Do charter schools really make a difference? The role and impact of Colegios en Concesión in Bogotá

• In Event: Interrogating education privatisation in Latin America (Privatisation in Education Research Initiative)

Abstract

Today, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) frame education policy in many different contexts. Charter schools are the most prominent and iconic PPP modalities in education. PPP advocates assume that charter schools favour schools' autonomy, parental participation and choice, and competition among public and private schools. The combination of these elements fosters educational innovation, pedagogical diversity, management flexibility (in particular in human resources), and -therefore- academic excellence. But despite its global diffusion, the evidence on the impact of charter schools is far from conclusive and often highly contradictory.

This presentation focuses on the case of the Colegios en Concesión (CEC), a charter school program implemented in Bogotá since 1999 for students in poor areas of the city. The presentation discusses to what extent the assumptions behind the CEC program in Colombia are met in reality. In particular, we will answer the following questions: Did the CEC increase the academic performance of poor students? Did the CEC enhance the diversification of the school system pedagogical models? To what extent are CEC more autonomous than regular public schools? Did the CEC program mean the transference of educational know-how? Has the CEC program been effectively controlled by the administration? Did CEC promote students screening?

The results of our research will be organized on three levels: (a) school organization issues (level of autonomy, students' enrollment processes, cream-skimming dynamics, leadership styles, teachers' employment conditions, or parents' participation); (b) pedagogical styles; and (c) academic outcomes, in terms of results on standardized tests, repetition and dropout rates, and academic continuity.

Authors

• Antoni Verger, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

• Xavier Bonal, Department of Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

• Andreu Termes, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona