Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Trouble with Outsourcing School Management

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Challenges in Classical Liberalism

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism ((PASTCL))

Abstract

The concept of letting parents use government funds to cover tuition at schools of their choice has won support from a broad spectrum of theorists over a long period of time. To John Stuart Mill, Milton Friedman, Kenneth Clark, Christopher Jencks, John Chubb, Terry Moe, and Robert Reich, this approach has appealed as a vehicle of independence for families as well as a corrective to rigid public school systems unanswerable to multiple needs and interests. Yet such a market for schooling has been documented to exacerbate segregation, concentrate underperforming students in default neighborhood public schools, prompt corner-cutting by commercial school operators, fuel teaching to the test in the name of institutional distinction on league tables, and even drive grade inflation at schools worried about losing struggling students. Abundant evidence indicates that a better path to improving educational outcomes is to invest heavily in high-quality preschool, better teacher preparation and pay, smaller classes, and broader curricula encompassing more art, music, and crafts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The degree to which vouchers cover tuition at private schools in Chile has evolved over time. From 1981 to 1993, private schools accepting vouchers could not charge additional fees. In acknowledgment of fiscal pressures, the government altered its policy, deferring to Milton Friedman’s prescription, described below, allowing schools to charge additional fees. By 2015, conceding that such differentiation had caused significant socioeconomic segregation at private schools, the government vowed to phase out this policy, forbidding all private schools accepting vouchers to charge additional fees. However, throughout this time, about 7% of the country’s schools, charging far more than the value of the vouchers, have elected not to participate at all in the voucher system. For more on the Chilean system, see Elacqua (2012), Grandin (2015), Castro-Hidalgo and Gómez-Álvarez (2016), and Murnane et al. (2017).

  2. 2.

    As someone who was a high school teacher for 18 years, I know this challenge of classroom management well.

  3. 3.

    See also Butrymowicz (2018a, b).

  4. 4.

    See also Chou (2002).

  5. 5.

    For more on such exit and its ramifications, see Henig (1994) and Levin (1998).

  6. 6.

    Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987).

  7. 7.

    Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002).

  8. 8.

    Data derived from OECD (2022).

  9. 9.

    Data derived from OECD (2022).

  10. 10.

    eFor literacy for the 55-to-65 cohort, the OECD average was 255. The results for the Finns and Swedes were 260 and 262, respectively. For literacy for the 25-to-34 cohort, the OECD average was 284. The results for the Finns and Swedes were 309 and 290, respectively. For numeracy for the 55-to-65 cohort, the OECD average was 253. The results for the Finns and Swedes were 260 and 268, respectively. For numeracy for the 25-to-34 cohort, the OECD average was 279. The results for the Finns and Swedes were 303 and 288, respectively.

  11. 11.

    By 2019, this difference had closed somewhat, with Swedish teachers at the lower-secondary level earning 89% as much as their college classmates while their Finnish counterparts made 97%. See OECD (2020: Table D3.2).

References

  • Abrams SE (2016) Education and the commercial mindset. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Abrams SE (2019) Exit, voice, and charter schools. La Rev Jur de la Univ de Puerto Rico 88:895–919.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abrams SE (2020) Perspectives on school vouchers. In: Berends M, Primus A, Springer MG (eds) Handbook of research on school choice. Routledge, New York, pp 177–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrow KJ (1963) Uncertainty and the welfare economics of medical care. Am Econ Rev 53:941–973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandén M, Bygren M (2022) The opportunity structure of segregation: School choice and school segregation in Sweden. Acta Sociol 65:420–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butrymowicz S (2018a) What would actually happen if we gave all parents the chance to pick their children’s schools? The Hechinger Report, 18 February.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butrymowicz S (2018b) This country spends billions on private schools—And has a terrible learning gap between poor and wealthy. The Hechinger Report, 1 March.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carell SE, Hoekstra ML (2010) Externalities in the classroom: How children exposed to domestic violence affect everyone’s kids. Am Econ J-Appl Econ 2: 211–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro-Hidalgo A, Gómez-Álvarez L (2016) Chile: A long-term neoliberal experiment and its impact on the quality and equity of education. In: Adamson F, Åstrand B, Darling-Hammond L (eds) Global education reform: How privatization and public investment influence education outcomes. Routledge, New York, pp 16–49.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Catterall JS (1984) Politics and aid to private schools. Educ Eval Pol An 6: 435–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chou S (2002) Asymmetric information, ownership and quality of care: An empirical analysis of nursing homes. J Health Econ 21: 293–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chubb J, Moe T (1990) Politics, markets, and America’s schools. Brookings, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark KB (1968) Alternative public school systems. Harvard Educ Rev 38: 100–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coase R (1937) The nature of the firm. Economica 4: 386–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coons JE, Sugarman SD (1978) Education by choice: The case for family control. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dalgleish WS (1870) A plain reading of the Elementary Education Act. John Marshall & Co., London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denice P, DeArmond M, Carr M (2021) When schools open: Student mobility and racial sorting across new charter schools in Kansas City, Missouri. J Urban Aff 43: 1468–1491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  • Elacqua G (2012) The impact of school choice and public policy on segregation: Evidence from Chile. Int J Educ Dev 32: 444–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2021) Eurydice, Finland, organisation of private education. European Commission, Brussels.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture (2022). Basic Education Act (628/1998). Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiske EB, Ladd, HF (2000) When schools compete: A cautionary tale. Brookings, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • French National Assembly and Senate. Loi numero 59-1557 du 31 décembre 1959 sur les rapports entre l’Etat et les établissements d’enseignement privés. Accessed at https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000693420.

