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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Serie: Wiley Handbooks in Education
- Sprache: Englisch
The Wiley Handbook of School Choice presents a comprehensive collection of original essays addressing the wide range of alternatives to traditional public schools available in contemporary US society. * A comprehensive collection of the latest research findings on school choices in the US, including charter schools, magnet schools, school vouchers, home schooling, private schools, and virtual schools * Viewpoints of both advocates and opponents of each school choice provide balanced examinations and opinions * Perspectives drawn from both established researchers and practicing professionals in the U.S. and abroad and from across the educational spectrum gives a holistic outlook * Includes thorough coverage of the history of traditional education in the US, its current state, and predictions for the future of each alternative school choice
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
I.1 Who Cares About School Choice?
I.2 The
Handbook
of School Choice
I.3 The Handbook of
School Choice
I.4 Making An Editorial Choice About School Choice: Have They Gone Beyond the Promises?
I.5 What Is Different About America that Makes School Choice So Attractive?
I.6 The End of the Beginning
References
1 A Brief History of Public Education in the United States
1.1 Colonial America and the Revolution
1.2 The Age of the Common School
1.3 The Progressive Era
1.4 The Postwar Period
1.5 The Emerging Twenty‐First Century
1.6 Concluding Remarks
References
2 A Brief and Future History of School Choice
2.1 School Choice as Policy Mechanisms in Localized Settings
2.2 Examining the History of School Choice Through Two Lenses
2.3 A Political/Legal Lens on the History of School Choice
2.4 An Economic Lens on the History of School Choice Market Behavior
2.5 School Choice History as Prologue to Education Choices
References
3 School Choice
3.1 The United States, OECD and the PISA Assessment
3.2 Public Funding of Non‐Public Schools
3.3 Vouchers Around the World
3.4 School Choice in Latin and South America
3.5 Home Schooling
3.6 Charter Schools
3.7 Distance Learning
3.8 Conclusion
References
4 A Political Scientist Looks at American School Choice
4.1 How Do Politics and Governance Influence School Choice Policies as Passed and Implemented?
4.2 Ideas
4.3 How Do Choice Policies Change the Political Landscape?
4.4 Concluding Thoughts
References
5 The Economics of School Choice
5.1 Markets and Perfect Competition
5.2 Education and the Market Model
5.3 Schools and Other Characteristics of Competitive Markets
5.4 Empirical Implications of the Market Model for School Choice
5.5 Demand‐Side Factors and the Efficiency and Equity of School Choice
5.6 Discussion
References
6 Philosophical Understandings of American School Choice
6.1 Questions of Liberty, Rights, and Pluralism
6.2 Choosing, Opting Out, and Refusing: Rights of Families in School Choice
6.3 Pluralism, Autonomy, and the Accommodation of Difference
6.4 Questions of Equality, Justice, and Democracy
6.5 Directing Choice: Philosophy, Policy, and Research
References
7 Private Schools
7.1 A Brief History
7.2 Enrollment
7.3 Tuition
7.4 Minority Participation
7.5 Comparing Private and Public Schools
7.6 The Future
References
8 The Case for Private Schools
8.1 Still With Us
8.2 Why Private Schools?
8.3 The Value of Choice
8.4 Good for Democracy
8.5 National Security
8.6 Good for Parents
8.7 Characteristics of Private Schools
8.8 Conclusion
References
9 The Case Against Private Schooling
9.1 Patterns in Private School Attendance
9.2 Public Dollars for Private Schools
9.3 Research Debates about Private Schools
9.4 Private Schools and Segregation: Evidence of White Flight into Private Schools
9.5 Coleman, Hoffer, and Kilgore’s
High School Achievement
9.6 Engagements and Next Generation Analyses
9.7 Predicting the Effects of Tax Credit and Voucher Programs
9.8 A Private School Advantage?
9.9 Chubb and Moe’s (1990)
Politics, Markets and Schools
9.10 Next Generation Analyses
9.11 Conclusion
References
10 Private Schooling in Portugal
10.1 Brief Overview of the History of Private Schooling in Portugal
10.2 Private Schooling Under the Law
10.3 The New Regulatory Paradigm
10.4 New Rules on Information for an “Informed Choice” by Parents
10.5 New Rules for Public Funding
10.6 Lessons to be Learned From Portugal
References
11 Magnet Schools
11.1 History and Background of Magnet Schools
11.2 Description of Magnet Schools
11.3 Current Status of Magnet Schools and Students
11.4 Literature Review of Magnet School Effects
11.5 Magnet Schools Implementation – A Case Study
11.6 Looking to the Future: Challenges and Research Agenda
Acknowledgment
References
12 The Case For Magnet Schools
12.1 Diversity
12.2 Innovative Curriculum
12.3 Academic Excellence
12.4 High‐Quality Instructional Systems
12.5 Family and Community Partnerships
12.6 Characteristics of a Successful Magnet School
12.7 Magnet Standards
12.8 The Future of Magnet Schools
References
13 The Case Against Magnet Schools
13.1 Measuring School Integration
13.2 Opinions on Attending Magnet Schools
13.3 Magnet School Structure
13.4 Case Studies of Magnet School Plans Under Court Orders
