The relative quality and cost-effectiveness of private and public schools for low-income families: a case study in a developing country

The “mushrooming” of private schools for low-income families has been widely noted in the literature; however, very little is known about the quality of these schools. This research explored the relative quality of private unaided (recognised and unrecognised) and government schools in low-income areas of Hyderabad, India. A preliminary census to locate unrecognised private schools – not on official lists – was conducted. Data were collected on achievement and background variables for 3,910 pupils from a stratified random sample of schools. Using multilevel modelling shows that pupils in private unrecognised and recognised schools, when controlled for age, pupil's IQ, and class average IQ, achieve higher scores in mathematics and English than equivalent pupils in government schools. There is no significant difference between private and government schools in pupil achievement in Urdu. The achievement advantage for private schools did not arise because of greater resources available, at least in terms of per pupil teacher salaries.     

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.     

中国甘肃省农村地区为低收入家庭服务的民办学校

在甘肃省农村地区,研究小组发现586所民办学校,这些民办学校目前拥有59,958名在读学生。出于研究比较的原因,研究小组同时调研了309所农村地区的公办学校。研究结果表明尽管公办学校与民办学校的生师比相等,但是与公办学校相比,民办学校的女童入学率更高。尽管公办学校与民办学校收取相同的学费,但是民办学校教师的工资远远低于公办教师。仅有少量的民办学校得到当地政府的资助。研究结果表明建立民办学校的主要原因是因为公办学校距离太远。公办学校与民办学校在教学活动中没有显著性差异。本文阐述了这些研究结果对于中国和国际发展机构在制定教育发展政策方面的启示。     

Why Harry Brighouse is Nearly Right about the Privatisation of Education

Professor Harry Brighouse has written extensively against 'educational choice' reforms in England and Wales and in the USA, and has challenged the status quo of private school provision in England and Wales. This paper explores the extent to which his arguments are applicable to the more radical, but prima facie linked, concept of the 'privatisation of education', that is, where funding, provision or regulation of education are progressively moved away from the state to the private sector. The arguments address in particular the issues of autonomy-facilitating education and educational equality, suggesting that Brighouse's arguments that use these concepts are not powerful objections to the case for choice or privatisation. Indeed, it is suggested that there are several arguments in Brighouse's writings, concerning the virtues of efficiency, diversity and innovation, and the power of the 'mimicking effect' of parents who are not skilled choosers, that contain the kernel for an argument advanced elsewhere that defends, rather than opposes, the privatisation of education.     

The 'Neo-liberal' Critique of State Intervention in Education: A Reply to Winch

This paper challenges Christopher Winch's arguments against the neo-liberal critique of state intervention in education. First, the nature of education and its consumers are shown to imply that education can indeed be described as a commodity. Second, even if the prisoner's dilemma does model the provision of education nevertheless self-interest can bring about a co-operative, mutually agreeable solution. Third, while democratic states are unlikely to be able to ensure educational equality or equity, even in the form of adequate educational opportunities for all, the evidence and logic of markets suggest that markets will not similarly be handicapped. Thus in each case, it is argued, the neo-liberal critique of state intervention in education survives largely unscathed.     

New Versus Old Barber: An Unfinished Revolution

Professor Michael Barber's The Learning Game is a key influence on education policy in England and Wales. This paper focuses on Barber's policy proposals and their theoretical foundations. The paper states the theoretical foundation of the proposals in chaos theory and the working assumption of this paper. It then explores Barber's proposals, for the curriculum, the teaching profession, and the 'ndividual learning promise' Finally, alternative mechanisms for arriving at Barber' desired goals consistent with his theoretical framework are sketched out.