Synopses & Reviews
Is the privatisation of state education defendable? Did the public sector ever provide a fair education for all learners?
In Education plc, Stephen Ball provides a comprehensive, analytic and empirical account of the privatisation of education. He questions the kind of future we want for education and what role privatisation and the private sector may have in that future. Using policy sociology to describe and critically analyse changes in policy, policy technologies and policy regimes, he looks at the ethical and democratic impacts of these changes and raises the following questions:
- Is there a legitimacy for privatisation based on the convergence of interests between business and the ?third way? state?
- Is the extent and value of private participation in public education misunderstood?
- How is the selling of private company services linked to the remodelling of schools?
- Why have the technical and political issues of privatisation been considered but ethical issues almost totally neglected?
- What is happening here, beyond mere technical changes in the form of public service delivery?
- Is education policy being spoken by new voices?
Drawing upon extensive documentary research and interviews with senior executives from the leading ?education services industry? companies, the author challenges preconceptions about privatisation. He concludes that blanket defence of the public sector as it was, over and against the inroads of privatisation, is untenable, and that there is no going back to a past in which the public sector as a whole worked well and worked fairly in the interests of all learners, because there was no such past.
This book breaks new ground and builds on Stephen Ball's previous work on education policy. It should appeal to those researching and studying in the fields of social policy, policy analysis, sociology of education, education research and social economics.
Review
andldquo;In this fascinating book, a group of distinguished scholars provide incisive analyses of market-based child care around the world. They convey child care for what it isandmdash;both a service to parents and a major determinant of childrenandrsquo;s development and future life course. An informative must-read for both scholars and policymakers.andrdquo; and#160;
Review
"A stimulating collection."
Review
"This volume provides an important contribution to the study of childcare policy, which makes it an important addition to any university-level course in childcare or policy analysis."
Review
and#8220;Lloyd and Penn have drawn together a multi-disciplinary, international, team of experts to study and reflect on childcare marketsand#8217; consequences for young children and their families. The book will be of great use to those studying the mixed economy childcare, and those interested in market-based approaches of other caring public services.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;The book is a comprehensive resource for those with an interest in comparative family policy and childrenandrsquo;s services as well as a general interest in the mixed economy of welfare. It can be read cover to cover for a broad understanding of childcare markets from a policy perspective, or as stand-alone chapters for those interested in a particular country or context.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
"Looks dispassionately at the factors shaping the childcare market in the UK of the future."
Synopsis
Breaking new ground and building on the author's established work on education policy, this book gives a full analytical and empirical account of the privatisation of education.
Synopsis
The viability, quality, and sustainability of early childhood education and services is a lively issue in many countries, especially as fair access to quality programs is beset by increasing gaps in family income. Drawing on research from eight countries where child care is deployed via open marketsandmdash;including the United States and Canadaandmdash;the editors present comparisons of child-care services and the regulatory processes that guide them across a wide political and economic spectrum. Including contributions from economists, policy specialists, and educators, this book addresses serious questions as to what constraints need to be in place if child-care providers are to deliver equitable service.
About the Author
Eva Lloyd is a reader in early childhood at the University of East London and codirector of the International Centre for the Study of Mixed Economy of Childcare (ICMEC). She is the author or editor of, or contributor to, several books, including
Poverty and social exclusion in Britain, also published by the Policy Press.and#160;
Helen Pennand#160;is professor of early childhood at the University of East London and also codirector of the ICMEC. She is the author of several books, most recently,and#160;Quality in Services to Young Children.and#160;
Table of Contents
List of tables and figures
About the contributors
Acknowledgements
Part One: Introduction
1. Childcare markets: an introduction
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Eva Lloyd
2. Childcare markets: do they work?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Helen Penn
3. Future directions for a mature UK childcare market
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Philip Blackburn
Part Two: Explorations in childcare markets
4. Local providers and loyal parents: competition and consumer choice in the Dutch childcare market
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Janneke Plantenga
5. Tinkering with early childhood education and care: early education vouchers in Hong Kong
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Gail Yuen
6. Markets and childcare provision in New Zealand: towards a fairer alternative
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Linda Mitchell
7. Publicly available and supported early education and care for all in Norway
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Kari Jacobsen and Gerd Vollset
8. Childcare markets in the US: supply and demand, quality and cost, and public policy
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Laura Stout Sosinsky
9. Canadian ECEC labour shortages: big, costly and solvable
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Robert Fairholm and Jerome Davis
10. Raw and emerging childcare markets
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Helen Penn
Part Three: Ethics and principles
11. Need markets be the only show in town?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Peter Moss
12. ABC Learning and Australian early childhood education and care: a retrospective ethical audit of a radical experiment
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Jennifer Sumsion
13. Childcare markets and government intervention
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Gillian Paull
Index