13.5 Magnet Schools and Achievement
13.6 Conclusions
Appendix 1 Enrollment by Race and State
References
14 Specialist Schools in England
14.1 History of Specialist Schools in England
14.2 Gaining Specialist School Status
14.3 Impact of Receiving Specialist School Funding
14.4 Academic Attainment and Specialist Schools
14.5 School Choice and Diversity
14.6 Conclusion
References
15 Description and Brief History of Charter Schools
15.1 How Charter Schools are Supposed to Work
15.2 Key Issues
15.3 The Future of Charter Schools
References
16 The Case for Charters
16.1 The Evolution of Public Education
16.2 The Origin of the Charter School Movement
16.3 Goals and Ideals for Charter Schools
16.4 Public Charter Schools and Outcomes
16.5 Stubborn Misconceptions Persist
16.6 The Next 25 Years
References
17 The Case Against Charter Schools
17.1 The Charter School Landscape
17.2 The Charter School Selection Problem—Playing by Different Rules
17.3 Charter Schools Undermine Democracy and Civic Engagement in Education
17.4 Charter Schools are the Punishment in Test‐and‐Punish Accountability
17.5 Charter Schools Struggle with Civil Rights
17.6 For‐Profit Charter Schools Cash In on Kids
17.7 Charter Schools Accelerate Urban Decline—The Charter School Death Spiral
17.8 The Absence of an Academic Benefit
17.9 Conclusion—The Fix Has Become the Problem
References
18 Lessons the United States Can Learn From Sweden’s Experience with Independent Schools
18.1 Background
18.2 Independent Schools
18.3 Independent Schools and the Issue of Segregation
18.4 Profit‐Making or Not?
18.5 Permitting Faith‐Based Schools?
18.6 Concluding Remarks
References
19 An Introduction to Educational Vouchers
19.1 The Evolution of Vouchers
19.2 Why Vouchers? Rationales for Voucher Programs
19.3 Variations in Voucher Programs
19.4 Vouchers in Other Nations
19.5 The Future of Voucher Programs in America
References
20 The Case for School Vouchers
20.1 Who Participates in School Voucher Programs?
20.2 Effectiveness of School Vouchers on Participants
20.3 Effects of School Vouchers on Community Goals
20.4 Education Savings Accounts
20.5 Summary
References
21 The Weak Case for Vouchers
21.1 Vouchers and Public Policy
21.2 Research on Vouchers
21.3 Examining the Research Findings on School Vouchers
21.4 A More Nuanced Review of Findings from Voucher Studies
21.5 Conclusion: Advocacy and Illumination
References
22 Lessons the United States Can Learn From Chile’s Experience with School Vouchers
22.1 Issues in the Design of the Chilean Voucher System
22.2 Is One Voucher Value the Appropriate Policy?
22.3 Introducing a Targeted Voucher
22.4 Summary and Conclusions
References
23 A Description and Brief History of Home Schooling in America
23.1 Criticism of Home‐Based Education
23.2 The Nature of Studies on Home Schooling Outcomes
23.3 The Educational Effectiveness of Home Schooling
23.4 Closing Comments
References
24 A Case for Home Schooling
24.1 The Rise of Home Schooling
24.2 Meet the Shaws
24.3 What About Socialization?
24.4 Actually Doing It
24.5 Educational Outcomes
24.6 Navigating Middle School
24.7 Coping with Changes
24.8 Home Schooling, Mark II
24.9 The High School Years
24.10 Personal Growth
24.11 Preparing for College
24.12 End of the Story
References
25 Home Schooling
25.1 General Observations on the Possible Effects of Privatization of Education
25.2 Educational Abuse and Neglect
25.3 Conclusion
References
26 What the United States Can Learn from Canada’s Experience with Home Schooling
26.1 Home Schooling in Canada: Registrations, Regulation, and Research
26.2 Research from Canada
26.3 Four Lessons from Canada for the United States on Home Schooling
26.4 Conclusion
References
27 Making the Choice to go Online
27.1 Models of Virtual Schooling
27.2 Reasons for Choosing Online Education
27.3 Policy Implications of K‐12 Online Education
27.4 Research on Effectiveness of Online Learning
27.5 Transactional Distance
27.6 Controversial Issues Surrounding Virtual Schooling
27.7 Future Research
References
28 The Case for K‐12 Online Learning
28.1 Benefits of Online Learning
28.2 Challenges and Needs
28.3 Support From Parents
28.4 Support From Teachers
28.5 Support From Program‐Provided Facilitators
28.6 Support From Peers
28.7 The Role of Administrators in Virtual Education
28.8 Conclusion
References
29 K–12 Online Learning and School Choice
29.1 Understanding Literature in the Field of K–12 Online Learning
29.2 School Choice Within K–12 Online Learning
29.3 Cyber Charter Schooling
29.4 Motivation for the Growth of Full‐Time K–12 Online Learning
29.5 Course Choice States
29.6 Conclusions
References
30 Virtual Schooling in Australia
30.1 School Funding and Provision in Australia
30.2 From “Half‐Time” School to “School of the Air” to “Distance Education”
30.3 Distance Education in the Australian States and Territories
30.4 Virtual Schooling: Distance Education and Beyond
30.5 Conclusion
References
31 Losing the War of Ideas? Why Teachers Unions Oppose School Choice
31.1 Why Teachers
Say
They Organize: Why Teachers Organize
31.2 Goals of Teachers Unions
31.3 Teachers Unions and School Choice
31.4 School Choice Battles
31.5 How Charter Schools Differ
31.6 Conclusion: The Triumph of Ideas Over Money
References
