School-choice policies are expected to generate healthy competition between schools, leading to improvements in school quality and better outcomes for students. However, the empirical literature testing this assumption yields mixed findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis tests this theory by synthesizing the empirical literature on the…

Influencing major education policies in the US such as school vouchers and charter schools, market theory assumes that organizational autonomy, parental choice, and competition between schools improve the quality of education. However, whether those policies can influence the instructional core of schools is not well understood. Comparing private…

This article problematizes the lottery as a taken-for-granted concept, which is normatively understood as a neutral process rewarding its participant based on luck. The article adopts a policy problematization frame that interrogates the limits of normative concepts. To problematize the lottery system, this article engages with the two movies on…

This critical ethnography utilizes critical policy analysis and a theoretical understanding of neoliberal racism to examine the practiced reality of school choice in a public, under-resourced, and historically underperforming neighborhood elementary school attended predominantly by Latina/o/x students. Despite improvement initiatives that resulted…

This article presents the findings of research focused on schools' responses to competitive environments. Using the Chilean education market as a case study, the article analyzes not only the responses developed by schools in different domains in the face of competitive incentives but also their diversity, as well as motivations, rationalities,…

Educational public-private partnerships (EPPP) have been widely implemented in the Philippines, primarily through the Education Service Contracting (ESC) voucher. Yet, the effects of this voucher on privatization of education, school choice, and competition dynamics remain largely understudied. This article addresses this gap through an…

The widespread expansion of school choice policies has bolstered the consumer-education paradigm where parents compete for what they perceive to be a limited number of high quality schools. In this comparative case study, we examine advantaged White parents' perceptions of meritocracy in the context of a competitive elementary and high school…

This article uses edvertising as a vehicle through which to examine autonomy and control for key agents in education when market-like reforms are combined with privately led management of schools. We begin by outlining the philosophical foundations of school choice from the perspective of autonomy and control, and then lay out the case of…

A growing body of research examines the role of elite networks, power, and race in the advocacy for market-based reforms and their ultimate effects on students, teachers, and communities of color. Yet, less research explores how such reforms interact with gender in the workplace, especially how policies such as school choice, competition, and…

According to theorists, choice and competition are intended to force schools to innovate and diversify their programs. However, evidence from several countries suggests that schools are not responding to competitive incentives as expected: (a) instead of innovating in the classroom, schools often embrace traditional practices; (b) innovations in…

Supporters of public education fear attempts to privatize schools, while the private sector has always struggled against the monopolistic power of the public schools that educates almost 90% of all K-12 students. This trepidation has recently been intensified by the creation of a "third sector" that includes charter schools, voucher…

John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe's booklet "A Lesson in School Reform from Great Britain (Brookings, 1992) and Denis Lawton's book "Education and Politics in the 1990s: Conflict or Consensus?" (Falmer, 1992) attempt to evaluate effects of recent educational changes in England and Wales. Lawton's thoughtful, scholarly analysis of the…

This article examines an emerging preference for education tax credit programs in a post-"Zelman" era. First, the authors detail the origin of tax credits and the types of existing plans. Second, they review the assumptions underlying the supposed advantages that may favor tax credits as a feasible alternative to vouchers. Third, they…