This article explores the institutional dynamics that contribute to educational inequality within Nordic cities. The persistent issue of social inequality in education remains a prominent challenge for the Nordic welfare states. By investigating the gaps between educational policies and their practical implementation, this study sheds light on the…

The spatial, institutional and social configurations of school supply and demand are crucial aspects in understanding the various mechanisms of production and reproduction of socio-spatial inequalities in education. The same policy instruments may have different effects depending on the characteristics of local education markets and the dynamics…

In Spain there is an increasing trend towards educational policies allowing completely free choice of schools. The purpose of the review described here was to investigate whether school segregation arising from grant maintenance arrangements is an item taken into account when policies for educational equity are under consideration in Spain. It…

As large urban school districts increasingly turn to market-based reforms, arguing that they will improve school quality, better meet diverse student and family needs, and level the playing field for disadvantaged families, the distributional effects of those policies are still poorly understood. A growing literature on the bounded and embedded…

Increasing school choice has been an active objective of policy in England but not in Scotland. Whereas in England all families are expected to list a rank ordering of schools, in Scotland the vast majority of children attend their catchment school by default. This article reviews the differences in approach, family experience and outcomes between…

School choice policies can, by design or in implementation, give schools and districts discretion over enrollment. In this study, I examine the effect of local discretion over inter-district open enrollment on non-resident enrollment. I use longitudinal data on open enrollment patterns and policies in the metropolitan Detroit area. I find that…

This study offers a comparative examination of desegregation policy reforms in Belgium, Chile, and the Netherlands, addressing equity reforms to universal school choice systems. Through an analysis of the reform trajectories, we explore the evolution of policies, the causal mechanisms of change, efforts to institutionalize policies, and the…

May 17, 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled segregated schools were "inherently unequal." At the time, North Carolina was one of 17 states that enforced de jure segregation, that is, segregation by law. The state of North Carolina and the school districts within…

Education markets have spread worldwide over the past few decades. Frequently, the expansion of markets in education is presented by their promoters as a means to improve the opportunities of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged students. However, the evidence available shows that market-oriented policies that enhance competition and choice…

Segregation on the basis of race or ethnicity is one of the most enduring and pervasive inequities in US public education. School segregation is determined not only by residential sorting and families' preferences but by local policy choices such as the drawing of school attendance boundaries. This report examines the role of individual school…

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…

This book examines various aspects of school segregation and their complex interrelations with policy, structure, and context in diverse settings. It advances the understanding of the causes, processes and consequences of school segregation around the globe. Topics examined include student sorting between schools in marketized systems; the effects…

While several studies have investigated the role of parental school choice in exacerbating school segregation, less attention has been paid to the role of institutional contexts and specific educational policies and regulations. However, since the institutional context sets the framework for both school autonomy regarding the admission process and…

In recent decades, policymakers around the globe have adopted market mechanisms such as consumer-style choice, provider autonomy and competition. Such policies may improve educational equity since families can choose options outside of their assigned local school. Yet research from multiple countries is finding a link between greater use of such…

Chile is known for universal school choice policies and a high level of economic segregation. In part, segregation has been linked to selective school admission policies. Chile implemented a centralized school admission system (New School Admission System), where PK-12 schools must accept any applicant, and lottery assignment is used for…