32 Religion in Schools
32.1 Funding and Jurisprudence
32.2 The Research Literature
32.3 The Cardus Survey
32.4 Implications and Recommendations
References
33 Educating Students with Disabilities in the School Choice Context
33.1 Underlying Assumptions
33.2 Educating Students with Disabilities
33.3 Intersection of Choice and Special Education
33.4 Implications for School Choice Looking Forward
References
34 School Choice and Legal Issues
34.1 The Legal Context
34.2 Charter Schools
34.3 Voucher Schools
34.4 Home Schooling
34.5 Addressing Legal Issues in Schools of Choice
34.6 Conclusions
References
35 A Critical Look at Parental Choice
35.1 Parents as Empowered with Choice
35.2 Choice Exacerbates Inequality in Urban Districts
35.3 Parents as Individual Consumers
35.4 Conclusion
References
36 School Choice
36.1 Definitions
36.2 The Intersecting Worlds of School Choice
36.3 Do Schools Choose Students?
36.4 Do Parents Choose Racially Distinctive Schools?
36.5 Race, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Inclusion in School Choice Research
36.6 Concluding Thoughts
References
37 Media Coverage of School Choice
37.1 This Chapter’s Approach
37.2 Competition and Control
37.3 Exercising School Choice is Not News
37.4 Main Themes of Media Coverage
37.5 Variation in Frequency of Themes in Media Coverage
37.6 Coverage Comparing Forms of Choice
37.7 Thoughts on the Future of Media Coverage of School Choice
References
Conclusion
Justification for School Choice Comes in Several Different Ways
“Academic” Doesn’t Mean “Dispassionate”
There is Something About Human Organization That Rises Over and Over Again
Why We Use
Children
as Tools for Social Reform
References
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 07
Table 7.1 Private Schools, Enrollment, and Teachers by Basic School Orientation, 2011–2012 (NCES, Private School Universe Survey, 2011–2012).
Table 7.2 U.S. Private Schools and Total Enrollment in Grades K–12 by Religious/Secular Orientation: 2001–2002 and 2011–2012 (NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2001–2002 and 2011–2012).
Table 7.3 Average (Estimated) Private School Tuition by Selected School Characteristics, 2007–08 (NCES, 2007–2008).
Table 7.4 Percentage Distribution of Private School Students by Race/Ethnicity and Geographic Region: 2011–2012 (NCES, 2011–2012).
Table 7.5 Minority Enrollment by Religious/Secular Private School Typology: 2011–2012 (NCES, 2011–2012).
Table 7.6 Private and Public School Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity (percentages): 2011 (NCES, 2013a,b,c).
Table 7.7 Enrollment in 8 Affluent Communities by School Type, Race/Ethnicity: 2013–2014 (NCES, 2015a,b,c).
Chapter 09
Table 9.1 Demographics of Public and Private Schools, Fall 2011.
Chapter 10
Table 10.1 Number of Students in Public and Private Schools from 1960 to 2013/14.
Chapter 11
Appendix Table A.1 Number of Operating Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, Total Magnet Schools, and Percentage of Magnet Schools in the United States by State.
Chapter 20
Table 20.1 Participant Achievement Effects of Private School Choice Programs in the United States.
Table 20.2 Overview of Studies of the Competitive Effects of Vouchers.
Chapter 21
Table 21.1 Studies Cited by the Friedman Foundation for Finding an Impact From Vouchers on Student Learning, By City and Subject.
Table 21.2 Impact of Switching to a Private School on Test Score Performance (drawing from Table 6‐1 in Howell & Peterson, 2002, p. 146).
Table 21.3 Statistically Significant Findings of Bernard et al. (2003) Based on Grade at Time of Application.
Table 21.4 Statistically Significant Findings of Jin et al. (2010) Based on Grade at Time of Application.
Chapter 22
Table 22.1 Per Capita Monthly Subsidy (Basic Subsidy).
Chapter 26
Table 26.1 Home School Registrations in Canada, by Province (2011/2012)
Chapter 30
Table 30.1 Students Enrolled in Government Distance Education Schools and Centers, 2013.
Table 30.2 Home School and Distance Education.
Table 30.3 Per Capita Funding for Government Distance Education Schools, 2013.
Chapter 37
Table 37.1 Messages From the Orientation of Advocates and Opponents.
List of Illustrations
Chapter 07
Figure 7.1 Number of Private Schools by Religious or Secular Orientation, 2001 and 2011 (NCES, 2004, 2013a,b,c).
Figure 7.2 Private School Enrollment by Religious or Secular Orientation, 2001 and 2011 (NCES, 2004, 2013a,b,c).
Figure 7.3 Enrollment in Private Schools with Religious and Nonsectarian Orientations, 2001 and 2011 (NCES, 2013a,b,c).
Figure 7.4 Public and Private School Enrollments, 1890–2011 (NCES, 2011).
Figure 7.5 Percentage of Private School Minority Student Enrollment by Region: 2011–2012 (NCES, 2011–2012).
Figure 7.6 Private and Public School Enrollment Percentages by Race/Ethnicity: 1999–2000 and 2011 (NCES Digest of Education Statistics, 2014).
Chapter 11
Figure 11.1 Percentage of Schools by Location, 2013–2014.
Figure 11.2 Magnet School Versus Regular School Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity During the 2013–2014 School Year.
Chapter 13
Figure 13.1 Classification of Magnet Program Structures.
Figure 13.2 Effect of Magnet Structure on School % Black in Magnet Schools in Prince George's County, Md. School District, 1996–1997.
