The Detroit Public Schools (DPS) have been battered by substantial outside forces over the last decade. The school system was taken over by the state; its elected school board was dissolved and replaced by an appointed body; its many operating systems were privatized; its citizenry were encouraged to flee to charter schools; and its resources have…

The presentation looks at the latest statistics on participation in Higher Education, to question whether privatisation of systems has significant effects on participation, affordability and equity of Higher Education. It further looks into questions of autonomy and governance of Higher Education systems in private and public systems, and finally…

Privatization of school support services is a time-tested means for lowering educational costs. The three major services that school districts in Michigan contract out for are food, custodial and transportation. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy's survey of privatization is the longest running and most comprehensive source of school support…

The National Education Association (NEA) Handbook is published annually for use by Association officers, national and state staff, members, and other interested leaders in the field of education. The Association's key governance documents--including the Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules, and the Legislative Program, resolutions, policy statements,…

This is a case study of a state institution granted charter status in 1992 in exchange for capping its request for state funds. St. Mary's College of Maryland received widespread freedom from state procedural controls, including procurement, personnel, and some capital development processes. The state, however, retained its oversight of the…

This chapter is organized as follows. The first section examines the evolving state and federal role in education and the implications of an expanded federal role on the structure of the educational system. It pays particular attention to how the debate on the causes and solutions to school reform has shifted and the impact this has had on school…

Charter schools, and other market-based reforms such as school vouchers and the student tutoring provision of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, are steeped in politics largely because they challenge the legitimacy of traditional power and funding arrangements in public education. The charter school reform is a significant public-private hybrid…

Examines some of the rationales for financial diversification and partial privatization of state universities in Kenya and the different manifestations of market-driven approaches to university education. Explores whether the market model can address increased demand while maintaining educational quality. (EV)

This paper is a case study of a Chinese educational leader who was in charge of an institution when it was in the process of being upgraded from a secondary vocational school to a self-funded tertiary vocational institution. Using a life history approach, the paper furnishes an informative picture capturing the dual transformation process of the…

Although the theory of the market is well understood, little is known about how for-profit schools will operate in practice. This paper considers why for-profit schooling has developed during the current period and not before (e.g., entrepreneurs must compete against heavily subsidized public schools, which limits their ability to charge prices…

From April 25 through June 30, 2007, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy conducted its fifth survey of the privatization of bus, food and janitorial services among Michigan's 552 conventional public school districts. All Michigan school districts responded. In 2007, the Mackinac Center also conducted a nationwide survey of state education…

Examines the trend away from independent college bookstores and toward outsourcing bookstores to large corporations, thereby sacrificing independence for cost efficiencies. Discusses effects of the profit motive, fear of competition, fear of declining services by private companies, criticisms of high prices, and concerns about book selection.…

The last five years have seen a significant increase in the involvement of the private sector in the core areas of education delivery and not just in the provision of educational support services. This growing involvement of the private sector in education has been commented on in the press and in debates on education, but it is often…

During the last quarter of a century, public higher education institutions have found themselves buffeted by a perfect storm. This storm has led to discussions about the privatization of those institutions, which has implications for their ability to improve, or at least maintain, their quality and their accessibility to students from all…

Resources for higher education in the Arab states have depended on the overall economic situation of the countries in the region, and the economic growth of the region has been disappointing over the years. Of the 16 countries of the region, 7 had a negative average annual growth rate during the period 1960 to 1994, and 3 countries had an average…