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School choice is a hot topic in the United States. Private school
vouchers, public charter schools, open enrollment, and
homeschooling all regularly appear on the policy agenda as ways to
improve the educational experience and outcomes for students,
parents, and the broader society. Pundits often make claims about
the various ways in which parents select schools and thus customize
their child's education. What claims about school choice are
grounded in actual evidence? This book presents systematic reviews
of the social science research regarding critical aspects of
parental school choice. How do parents choose schools and what do
they seek? What effects do their choices have on the racial
integration of schools and the performance of the schools that
serve non-choosing students? What features of public charter
schools are related to higher student test scores? What effects
does school choice have on important non-cognitive outcomes
including parent satisfaction, student character traits, and how
far students go in school? What do we know about homeschooling as a
school choice? This book, originally published as a special issue
of the Journal of School Choice, provides evidence-based answers to
those vital questions.
In the wake of the Supreme Courts landmark ruling upholding school
choice, policymakers across the country are grappling with the
challenge of funding and regulating private schools. Towns, cities,
and states are experimenting with a variety of policies, including
vouchers, tax credits, and charter schools. Meanwhile, public
officials and citizens continue to debate the issues at the heart
of the matter: Why should the government regulate education? Who
should do the regulating? How should private schools be regulated,
and how much? These questions represent new terrain for many
policymakers in the United States. Europe and Canada, however, have
struggled with these issues for decades or, in some cases, even a
century or more. In this groundbreaking volume, scholars from
Europe and the United States come together to ask what Americans
can learn from other countries experience with publicly funded
educational choice. This experience is both extensive and varied.
In England and Wales, parents play a significant role in selecting
the schools their children will attend. In the Netherlands and much
of Belgium, most students attend religious schools at government
expense. In Canada, France and Germany, state-financed school
choice is limited to circumstances that serve particular social and
governmental needs. In Italy, school choice has just recently
arrived on the policy agenda. In analyzing these cases, the authors
focus on how school choice policies have shaped and been shaped by
civic values such as tolerance, civic cohesion, and integration
across class, religious, and racial lines. They explore the systems
of regulation, accountability, and control that accompany public
funding, ranging from the testing-based mechanisms of Alberta to
the more intrusive inspection systems of Britain, Germany, and
France. And they discuss the relevance of these experiences for the
United States. These essays illuminate many ways in which the
public interest in education may be preserved or even enhanced in
an era of increased parental choice. Based on a wealth of
experience and expertise, Educating Citizens will aid policymakers
and citizens as they consider historic changes in American public
education policy.
School choice is a hot topic in the United States. Private school
vouchers, public charter schools, open enrollment, and
homeschooling all regularly appear on the policy agenda as ways to
improve the educational experience and outcomes for students,
parents, and the broader society. Pundits often make claims about
the various ways in which parents select schools and thus customize
their child's education. What claims about school choice are
grounded in actual evidence? This book presents systematic reviews
of the social science research regarding critical aspects of
parental school choice. How do parents choose schools and what do
they seek? What effects do their choices have on the racial
integration of schools and the performance of the schools that
serve non-choosing students? What features of public charter
schools are related to higher student test scores? What effects
does school choice have on important non-cognitive outcomes
including parent satisfaction, student character traits, and how
far students go in school? What do we know about homeschooling as a
school choice? This book, originally published as a special issue
of the Journal of School Choice, provides evidence-based answers to
those vital questions.
This volume of essays examines the empirical evidence on school
choice in different countries across Europe, North America,
sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It demonstrates the advantages
which choice offers in different institutional contexts, whether it
be Free Schools in the UK, voucher systems in Sweden or
private-proprietor schools for low-income families in Liberia.
Everywhere experience suggests that parents are `active choosers':
they make rational and considered decisions, drawing on available
evidence and responding to incentives which vary from context to
context. Government educators frequently downplay the importance of
choice and try to constrain the options parents have. But they face
increasing resistance: the evidence is that informed parents drive
improvements in school quality. Where state education in some
developing countries is particularly bad, private bottom-up
provision is preferred even though it costs parents money which
they can ill-afford. This book is both a collection of inspiring
case studies and a call to action.
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