  • Friedman M (1955) The role of government in education. In: Solo R (ed) Economics and the public interest. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, pp 123–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman M (1967) The negro in America. Newsweek, 11 December.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman M (1972) Busing: The real issue. Newsweek, 14 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman M (1973) Selling school like groceries: The voucher idea. New York Times Magazine, 23 September.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein D (2018a) Protests spread, as teachers press for better pay and more funding. New York Times, 4 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein D (2018b) Arizona teachers end walkout as Governor signs bill approving raises. New York Times, 4 May.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grandin G (2015) Taxes, schools, voting rights, and abortion: Chile shows the way. The Nation, 23 February.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansmann HB (1980) The role of nonprofit enterprise. Yale L J 89:835–901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman JJ (2006) Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantage children. Science 312:1900–1902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman JJ, Karapakula G (2019) Intergenerational and intragenerational externalities of the Perry Preschool Project. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 25889.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckman JJ, Raut LK (2016) Intergenerational long-term effects of preschool-structural estimates from a discrete dynamic programming model. J Econom 191:164–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman JJ, Moon SH, Pinto R, Savelyev P, Yavitz A (2010) The rate of return to the HighScope Perry Preschool Program. J Pub Econ 94:114–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman JJ, Pinto R, Savelyev P (2013) Understanding the mechanisms through which an influential early childhood program boosted adult outcomes. Am Econ Rev 103:2052–2086.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heilig JV (2018) California just banned for-profit charter schools. Why? Progressive Magazine, 7 September.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henig JR (1994) Rethinking school choice: Limits of the market metaphor. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschman AO (1970) Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs TD (2018) Do vouchers work? Look to Milwaukee. Wall Street Journal, 29 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jencks C (1968) Private schools for black children. New York Times Magazine, 3 November.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jencks C (1970) Giving parents money to pay for schooling: Education vouchers. New Republic, 4 July.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karsten S (1994) Policy on ethnic segregation in a system of choice: The case of the Netherlands. J Educ Pol 9:211–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd HF, Fiske, EB (2016) England confronts the limits of school autonomy. National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, Working Paper 232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladd HF, Singleton JD (2020) The fiscal externalities of charter schools: Evidence from North Carolina. Educ Financ Policy 15:191–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd HF, Turaeva M (2020) Parental preferences for charter schools in North Carolina: Implications for racial segregation and isolation. National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, T Working Paper 243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladd HF, Fiske EB, Ruijs N (2009) Parental choice in the Netherlands: Growing concerns about segregation. National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, Working Paper 232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauder H, Hughes D (eds) (1999) Trading in futures: Why markets in education don’t work. Open University Press, Buckingham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin HM (1968) The failure of the public schools and the free market remedy. Urban Review 2: 32-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin HM (1998) Educational vouchers: Effectiveness, choice, and costs. J Pol Anal Manag 17: 373–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mill JS ([1859]1989) On liberty. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosteller F (1995) The Tennessee study of class size in the early school grades. Future Child 5:113–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murnane RJ, Waldman MR, Willett JB, Bos MS, Vegas E (2017) The consequences of educational voucher reform in Chile. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 23550.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2013a) Education at a glance 2013a. OECD, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2013b) OECD skills outlook 2013b: First results from the survey of adult skills. OECD, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2018) Education at a Glance. OECD, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2020) Education at a glance 2020. OECD, Paris.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2022) Programme for international student assessment. OECD, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, R (2000) The case for ‘progressive’ vouchers. Wall Street Journal, 6 September.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers D (1968) 110 Livingston Street: Politics and bureaucracy in the New York City School System. Random House, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronfeldt M, Loeb S, Wyckoff J (2013) How teacher turnover harms student achievement. Am Educ Res J 50:4–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sizer TR (1969). Education in the ghetto: The case for a free market. Saturday Review, 11 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks SD (2019) The splintering of wealthy areas from school districts is speeding up. Education Week, 16 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Superville D (2017) Schools become whiter and wealthier in communities that secede from districts. Education Week, 21 June.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thrupp M (2006) School admissions and the segregation of school intakes in New Zealand cities. Urban Stud 44: 1393–1404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Traub J (2000) What no school can do. New York Times Magazine, 16 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlachos J (2011) Friskolor i förändring. In Hartman L (ed) Konkurrensens konsekvenser: Vad händer med svensk vualfärd? SNS Förlag, Stockholm, pp 66–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walford W (2001) Privatization in industrialized countries. In: Levin HM (ed) Privatizing education: Can the marketplace deliver choice, efficiency, equity and social cohesion? Westview Press, Boulder, pp 178–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welner KG (2008) NeoVouchers: The emergence of tuition tax credits for private schooling. Rowman and Littlefield, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson OE (1971) The vertical integration of production: Market failure considerations. Am Econ Rev 61:112–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Samuel E. Abrams

Authors
  1. Samuel E. Abrams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel E. Abrams .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Business & Economics Department, Roanoke College, Salem, VA, USA

    Alice L. Kassens

  2. Business and Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Joshua C. Hall

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Abrams, S.E. (2023). The Trouble with Outsourcing School Management. In: Kassens, A.L., Hall, J.C. (eds) Challenges in Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32890-9_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32890-9_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-32889-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-32890-9

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation