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…

School choice programs have proliferated around the world since the 1980s. Following this international trend, the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) was launched in 1991 to revitalize Hong Kong's private school sector. DSS schools receive a similar subsidy per student to that received by aided schools, but they may charge fees and have greater control…

A policy sociology approach is taken to examine the connections between neo-liberalism, post-secondary provincial education (PSE) policy in Canada and the impact of those policies. Our thesis regarding the broad political economy of PSE is that over the last two decades the adoption of this ideology has been a major cause of some dramatic changes…

This paper identifies, examines and discusses higher education funding policy shifts that have taken place in Kenya. The paper argues that even though Kenya's higher education funding policy shifts, from free higher education to cost-sharing, and privatisation and commercialisation, are (to a greater extent) products of the country's encounter…

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.…

In a knowledge intensive society, the research university is a key institution for social and economic development. Focused on the discovery of new knowledge and the development of the next generation of scholars, research universities are also becoming more international in focus. This article presents the Emerging Global Model (EGM) of the…

This article considers how the private finance initiative, a contract for infrastructure, affected teachers' perceptions of efficacy, job satisfaction, and morale at an urban secondary school in the United Kingdom. Qualitative data collection techniques, including unstructured observation and semistructured personal interviews, were utilized to…

Summarizes Meira Levinson's argument that parental choice by and large reduces autonomy and, therefore, ultimately reduces the liberty of each succeeding generation. Recommends that all public educators read this book to grasp the magnitude of the potential effects that privatization of education may have on liberty and choice of future…

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.…

Privatization pioneer Education Alternatives Inc. (EAI) has lost contracts to manage schools in Baltimore, Maryland, and Hartford, Connecticut. EAI's backers claim the lost contracts are proof of an entrenched bureaucracy. Others fault the contracts for lack of specificity about roles, responsibilities, payments, and outcomes. (MLF)

Public school districts signing on with private companies to provide services need to set up contracts with performance standards. Provides seven general advice tips about what to include in contracts and case studies of what three school districts have done in setting up contracts with private companies. (MLF)

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…

Experiences of a Michigan school district provide a case study for examining the political, economic, and community-relations issues embedded in a decision to privatize. Support can be achieved only if all parties feel they were given adequate attention during deliberations on the issue. (MLF)

A survey asked a national random sample of 1,500 school board presidents and the executives of all 1,300 local chambers of commerce for their opinions on charter schools, privatization, and vouchers. Board presidents are likely to support the traditional education establishment. Chamber executives tend to support free-market initiatives for…

Chester Upland School District, which finished last out of 501 systems in Pennsylvania, is a guinea pig for the private management of public education. Managing 9 of Chester's 10 schools, Edison Schools and its subsidiary Edison/Learn Now is banking on turning around the district with its longer class day, structured curriculum teacher training,…