An inspector calls: the regulation of ‘budget’ private schools in Hyderabad,Andhra Pradesh,India

Research explored the regulatory regime, both ‘on paper’ and ‘in practice’, for private unaided schools serving low-income families (‘budget’ private schools), in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Interviews were conducted with school managers, teachers, parents, and senior government officials and politicians. A Supreme Court Judgement rules out profit-making in the schools, although, in practice, interviewees said this was widely ignored. At the state level, extensive regulations govern all aspects of a school's work. In practice, government officials reported, however, that only four regulations need to be met, but none of the recognised schools met more than two of these. In practice, there may be too few inspectors and a culture of bribery and corruption. A possible way forward is described, of private self-regulation, based on findings concerning parental accountability.     

Markets, Educational Opportunities and Education: Reply to Tooley

James Tooley argues that educational institutions offer educational opportunities rather than provide education. On this basis he claims that education can be offered without state intervention. It is argued here that education is not about the provision of opportunities but about preparation for life, and preparation for life is not an option among others. The consequences of this view are drawn out and it is argued that universal education can only be reliably provided by a central body such as the state and cannot be left to market forces as Tooley claims.     

Private schools and the millennium development goal of universal primary education: a census and comparative survey in Hyderabad,India

Development literature suggests that private schools serving the poor are not part of the solution to meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education. The study conducted a census and survey of schools in notified slums of Hyderabad, India, to contribute to the sparse literature on the nature and extent of private schools for the poor. Of 918 schools found, 60% were found to be private unaided (PUA), enrolling about 65% of total enrolment. On a range of indicators, including pupil–teacher ratio, teaching activity, teacher absenteeism, and classroom and school inputs such as blackboards, desks, chairs, toilets and drinking water, PUA (including unrecognised) schools were found to be superior to government schools. Objections to a role for private schools in meeting the MDG target are explored and challenged.     

Unpacking the nature and practices of inclusive education: the case of two schools in Hyderabad,India

This paper reports insights into the nature and practices of inclusive schools in India using a case study methodology. Being a signatory of the Salamanca Statement, the Government of India has undertaken to implement an inclusive system of education in schools. An initial survey conducted to identify sample inclusive schools showed that inclusive education is being adopted by many schools on a superficial level. In fact, it was found that the term ‘inclusive school’ was more of an ornamental name used to create an impression of inclusion. Deliberations with the managements and teachers of these schools revealed that the concept was being adopted and implemented in Indian mainstream schools albeit in the absence of any clearly defined ideas on the subject. An in-depth exploration was undertaken into the inclusive practices followed in two case-study schools. Interviews were conducted with the school heads, class teachers, students and their parents. This was accompanied by observations of the practices followed by the so-called inclusive schools. Data thus collected were analysed using qualitative analysis. Results of the study demonstrate lack of resources, infrastructure, teaching practices, curricular and co-curricular activities which if incorporated would actually bring about inclusive practices beneficial to students of diverse needs. The paper concludes with policy proposals with respect to a clear definition of the concept of inclusive education and the various provisions that should be made available in the inclusive schools.     

Spatializing a global education phenomenon: private tutoring and mobility theory in Cambodia

ABSTRACT

Along with the dramatic expansion of private tutoring around the world, a significant body of literature has been produced to understand this phenomenon. While many studies consider the issue of geographic location, the spatial dimension tends not to be a central focus of private tutoring studies. In contrast, the present essay applies mobility theory to research from Cambodia, where private tutoring is essential to student success. It does so in order to place private tutoring provision into a broader perspective that includes but moves beyond the economic dimensions of supply and demand and the sociological dimensions of economic, cultural, and social capital to include consideration of how private tutoring provision is constrained by a multidimensional spatial field of possibilities and how private tutoring participation is enabled by one’s position and abilities in relation to that field. The paper argues for increased attention to ‘spatial capital’ in studies of private tutoring and education generally.     

When negotiation fails: private education as a disciplinary strategy

This articles deals with the question why Dutch upper‐middle‐class parents resort to fee‐paying private education, a tiny, recently developed sector of the Dutch educational system. The research is based on interviews with 37 parents and 20 students attending private schools, and on a survey among 376 parents involved in private schooling. From the data is concluded that ‘lack of discipline’ is the main reason for parents and students alike to choose a private school. Failing to succeed in secondary school lessens the chances of reproduction of parental class position. Analysis of the interviews shows that the parental style of upbringing, marked by negotiation and mutual consent, can make it difficult to acquire the discipline that is needed to follow a successful educational career. Moreover, parents criticize the regular schools for their lack of discipline on the one hand, attention to individual needs on the other. The private schools, characterized by strict rules, permanent supervision, and intense engagement with students, take over the discipline neither parents nor regular schools can provide. In that way, students are able to qualify for tertiary education, needed to ward off future downward mobility.     

The Tooley Report on Educational Research: two philosophical objections

The report on educational research, commissioned by the Office for Standards in Education, written by James Tooley with assistance, and published under the title Educational Research: a critique , set out to 'help provide some badly needed evidence to inform the debate about the quality of educational research' (Tooley, 1998, p. 9). Whether this 'snapshot' actually upholds Hargreaves' (1996, p. 1) contention that there is a considerable amount of 'second rate educational research' is far from clear, although Tooley does conclude that the majority of studies surveyed lacked a clear focus, employed sloppy methodology and displayed partisanship. Now, those whose work was critiqued might, with some justification, grumble about Tooley's own ideological bias given his well-known right-wing, market-oriented views about education. Concern could also be directed at the report's methodological inadequacies, including the procedures adopted to select the journal sample, the categories employed for analysis, and the validity of the conclusions reached. I leave all of these for others to address. Rather, I shall examine two basic distinctions which Tooley adopts and deems important for his investigation into the state of educational research in Britain. The first is between empirical and non-empirical research, the second is between quantitative and qualitative empirical research. Philosophically, both of these distinctions are highly problematic and as a philosopher Tooley should, at the very least, have acknowledged their contentiousness rather than simply taking them for granted. The purpose of this short note is to indicate why Tooley's reliance on these two distinctions will not do.     

