Privatisation of public education is becoming more and more common across the world. As much current research presupposes causal links between the degree of privatisation and issues of competition and student's free choice, we see a need for research on other ways of organising the presence of private providers in public education. In this…

The rapid rise of online enrollments in public universities has been fueled by a reliance on for-profit, third-party providers--especially online program managers. However, scholars know very little about the potential problems with this arrangement. We conduct a mixed methods analysis of 229 contracts between third-party providers and 117…

Outsourcing or privatising services in higher education is a common practice, but what do we really know about it? Is outsourcing effective? It is imperative that these questions be addressed since outsourcing is becoming a norm in higher education institutions. Scholars, institutional administrators and policymakers need to understand the…

This is the 18th edition of the Mackinac Center's annual school privatization survey. The Center asks every school district in the state if they outsource one of the three main noninstructional services -- custodial, transportation and food services. Responses from officials in all 539 public school districts between June 2 and September 24 were…

Public school districts use private contractors to provide support services in an effort to save money, improve services and better prioritize district resources. The Mackinac Center has surveyed school districts about their use of contractors since 2001. This year's survey revealed that 69.7% of schools contract out for food, custodial or…

The progressively global, neoliberal, privatised, and digital education environment poses new methodological challenges for educational researchers, prompting a need to innovate. It has been suggested, however, that better commentary and reflection on methodological innovation in education is required. This paper considers the benefits and…

In Ireland, primary physical education (PE) is delivered by non-specialist classroom teachers. A growing number of primary schools are committing resources to external providers for partial delivery of the PE curriculum. Some researchers (Evans and Davies [2014; 2015]. "Neoliberal Freedoms, Privatisation and the Future of Physical…

In 2001, contracting out for school support services by Michigan school districts was a rare practice. Less than one in three districts used private providers for food, custodial or transportation services. Today, 16 years later, the tables have completely turned: it is more unusual to find a district that does not outsource at least one of these…

Michigan's public school districts are government entities that occasionally use private contractors to provide them with support services. The 2018 privatization survey found that 70.5 percent of Michigan's school districts -- 380 of the 539 districts in the state -- contract out for food, custodial or transportation services. This is a slight…

Public school districts are government entities, but they rely on the private sector to support their function of delivering educational services to students. Private contractors, for example, construct district buildings, write textbooks and manufacture the supplies necessary to keep the district operational, among other things. And over the past…

Outsourcing is a complex, controversial and pervasive practice that is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for educational researchers. This article contributes to this literature by examining outsourcing practices related to health, sport and physical education (HSPE). Specifically, it reports data on specialist health and physical…

Physical Educationalists in many western and westernised societies across the globe are facing new challenges as system wide changes take place increasing the role of private bodies (e.g. Academy trusts) in the delivery of school based education. This reflective and rather personal paper considers the place and meaning of "inclusion" and…

In 2003, when it came to contracting out for common public school services, only outsourcing food provision could be considered a rather common occurrence in Michigan. There was good reason for this: school districts are prohibited from making a profit from their cafeteria, but any deficits created in providing food for students must be covered by…

Many of Michigan's public school districts are under substantial fiscal pressures from a combination of declining enrollment and increasing costs, particularly related to employee benefits, but most districts are responding to these challenges. One of the ways that districts can stretch their resources further is through competitive contracting…

Michigan's School Aid fund increased once more this year, but many school administrators in the state continue to hunt for effective measures to reduce spending due to increased pension costs and phased-out stimulus money. Many options available for trimming costs, such as enacting pay-to-play for sports, are extremely unpopular for districts and…