The Privatization of Education: A Political Economy of Global Education Reform

Education privatization is a global phenomenon that has crystallized in countries with very different cultural, political, and economic backgrounds. In this book, the authors examine how privatization policies are being adopted and why so many countries are engaging in this type of education reform. The authors explore the contexts, key personnel, and policy initiatives that explain the worldwide advance of the private sector in education, and identify six different paths toward education privatization—as a drastic state sector reform (e.g., Chile, the U.K.), as an incremental reform (e.g., the U.S.A.), in social-democratic welfare states, as historical public-private partnerships (e.g., Netherlands, Spain), as de facto privatization in low-income countries, and privatization via disaster.

Book Features:

  • The first comprehensive, in-depth investigation of the political economy of education privatization at a global scale.
  • An analysis of the different strategies, discourses, and agents that have contributed to advancing (and resisting) education privatization trends.
  • An examination of the role of private corporations, policy entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, think-tanks, and teacher unions.

“Rich in examples, careful in its analysis, important in its conclusions and recommendations for further work, this book is a vital, rigorous, up-to-date resource for education policy researchers.”
Stephen J. Ball, University College London

“Few issues are as significant as is education privatization across the globe; few treatments of this issue offer both the breadth and nuanced understanding that this book does.”
Christopher Lubienski, Indiana University

"1126362444"
The Privatization of Education: A Political Economy of Global Education Reform

Education privatization is a global phenomenon that has crystallized in countries with very different cultural, political, and economic backgrounds. In this book, the authors examine how privatization policies are being adopted and why so many countries are engaging in this type of education reform. The authors explore the contexts, key personnel, and policy initiatives that explain the worldwide advance of the private sector in education, and identify six different paths toward education privatization—as a drastic state sector reform (e.g., Chile, the U.K.), as an incremental reform (e.g., the U.S.A.), in social-democratic welfare states, as historical public-private partnerships (e.g., Netherlands, Spain), as de facto privatization in low-income countries, and privatization via disaster.

Book Features:

  • The first comprehensive, in-depth investigation of the political economy of education privatization at a global scale.
  • An analysis of the different strategies, discourses, and agents that have contributed to advancing (and resisting) education privatization trends.
  • An examination of the role of private corporations, policy entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, think-tanks, and teacher unions.

“Rich in examples, careful in its analysis, important in its conclusions and recommendations for further work, this book is a vital, rigorous, up-to-date resource for education policy researchers.”
Stephen J. Ball, University College London

“Few issues are as significant as is education privatization across the globe; few treatments of this issue offer both the breadth and nuanced understanding that this book does.”
Christopher Lubienski, Indiana University

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The Privatization of Education: A Political Economy of Global Education Reform

The Privatization of Education: A Political Economy of Global Education Reform

The Privatization of Education: A Political Economy of Global Education Reform

The Privatization of Education: A Political Economy of Global Education Reform

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Overview

Education privatization is a global phenomenon that has crystallized in countries with very different cultural, political, and economic backgrounds. In this book, the authors examine how privatization policies are being adopted and why so many countries are engaging in this type of education reform. The authors explore the contexts, key personnel, and policy initiatives that explain the worldwide advance of the private sector in education, and identify six different paths toward education privatization—as a drastic state sector reform (e.g., Chile, the U.K.), as an incremental reform (e.g., the U.S.A.), in social-democratic welfare states, as historical public-private partnerships (e.g., Netherlands, Spain), as de facto privatization in low-income countries, and privatization via disaster.

Book Features:

  • The first comprehensive, in-depth investigation of the political economy of education privatization at a global scale.
  • An analysis of the different strategies, discourses, and agents that have contributed to advancing (and resisting) education privatization trends.
  • An examination of the role of private corporations, policy entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, think-tanks, and teacher unions.

