School Choice and Competition: Markets in the Public Interest?
Author Description
This book offers a unique record of the realities of parental choice and competitive pressures on schools. On the basis of research involving thousands of parents and eleven secondary schools monitored over several years, it sets out: * empirical findings on parents' preferences and experience of choice, how schools respond to competitive pressures, and local dynamics of quasi-markets * theoretical implications for understanding quasi-markets in education and the public interest * implications for educational policy, if schools are to be more responsive and inequalities lessened The book provides insights into whether pressures for choice and diversity are in the greater public interest, or if they benefit only the few, and suggests a notion of the public-market as a model for analysing public services.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates whether the implementation of market-based competition and parental choice in secondary education serves the broader public interest or exacerbates existing social inequalities. The authors, Carl Bagley, Philip Woods, and Ron Glatter, draw upon extensive longitudinal research involving thousands of parents and eleven secondary schools to evaluate the practical outcomes of quasi-market dynamics. By synthesizing empirical data with theoretical frameworks, they propose a model of the public-market to better understand the delivery and equity of public services.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Empirical analysis of parental preferences and decision-making processes regarding school selection.
- Evaluation of how secondary schools adapt their internal operations to navigate competitive pressures.
- Examination of local quasi-market dynamics and their impact on educational diversity.
- Theoretical development of the public-market model as a tool for analyzing public service delivery.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of educational policy and the sociological impacts of marketization. Readers frequently note the academic rigor of the longitudinal data and the clarity with which the authors connect local school experiences to broader systemic policy implications.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
2005-01-01
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis Group
ISBN-10:
0203983726
ISBN-13:
9780203983720
Economics
Education
Public Policy
Sociology
School choice
Community Tags
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