Chapter 15
Figure 15.1 Illustration of the Charter School Concept (adapted from Miron & Nelson, 2002).
Chapter 29
Figure 29.1 Colorado Student Performance and Growth Data from 2014 in Mathematics for Online Versus Traditional Schools.
Figure 29.2 Colorado Student Performance and Growth Data from 2014 in Reading for Online Versus Traditional Schools.
Figure 29.3 Colorado Student Performance and Growth Data from 2014 in Writing for Online Versus Traditional Schools.
Chapter 30
Figure 30.1 Funding for Non‐Government Distance Education (DE) and Government Schools of Distance Education (SDE), Queensland, 2011 ($ AUD).
Chapter 37
Figure 37.1 Media Coverage of School Choice Compared to Enrollment Rates.
Figure 37.2 Monthly News Coverage by Type of School.
Figure 37.3 Charter School Media Coverage.
Figure 37.4 Charter School Media Coverage in Top Media Markets.
Figure 37.5 Magnet School Media Coverage.
Figure 37.6 School Voucher Media Coverage.
Figure 37.7 Private School Media Coverage.
Figure 37.8 Home Schooling Media Coverage.
Figure 37.9 Open Enrollment Media Coverage.
Figure 37.10 Common Messages across School Choice Types.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
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1. The Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology Edited by Nick Rushby and Daniel W. Surry
2. The Wiley Handbook of Social Studies Research Edited by Meghan Manfra and Cheryl Bolick
3. The Wiley Handbook of School Choice Edited by Robert A. Fox and Nina K. Buchanan
The Wiley Handbook of School Choice
Edited by
Robert A. Fox and Nina K. Buchanan
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Notes on Contributors
Eileen Ahearn has over 20 years of experience in teaching, administration in general and special education, and as Superintendent of Schools in a K‐12 district. She designed and served as Executive Director of a collaborative providing special education programs and services to 13 public school districts in Massachusetts. Dr. Ahearn directs NASDSE’s assessment contract with the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). She is a national expert in special education in charter schools.
Leanna Archambault is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University. Dr. Archambault’s research areas include teacher preparation for online and blended classrooms, the nature of technological pedagogical content knowledge, and the use of innovative technologies to improve learning outcomes. Together with her co‐author, Dr. Kathryn Kennedy, she co‐chairs the Virtual Schooling SIG for the Society for Information Technology and Teaching Education (SITE).
Michael K. Barbour is the Director of Doctoral Studies at Sacred Heart University. He has been involved with K‐12 online learning in a variety of countries for almost two decades as a researcher and practitioner. Dr. Barbour's research focuses on the effective design, delivery, and support of K‐12 online learning. Recently, his worked has concentrated on policies designed to create effective online learning environments. He is currently a Fellow for the National Education Policy Center.
Jered Borup is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Learning Technologies at George Mason University. In his current position, he is the professor‐in‐charge of the Integration of Online Learning in Schools Master's and Certificate programs that are devoted to improving teacher practices in online and blended learning environments. A full list of his publications can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/jeredborup/
Lynn Bosetti is a Professor in Educational Policy and Leadership at University of British Columbia, Okanagan and a Senior Research fellow at the Barbara Mitchell Centre for the Improvement in Education in Vancouver. Her research interests focus on charter schools, school choice, and leadership in higher education. She recently published the co‐authored book Understanding School Choice in Canada with University of Toronto Press.
T. Jameson Brewer is a Ph.D. candidate of educational policy studies and O’Leary Fellow at the University of Illinois. His work has been published in Education Policy Analysis Archives, Educational Studies, Critical Education, the Peabody Journal of Education, Critical Questions in Education, the National Education Policy Center, and Education Week. He is co‐editor of the book Teach For America Counter‐Narratives: Alumni Speak Up and Speak Out (edited with Kathleen deMarrais; Peter Lang, 2015).
Nina K. Buchanan, an Educational Psychologist, is a Professor Emerita from the University of Hawaii. She has taught students in grades kindergarten through graduate school and is a founder of the West Hawaii Explorations Academy Public Charter School, a distinguished award‐winning grades 6 to 12 school situated in the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. She is a nationally recognized expert who has published articles on school choice, project‐based learning, and gifted and talented education.
Jennifer Buckingham is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies. She has published journal articles, monographs, and research papers on a wide range of school education topics including school choice, school funding, charter schools, testing and reporting, literacy, and teacher education. She writes frequently for mainstream and online media in Australia.
Christopher Chapman is Director of the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change at the University of Glasgow and Co‐Director of What Works Scotland, a three‐year ESRC/Scottish Government–funded project exploring public service reform. Chris is also Senior Academic Advisor to the Scottish Government Attainment Challenge, a four‐year £100 million program of work to improve outcome for disadvantaged pupils. Recent publications include the International Handbook of Educational Effectiveness and Improvement: Research, Policy and Practice published by Routledge in 2016.
Hannah Chestnutt is a Research Associate and PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow’s Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change. Her interest in school choice stems from her past experience as a teacher of children and young people from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. She taught in Canada, then in the United States and most recently in the United Kingdom. Her research interests include educational equity, social network analysis, partnerships and collaboration, and mathematics education.
Sean P. Corcoran is Associate Professor of Educational Economics at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and Associate Director of NYU’s Institute for Education and Social Policy (IESP). He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Corcoran serves on the editorial boards of the journals Education Finance & Policy, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and the American Educational Research Journal.