“Rich in examples, careful in its analysis, important in its conclusions and recommendations for further work, this book is a vital, rigorous, up-to-date resource for education policy researchers.”
Stephen J. Ball, University College London

“Few issues are as significant as is education privatization across the globe; few treatments of this issue offer both the breadth and nuanced understanding that this book does.”
Christopher Lubienski, Indiana University


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780807774724
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Publication date: 07/24/2016
Series: International Perspectives on Educational Reform Series
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Antoni Verger is associate professor of education policy; Clara Fontdevila is a PhD candidate in sociology; Adrián Zancajo is a PhD candidate in sociology, all at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Acronyms and Abbreviations x

Part I Introduction

1 The Globalization of Education Privatization: An Introduction 3

Inquiring into Education Privatization Processes 4

The Scope and Meaning of Educational Privatization 7

The Systematic Literature Review Approach 10

Book Structure 12

2 The Political Economy of Global Education Reform 15

Global-Local Divide 16

Material-Ideational Divide 20

The Scope and Dynamics of Policy Change 26

Conclusion 31

Part II Paths Toward Privatization

3 Education Privatization as a State Reform: The Ideological Road to Privatization in Chile and the United Kingdom 35

The Neoliberal Influence in Education 36

An Education Privatization Laboratory: The Case of Chile 37

From Thatcherism to New Labour: The Case of the United Kingdom 45

Conclusion 53

4 Education Privatization in Social Democratic Welfare States: The Nordic Path Toward Privatization 55

The Spread of Global Neoliberal Ideas 56

Political Institutions and Party Politics in the Nordic Region 57

New Social Democracy and the Modernization of the Welfare State 64

Conclusion 66

5 Scaling Up Privatization: School Choice Reforms in the United States 69

School Choice Reform Breeding Grounds: Discursive, Institutional, and Legal Contingencies 70

Policy Outcomes: The (Uneven) Advancement of Charter Schools and Voucher Programs 76

Conclusion 86

6 Privatization by Default in Low-In come Countries: The Emergence and Expansion of Low-Fee Private Schools 89

A Growing Demand for LFPSs 90

The Global Promotion of LFPSs 95

Conclusion 102

7 Historical Public-Private Partnerships in Education: The Cases of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain 104

The Netherlands: Pillarization and Religious Segregation 105

Belgium: Ups and Downs in a Private School Financing Agreement 109

Spain: The Consolidation of the Private Sector in the Transition to Democracy 112

Conclusion 116

8 Along the Path of Emergency: Privatization by Way of Catastrophe 119

Education Privatization in Catastrophe Settings: Identifying Constant Features 119

Natural Disasters as an Opportunity to Privatize Education 121

Education Reform in Postconflict Contexts 128

Conclusion 132

Part III Actors for and Against Privatization

9 The Emerging Role of Nonstate Actors in the Promotion of Educational Privatization 137

Think Tanks: Producing Pro-Privatization Ideas 138

The Media: Means or Agents in Education Privatization? 140

Policy Entrepreneurs 141

Private Corporations and New Forms of Philanthropy 144

Advocating Privatization: Frequent Strategies of Influence 151

Conclusion 156

10 Resisting Privatization: The Strategies and Influence of Teachers' Unions in Educational Reform 158

Teachers' Unions Participation in Policy Processes: Different Models of Engagement 158

Unions' Strategies and Repertoires of Action 162

Conditions of Influence: Opportunities, Risks, and Threats for Unions 167

Conclusion 175

11 Conclusions: A Cultural Political Economy of Education Privatization 177

The Multiple Trajectories of Education Privatization 177

The Political, Economic, and Cultural Forces Behind Education Privatization 185

Final Remarks: Political Implications, Future Directions 193

Appendix-Methodology: Key Components 196

Notes 201

References 208

Index 230

About the Authors 244

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The privatization of education in its many different forms is now a basic component of education systems around the world. This book is a systematic account of these forms, their effects, and the politics of privatization—global and national. Rich in examples, careful in its analysis, important in its conclusions and recommendations for further work, this book is a vital, rigorous, up-to-date resource for education policy researchers."
Stephen J. Ball, distinguished service professor of sociology of education; editor, Journal of Education Policy, Humanities and Social Science Institute of Education, University College London


"In this useful volume, some of the leading and emerging scholars of their generation offer important insights for our collective understanding of the political economy of market-oriented education reform. The authors brilliantly illuminate both the “why” and the “how” of this global trend toward market models for education, drawing on diverse cases from developing and rich countries to identify the multiple pathways by which privatization advances. Few issues are as significant but under-appreciated as is education privatization across the globe; few treatments of this issue offer both the breadth and nuanced understanding that this book does."
Christopher Lubienski, professor of education policy, Indiana University

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