Welfare Reform on the Web (October 2001): Education Overseas

CAN PS.27 TURN A PROFIT? PROVISION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION BY FOR-PROFIT SUPPLIERS

D J Lamdin

Contemporary Economic Policy, vol.19, 2001, p.280-290.

School districts in the US have begun to use for-profit contractors to provide management and instructional services. Analysis presented suggests that contracting can be financially viable and has the potential to improve quality. In actual implementation, however, both have yet to be witnessed over a sustained period.

CULTURE AND PEDAGOGY: INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION

R Alexander

Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2001.

A comparison of primary and elementary schooling in England, France, India, Russia and the United States. It examines school values and organisation and looks at the influence of local pressures, national policies and political control. Combining all this with a historical enquiry into classroom life, this book presents an illuminating account of pedagogy.

LEADERSHIP FOR QUALITY SCHOOLING: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

K Wong and C W Evers

London: Routledge Falmer, 2001.

Focusing on school-based management this book examines the links between leadership and school improvement. It includes chapters on moral authority; cultural and educational leadership; vision building among school leaders; and embedding leadership in task management.

PRIVATIZING EDUCATION: CAN THE MARKET PLACE DELIVER CHOICE, EFFICIENCY, EQUITY, AND SOCIAL COHESION?

H M Levin (ed.)

Oxford: Westview Press, 2001.

This book is made up of a collection of essays. The introduction includes a study of privatisation in education, educational vouchers and the media. The book goes on to look at implementation issues; privatisation of pre-schools and higher education; international dimensions; the perspectives of stakeholders; and evaluation designs.