Sarah A. Cordes is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the Temple University College of Education. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Dr. Cordes's research focuses on the ways in which the urban context, including neighborhoods, housing, student mobility, and school choice, affects student outcomes.
Suzanne E. Eckes is a Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department at Indiana University. Dr. Eckes has published over 100 school‐law articles and book chapters, is a co‐editor of the Principal’s Legal Handbook and School Discipline and Safety, and is a co‐author of the school law books Legal Rights of Teachers and Students and Principals Teaching the Law.
Anna J. Egalite is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at North Carolina State University. She holds a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas and an M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University in 2015.
Martha Albertson Fineman, Robert W. Woodruff Professor at Emory University, is an internationally recognized law and society scholar. A leading authority on legal theory, family law and feminist jurisprudence, her scholarly interests include the legal regulation of intimacy and the implications of human dependency and vulnerability. Fineman is founding director of the Feminism and Legal Theory Project (FLT) and director of the interdisciplinary Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative (VHC) at Emory University.
Robert A. Fox is Professor Emeritus of Physics, during which he published or presented 19 scientific papers and articles. In 2002, he turned to school choice, educational policy making and ethnocentric charter school research, during which he published or presented more than 58 articles, talks, books, and book reviews. He is Co‐Chair of the AERA Charters & School Choice SiG, Senior Editor of The Journal of School Choice and Chair of the 2002‐2004 and 2007 International School Choice Conference.
Elizabeth Green is Program Director of Education at Cardus. She moved to Canada from the northwest of England, where she has been directing one of the two research centers in the United Kingdom conducting empirical research into Christian Education. She is a graduate of Oxford, Cambridge, and London Universities, a prize‐winning scholar with an international reputation for her expertise in Christian school ethos, leadership, and management; teaching and learning; and social theory in education.
Guilbert C. Hentschke is concurrently Senior Advisor at Parthenon‐EY and Dean Emeritus at the University of Southern California. Prior to his tenure at USC, he served in administrative and faculty positions at the University of Rochester, Columbia University, the Chicago Public Schools, and the East Side Union High School District (CA). Current board memberships include WestEd and Accord Institute of Educational Research. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton and graduate degrees at Stanford.
Joan Herman is Director Emerita of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA. Her research has explored the effects of testing on schools and the design of assessment systems to improve schools and student learning. Her recent work focuses on the validity and utility of teachers' formative assessment practices and the assessment of deeper learning. She also has wide experience as an evaluator of school reform.
Jeffrey R. Henig is a Professor of Political Science and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as chair of the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis. He is the author, coauthor, or co‐editor of 11 books, most of which deal with the relationships among government, markets, and the nonprofit sector and the ways those play out in the face of politics, race, and advocacy.
Kathryn Hill is a PhD candidate in the Sociology and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a BA in History and Literature from Harvard University and MA in Sociology and Education from Teachers College. Her research focuses on race, class, and political and cultural orientations toward schooling. Her dissertation research, which examines the trust and distrust African‐American parents place in public schools, was awarded the 2015 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.
Darren A. Jones is an attorney with Home School Legal Defense Association. During his 20‐year service at HSLDA, Darren has talked with thousands of home schooling parents and attended home school conferences across the nation. He enjoys assisting home schooling families with issues from unjustified truancy charges to discrimination based on their educational choice. Darren attended public school, private school, and home school, and he and his wife Sara have home schooled their children for 10 years.
Kathryn Kennedy is the Assistant Director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI), the research arm of MVU. Every year, MVLRI is required by the state of Michigan to conduct research to inform policy and practice in Michigan and beyond in the area of K‐12 online and blended learning. Dr. Kennedy’s practical and research experiences include preparing education professionals for technology integration and instructional design in traditional, blended, and online learning environments.
Nora Kern is the Senior Manager for Research and Analysis at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Nora began working with charter schools as a fourth grade teacher. Her policy career has included positions with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a U.S. Representative, and the Data Quality Campaign. Nora graduated as valedictorian with a B.A. in history from the University of Florida.
Christopher Lubienski is Professor of Education Policy at the University of Illinois, and Sir Walter Murdoch Visiting Professor at Murdoch University in Western Australia. His recent book, The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools (with co‐author Sarah Theule Lubienski, University of Chicago Press), won the 2015 PROSE Award for Education Theory. His new book, The Global Education Industry (co‐edited with Antoni Verger and Gita Steiner‐Khamsi), was published by Routledge in 2016.
Robert Maranto is the 21st Century Chair in Leadership at the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, and editor of the Journal of School Choice. He has produced 13 scholarly books, with co‐authors, including President Obama and Education Reform and The Politically Correct University. He serves on the board of a cyber charter school, and recently won election to the school board in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Joe McTighe is Executive Director of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), a coalition of national organizations and state affiliates serving religious and independent elementary and secondary schools in the United States. CAPE member organizations represent about 80% of private school K‐12 enrollment nationwide.
Alex Medler is an independent consultant specializing in charter schools. He has worked as a researcher, public administrator, policy advocate, and policy maker. He led charter work for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers; the Colorado Children’s Campaign; the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program, and the Education Commission of the States. He chaired the board of the Colorado Charter School Institute and he has a Ph.D. in Political Science from CU Boulder.
Sylvia L. Mendez is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Her research centers on the history of Mexican descent education and contemporary issues in college student success and diversifying the professoriate.
