63.056 - Is the Invisible Hand a Magic Wand? Privatization Versus Public Investments in National Educational Systems

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

In the past forty years, countries have diverged in their approaches towards fiscal governance, positioning themselves along a spectrum from strong state investments in public education to market-based approaches, with differing results. Symposium participants will discuss case studies of six countries (three geographically proximate pairs) on this spectrum. On one side, Finland, Cuba, and Canada have made strong and equitable investments in public education, including strengthening the profession of teaching. Conversely, nearby nations – Sweden, Chile, and the U.S. – have launched major initiatives with market-based strategies, including funding privately operated schools and employing market-based approaches to teaching as an occupation. Comparing these different approaches suggests that education systems using strong state investments produce higher quality outcomes than employing market-based principles.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 1: Governance, Finance, and Intergovernmental Relations

Chair

• Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University

Papers

• How Focusing on Equity Led to Higher Student Achievement in Finland - Pasi Sahlberg, Harvard University

• Turning Citizens Into Consumers: The Disappearing Democratic Dream and Establishment of School Markets in Sweden - Bjorn Astrand, Umea University

• Four Keys to Cuba's Provision of High-Quality Public Education - Martin Carnoy, Stanford University

• Chile's Long-Term Neoliberalism Experiment and Its Impact on Educational Quality and Equity - Abelardo Castro

• Investing in Canadian Education: Whole-System Reform in Ontario - Michael Fullan, OISE/University of Toronto

• Privatization or Public Investment: An Inflection Point in U.S. Education - Frank M. Adamson, Stanford University

Discussant

• Hugh Mclean, Open Society Foundation - London