Privatizing Education: Can the Marketplace Deliver Choice, Efficiency, Equity, and Social Cohesion?

This collection of essays examines efforts by groups and lobbyists to move education from the public to the private sector. There are 14 papers in 7 sections: The first section, "Introduction," includes: (1) "Studying Privatization in Education" (Henry M. Levin) and (2) "Educational Vouchers and the Media" (Lee D. Mitgang and Christopher V. Connell). The second section, "Implementation Issues," includes: (3) "The Legal Status of Privatization and Vouchers in Education" (Frank R. Kemerer) and (4) "Information and Choice in Educational Privatization" (Mark Schneider). The third section, "Preschools and Higher Education," includes: (5) "Preschools and Privatization" (Ellen Magenheim) and (6) "Privatization in Higher Education" (Arthur Levine). The fourth section, "International Dimensions," includes: (7) "Privatization through Vouchers in Developing Countries: The Cases of Chile and Columbia" (Martin Carnoy and Patrick J. McEwan) and (8) "Privatization in Industrialized Countries" (Geoffrey Walford). The fifth section, "Charter Schools," includes: (9) "Assessing the Growth and Potential of Charter Schools" (Pearl Rock Kane and Christopher J. Lauricella) and (10) "Privatization and Charter School Reform: Economic, Political, and Social Dimensions" (Amy Stuart Wells and Janelle Scott). The sixth section, "Perspectives of Stakeholders," includes: (11) "Vouchers, Privatization, and the Poor" (Gary Natriello) and (12) "Teachers and Privatization" (Caroline Hodges Persell). The seventh section, "Evaluation Designs," includes: (13) "Criteria for Evaluating School Voucher Studies" (David E. Myers) and (14) "Designing Education Voucher Experiments: Recommendations for Researchers, Funders, and Users" (Fred Doolittle and Wendy Connors). (Each paper contains references.) (SM)