Gary Miron is Professor of Evaluation, Measurement, and Research at Western Michigan University. He has extensive experience evaluating school reforms and education policies in the United States and Europe. He has conducted nine comprehensive evaluations of charter school reforms and undertaken dozens of other studies related to school choice reforms. Prior to arriving at WMU in 1997, Miron worked for 10 years at Stockholm University, where his research focused on voucher reforms and school restructuring.
Gunnel Mohme is a PhD student at the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Stockholm University. Originally a primary school teacher, she served as managing director at the Swedish Coalition of Service Industries between 1994 and 2000 and managing director at The Independent School Association in Sweden between 2000 and 2005. She has been a member of two government commissions; one on small company problems (Småföretagsdelegationen) and one on school management organisation (Skolans ledningsstruktur).
F. Howard Nelson is currently a Senior Associate Director in the Educational Issues Department at the American Federation of Teachers. Dr. Nelson has also served in the Office of the President and the Research Department. His recent work focuses on teacher evaluation, accountability, charter schools, privatization, and various issues related to testing including cheating and time spent on testing. Prior to these efforts, he directed the federally funded National Charter School Finance Study. Before joining the AFT, Nelson taught at the University of Illinois‐Chicago. He has published several book chapters and more than thirty articles in such journals as American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Education Finance, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Law and Education, Stanford Law and Policy Review and the National Tax Journal. Nelson holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison.
Dr. Gladys Pack began as a teacher and psychologist in Yonkers, NY, and then served as Yonkers Assistant Superintendent, designing the district’s 38 magnet schools and developing Magnet Assistance Grants and conducting magnet workshops. She supported magnet development in Yonkers, Asheville, Chattanooga, New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield. Currently she is co‐editing an MSA book on Magnet Schools. She has a PhD. from Fordham University, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and serves on MSA's board.
Susan Aud Pendergrass is Senior Director for Research and Evaluation for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Susan has conducted numerous school choice fiscal policy studies. Susan was senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education and senior research scientist at the National Center for Education Statistics. Susan received a B.S. in business finance from the University of Colorado, MBA in finance from George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in public policy from George Mason University.
Ray Pennings is a co‐founder of Cardus and currently serves as its Executive Vice President. He has long experience in Canadian industrial relations, as well as public policy, political activism, and political affairs generally. He has headed several of Cardus' largest research projects over the years, including a monumental education survey, which led to the Cardus Religious Schools Initiative in association with the University of Notre Dame.
Amanda U. Potterton is a Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Policy and Evaluation program, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. Her research interests include the politics of school choice, charter schools, privatization and public education, and the justice‐related implications of these policies for communities, for students living in poverty, for students with special education needs, and for students who are English language learners.
Jeanne M. Powers is Associate Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. Her research on school segregation, choice, and finance litigation has been published in the Review of Research in Education, American Educational Research Journal, American Journal of Education, The Journal of School Choice, and Equity and Excellence in Education. She is associate editor of Education Policy Analysis Archives and editorial board member of American Educational Research Journal, Race, Ethnicity and Education, and the National Education Policy Center.
Rodrigo Queiroz e Melo is an Executive Director of the Portuguese Association of Private Schools, Assistant professor at the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), and President of the General Council of Instituto de Avaliação Educativa (entity responsible for national exams in Portugal). Former member of the Board of the Lisbon School of the Law School of UCP and Chief of staff for the Minister of Education. Author of numerous articles on education systems, school assessment and school management.
Nina Ranieri, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Department of Public Law of the University of São Paulo’s Law School; Senior Researcher at the Research Center for Public Policy at the same University and Chair Holder of the Chair of UNESCO Right to Education of the University of São Paulo’s Law School. Author of several books and articles in Public Law and Educacional Law, she held many positions in Brazilian public education.
Brian D. Ray is President of the National Home Education Research Institute (www.nheri.org) and is internationally known for his research on home schooling (home education). He serves as an expert witness in courts and legislatures and is a former classroom teacher and professor. He holds a B.S. in biology from the University of Puget Sound, an M.S. in zoology from Ohio University, and a Ph.D. in science education from Oregon State University.
Ronald L. Reynolds, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the California Association of Private School Organizations, the California state affiliate of the Council for American Private Education. He is also a member of the California Private School Advisory Committee, K‐12.
Lauren Morando Rhim is a Researcher, Consultant, and Advocate for children. She is co‐ founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS). NCSECS advocates for students with diverse educational needs to ensure that they can access and thrive in charter schools of their choice. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Rhim holds a M.A. from The George Washington University and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
Evan Rhinesmith is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and a researcher in the Office for Education Policy. He previously taught third and fourth grade at Sacred Heart School in Washington, DC as a member of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) through the University of Notre Dame. He is a graduate of Wabash College.
Christine H. Rossell is Professor of Political Science at Boston University. She has been conducting research on the impacts of school desegregation plans for 39 years, consulted for school districts across the United States for 33 years in connection with educational equity court cases, designed and analyzed opinion surveys for 25 years, designed and analyzed school desegregation plans for 25 years, and taught courses on school desegregation, educational policy, public policy, and research methods for 38 years.
John L. Rury is Professor of Education and (by courtesy) History at the University of Kansas. His publications have dealt with the history of urban education, women’s schooling, race, and inequality. He is a past president of the History of Education Society (United States) and a vice president of AERA. A former editor of the American Educational Research Journal, he also has served as a program officer at the Spencer Foundation.