论陕西民办高等教育的缘起与发展

陕西民办高等教育有其自身的历史发展特点。促使其发展的成因主要有环境因素(教育环境和政策环境)和人的因素(办学者的动机、素质和性格)。陕西民办高等教育目前存在着一定的问题和困难,需要政府管理层制定相应的对策。     

Development of private higher education in Macau: Exploring the relationship between government and private sector

The development of private higher education in Macau has experienced rapid growth in the past two decades. The purpose of this paper is to understand this trend by investigating the facts and figures supplied by official sources and to analyze the role between the Government and the private sector. This paper shows that the attitude of the Macau Government is neither authoritative nor laissez-faire toward private higher education. On the one hand, the Government is investing heavily in the public sector. On the other hand, it is assisting the private sector by various means. However, there is a lack of systematic planning in the area of public-private partnership. There are also two issues which may hinder the current development of private higher education. They are an outdated legal framework and a lack of standardized quality assurance measures.     

The reproduction of privilege: young women,the family and private education

The paper examines processes of cultural production and reproduction among members of the elite and upper-middle classes. Drawing on findings from a study of private education in England, it explores the utility of a conceptual framework to examine how practices in and across different sites may be reproductive of various forms of ‘privilege’. Three domains in particular – family, the school and individual young women’s projects of the self – together shape key meanings and orientations informing young women’s lives. These meanings and orientations in turn connect to ‘privileging practices’, both within each domain and beyond. The paper analyses data from three young women in one of the schools studied to illustrate how the framework may be used to examine privately educated young women’s different orientations to the present and the future. Findings point to some of the processes through which class and gender privilege may be variably reproduced.     

民办教育发展研究综述

民办教育是教育事业的重要组成部分。本文通过对教育学、教育经济及教育管理各个领域的现在研究现状进行归纳整理,并提出在中国民办教育发展爱社会排斥影响较大。     

Commercial civil society: A perspective on private higher education in China

Two distinctive paradigms have been used in researching higher education phenomena in China’s process of social transformation. The first might be described as “critical realist,” and the second as “interpretivist.” The book Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities: In the Move to Mass Higher Education, has inclined toward the second paradigm and a central concept is that of “civil society.” However, the authors of this article argue that the concept of “commercial civil society” may better explain the characteristics of Chinese private higher education. Different from civil society that is based on voluntary action and contributions, commercial civil society is characterized by profit making behavior. This article focuses on analyzing the profit making features of Chinese private higher education, and thus aims to supplement the interpretivist analysis presented in the book. The authors believe that the concept of “commercial civil society” not only reflects certain features of the social environment in which Chinese private higher education operates, but may also be helpful for analyzing private higher education phenomena in other countries.     

The growth of private education in Argentina: evidence and explanations

During the second half of the twentieth century, the Argentine education system went through a clear process of privatisation expressed in the increasing enrolment and state funding of the private sector. Especially in the 1990s, when the country implemented neoliberal economic policies, the academic literature had found in neoliberalism (in ideology, public policy and the enactment of certain laws) an explanation for this process of privatisation. Since the 2000s, and after a severe economic crisis, successive governments have rejected the neoliberal policies and have established a set of regulations and public policies with the explicit purpose of changing the previous policy trend. This article shows that after one decade of this new policy opposed to neoliberalism, the evidence suggests that privatisation of education has not only not been reversed but even expanded in a significant manner, reaching striking rates of increase, both in private enrolment and in state funding. Finally, the evidence presented shows that neither neoliberal nor post-neoliberal policies seem to determine the privatisation of education for the Argentine case. The article concludes with some remarks so as to design an explanatory model to account for the dynamics of the education system.     

Organizational decline and effectiveness in private higher education

The central purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between organizational decline and three domains of effectiveness (i.e., academic, morale, and external adaptation) in private colleges and universities. The study differed from earlier inquiries in terms of its measurement of the organizational decline construct and its reliance on faculty perceptions of organizational effectiveness. The results clearly demonstrate that the relationship between decline and effectiveness is not uniform across the three types of private institutions (i.e., Research Universities, Comprehensive Colleges, Liberal Arts Colleges). For example, organizational decline has a negative effect on effectiveness in the academic domain only at Liberal Arts Colleges. Similarly, the magnitude of decline necessary to have a negative effect on effectiveness varies among the three institutional types. The implications of these findings for future research and for the management of decline in private higher education are discussed.     

Trends in private higher education in Australia

The last decade has witnessed a significant growth of private higher education around the world. The growth included the number of private education providers, and also the growing number of students. While some countries are experiencing trend growth, others are witnessing decline. Some of the reasons for the decline include increased regulation and stringent accreditation and reaccreditation of higher education institutions and courses, government policies to encourage the growth of public universities, and acquisition of small providers by large private education institutions. The growth of private higher education has increased competition, and it has also established collaboration with public institutions. The growth of private higher education has also raised concerns about ethical governance, maintenance of academic standards, and mechanisms to plan, review, and improve educational outcomes. This paper focuses on Australia where despite growth, there is limited research about private higher education. This paper reviews literature on the global growth and decline of private higher education. It then analyses the trends in Australia and possible scenarios for the future of private higher education in the country.     

民办高校教育的创新与发展

本文结合北京城市学院培训中心的创新与发展的历程,对民办教育中高自考等问题作了深入的研究,提出了一些的新的观点。