes that the most important result of the conference was that people began to rethink their activities. (CFR)

The last 2 decades of the 20th century have witnessed a growing movement to reform the American education system. While people debate why and how reform should be accomplished new initiatives are being developed and applied in many different areas: student performance standards, curricular innovation, assessment, accountability, professional…

Discusses how Russian vocational-technical education should be funded and proposes four possible scenarios. Recommends a privatization procedure in which an individual or a group of employees of a vocational school would purchase the institution from the government. (CFR)

Asserts that Russian vocational school principals now have to think and act as educational entrepreneurs. Discusses three shortcomings of Russian vocational-technical education. Argues that marketing is the foundation of success and provides three principles to guide educational planning and administration in the future. (CFR)

Discusses general problems of educational pluralism in the nations of central and eastern Europe. Asserts that, contrary to many western Europeans, the nations of central and eastern Europe are very different from one another in politics, economics, and education. Reviews developments in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. (CFR)

Discusses Russian political and economic changes and the impact on public education. Questions whether the emphasis on teaching ideas and new instructional methods is better than the work experience programs under the Soviet educational system. Concludes that the nation must maintain the labor training of students within school programs. (CFR)