Charles J. Russo, J.D., Ed. D., the Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Services, Director of its Ph.D. Program, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law at the University of Dayton, has authored or co‐authored more than 260 peer‐reviewed journal articles ; authored, co‐authored, edited, or co‐edited 58 books, and more than 985 publications. He speaks extensively on issues in Education Law in the United States and internationally.
Claudio Sapelli is currently Full Professor and chairman, Economics Department, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He holds a Phd in Economics from the university of Chicago. His areas of research and teaching are the economics of Education and Health Economics. He also works on income distribution and mobility issues.
Janelle Scott is a Chancellor’s Associate Professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the Graduate School of Education, Goldman School of Public Policy, and African American Studies Department. Her research examines the politics of advocacy and democratic governance in K‐12 public education with a focus on the politics of non‐state actors, privatization, school choice, and research production, dissemination, and utilization.
Regina Umpstead is an Associate Professor at Central Michigan University. Dr. Umpstead’s research interests explore the law and policy dimensions of charter schools, special education, and teacher ethics and evaluation. She has written numerous scholarly articles and two books: Professional Responsibility for Educators and the Michigan Code of Ethics (2010, Omni Publishers) and Preventing Special Education Litigation: Eight Legal Lesson Plans (2015, TC Press).
Deani Van Pelt is Director of the Barbara Mitchell Centre for Improvement in Education at the Fraser Institute in Canada. Previously Director of Teacher Education at Redeemer University and formerly a secondary school teacher, she has a B. Commerce (McMaster University), a B.Ed. (University of Toronto), and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Education (Western University). She has led government‐funded international research collaborations, served as expert witness, and co‐authored studies in education spending and enrollments. She has presented at conferences across North America, and is frequently featured in Canadian print and broadcast media.
Jia Wang is a Senior Research Scientist and a Project Director for the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at UCLA. Her research interests emphasize applied educational measurement by designing and managing research studies to evaluate the effectiveness of multi‐site intervention programs over time, investigating how school, teacher, and student factors affect student achievement, and developing, validating, and evaluating assessment systems.
Terri S. Wilson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on the philosophical foundations of education policy, including issues raised by school choice, marketization, and parent engagement. Her current research explores how to balance the interests of families in choosing distinctive schools—especially ones that affirm ethnic, linguistic, or cultural identities—against arguments for a common, integrated school system.
John F. Witte received his BA from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Yale University. He is Professor Emeritus at UWM. He was Founding Dean at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan. He has authored or co‐authored eight books and over 80 articles, book chapters, and reports. His studies include charter schools, open enrollment, and the Milwaukee voucher program. His book on income tax policy will appear in 2017.
Patrick J. Wolf is Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and 21st Century Endowed Chair in School Choice at the University of Arkansas. He has authored, co‐authored, or co‐edited four books and over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports on school choice, civic values, public management, special education, and campaign finance. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University in 1995.
Monica S. Yoo is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education and Literacy at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Her publications and research interests are focused on literacy and issues of equity. She is currently involved in a project that explores the relationship between university writing mentors and their urban high school mentees.
Introduction
Robert A. Fox and Nina K. Buchanan
The Merriam‐Webster dictionary defines “introduction” as “(1): a part of a book or treatise preliminary to the main portion (2): a preliminary treatise or course of study.” (Merriam‐Webster, n.p.). Despite the fact that this is the “introduction,” it may not surprise you to know that it is being written after all of the other chapters were completed, reviewed, edited, and accepted. So, with the foresight that comes from having already read the handbook, we ponder our choices in how best to welcome you to this experience. Upon reflection, we conclude that the dictionary definition reveals a good plan. We will begin by describing the concept that led to the way the book is organized and provide a guide or map, which we hope will tie these thirty‐seven chapters into a single enlightening experience. Following this, we introduce the topic of this handbook: school choice, and discuss some of the phenomena that make it one of the most debated topics in American education today.
The Handbook of School Choice. Why call it a handbook? And, if we were going to write a handbook, why make it about school choice? Now that you’ve opened this book, what can you expect to get out of it? This introduction seeks to answer these questions and, through these answers, to provide the reader with a guide map to the next 285,000 words divided into thirty‐seven chapters prepared by more than 65 of America’s (and—as you will soon see—the world’s) foremost scholars in the field of school choice. That’s a lot of words and a lot of chapters, but we believe that, when you finish reading this handbook, you will consider the effort well worth it and you will consult the book again and again.
I.1 Who Cares About School Choice?
In 2012‐2013, there were 6,100 charter schools teaching 2.3 million children (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). There are currently about 2.2 million home‐educated students in the United States (Ray, 2015). Approximately 5,488,000 children are educated in 33,366 private schools (Statistic Brain Research Institute, n.d.). The National Education Policy Center estimates that, during the 2011‐2012 academic year, there were nearly 200,000 students enrolled in 311 full‐time virtual schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013a, p. 4). There are 2,722 magnet schools serving 2,055,133 students (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.a). Approximately 70,000 students are participating in the10 most widely reported school voucher programs (Spalding, 2014, p. 7). While some of these numbers overlap (the majority of virtual schools are charter schools, for instance), this is a lot of people.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has more than 25,000 members. This huge number has divided itself into over 155 special interest groups (SIGs) (AERA, n.d.a), designed to focus member interests into the many subsets that collectively comprise the study of education. SIGs range from obvious topics such as “Teaching History” or “Sociology of Education” to more esoteric ones such as “Rasch Measurement” or “Chaos and Complexity Theories” to downright unexpected ones such as “Elliot Eisner” or “Hip Hop Theories, Praxis & Pedagogies.” But few topics affect so many people personally and generate so much policy discussion as how to balance the country’s arguable need for a common educational system (designed to create an informed citizenry capable of competing in the twenty‐first century global village) against parents’ arguable rights to guide the development of their own children. It is the quest for mechanisms that can contribute to evening the scales of this debate that we dub “school choice.” With a growing public propensity to question, rather than to take for granted, government’s activities related to education, school choice has become a hotter and hotter topic. Hence, over the past few years, researchers have formed a Charters & School Choice SIG within AERA (AERA, n.d.b) and organizers have conducted four successful conferences on International School Choice & Reform (see, for instance, https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1572590.)
