This paper considers how school choice is, or is not, a form of privatization in education. Although "privatization" is a predominant reform movement apparent across the globe, the term is used imprecisely, making it difficult to assess the relationship of the movement to education. The first part of this analysis distinguishes essential…

Concerned about the deadening effects of standardization imposed by monopolistic education bureaucracies, policymakers in many different countries endorse economic-style mechanisms of consumer choice and competition between autonomous providers as the key elements of "market-driven" education. The reasoning behind this approach is that market…

This paper examines school choice reforms in one key state, within the broader context of public education and privatization. Choice advocates describe the public nature of charter schools in terms of access, funding, choice, and effects. Critics see charter schools as precursors to more market-based reforms such as vouchers. In reviewing the…

This paper draws on the metaphor of the enclosure, a forceful reconfiguration of shared space that occurred in early modern Europe, as a model for describing the current drive for privatization of education. It examines the metaphors embedded in current school transformations and contrasts the conception of democracy held by current advocates of…

This paper examines the political economy of charter schools to understand the tendencies toward standardization and emulation that these school exhibit. It draws on the developed model of grant-maintained schools in the United Kingdom as an example of the market model's evolution in mass education. It analyzes the promise of such approaches to…

The remarkable spread of home education needs to be considered in light of the arguments driving its growth. While acknowledging that there are many good reasons for individuals to choose home education, this analysis examines some of the most prominent assumptions and claims that advance the practice as a mass movement. Specifically, arguments…