I.2 The Handbook of School Choice
This handbook is designed as an introduction to the subjects of school choice. Authors range from retired professors emeriti whose names are virtually synonymous with the subjects on which they write, to junior researchers who, we are confident you will agree, will be the professors emeriti of tomorrow. These contributors come from universities, think tanks, advocacy organizations, and schools of choice. They come from around the United States and around the world. We are honored to have been the agents of bringing them together in what we believe will be a defining book on school choice.
First, this book is a handbook because it has been our goal from the start that it be usable and used by scholars, practitioners, parents, policy makers, and college students studying education in America. While its format is that used by formal educational scholars (careful attention to citations and quotations, extensive reference sections in American Psychological Association [APA] format), its organization and—for the most part—the contributors’ writing styles are different from that found in most peer‐reviewed journal articles. The handbook is designed to be readable. Several of the authors assume a very personal tone; sharing their own experiences as children, or parents, or scientists in a way to which most people ought to be able to relate. Further, each of the main sections of the book concludes with a chapter written by someone from outside the United States. The goal is to provide an international viewpoint. How can we understand complex educational issues in our country unless we are able to set them in a wider, international, context? In addition to an initial general chapter on international school choice, you will find out how private schools work in Portugal (Chapter 10), how magnet schools work in England (Chapter 14), how charter‐like schools work in Sweden (Chapter 18), how Chile has fared with its well‐documented experiment with school vouchers (Chapter 22), how Canada provides for home schooling (Chapter 26), and how virtual schools look in Australia (Chapter 30).
Because it is literally impossible to put into a single handbook all the information that a reader might want, you will observe that every chapter ends with a very extensive reference list. This serves two purposes: for scholars, it is the way that authors validate their assertions, but for general readers, these reference lists are designed to serve as entry points for further study on whichever topics seem most alluring. We expect that you will use this handbook as a jumping off point for further study.
We take a moment to reflect on some of the features of this handbook that become apparent when one considers the book in its entirety. Several of the observations we make here will be repeated when we describe the organization of the handbook below. This is not altogether a mistake. We want you to read this handbook with your eyes wide open and pointing out that the authors are, first of all, people will help you to do that.
First, you will notice how many times authors refer to the same phenomena, the same research studies, the same laws, or the same seminal court cases. As one gets farther and farther into the handbook, one will start to recognize references that were made many chapters earlier. This repetition was not deliberate (after all, each chapter was written by a different author team), but—we think—it resulted in a valuable feature of the book. Repetition breeds familiarity and, with a topic as broad as school choice, the more you remember, the better.
A second feature you might note is the counter‐play between advocates and opponents. In some of these “pro‐con” debates, it almost seems like authors of dueling chapters were part of a public debate presentation. For the most part, these authors did not have access to their counterparts’ chapters, so one has to imagine boxers squaring off against one another with blindfolds on. What this tends to show is that certain well‐known scholars (and most of our authors are well‐known scholars) become so associated with their writing and their research that they are almost synonymous with a strong point of view. Articulating for a position ends up being articulating for the works of some scholars. See if you can figure out about whom we are talking as you read through the handbook.
A third feature to notice is the way educational scholars tend to write. The tendency to cite authorities for virtually every statement is a time‐honored academic tradition. But, while most of our authors are careful to distinguish between their recounting of fact and their reciting of their own opinions or conclusions, one can recognize their preference for certain data or schools of thought over others. This leaves the novice with a daunting task. You’ll have to decide for yourself whom to believe. Or, even better, you can follow some of the references at the end of each chapter and come to your own conclusion. If this handbook gets you thinking, our work will have been done.
Finally, we want to acknowledge that some of the topics in the handbook are exceptionally controversial, leaving their authors with the daunting task of presenting an even‐handed picture of themes on which they might have strong personal opinions. Several of the chapters in the last section of this book fall into that category. The authors of the chapters on unions, religion in schools, school choice and special education did admirable jobs in presenting these multi‐faceted subjects but you might come away with a suspicion about on which side of these issues each one of them falls. We want to leave you with the thought that this is not a bad thing, just something for you to ponder as you consider their presentations.
The handbook is organized into nine sections.
We begin with a three‐chapter section, which addresses the history and background of education in general (
Chapter 1
by Sylvia Mendez and Monica Yoo of the University of Colorado and John Rury of the University of Kansas) and of school choice in particular (
Chapter 2
by Guilbert Hentschke of the University of Southern California). This section, as most of the sections of the book, concludes with a chapter that seeks to place American school choice within an international context (
Chapter 3
