School Choice

The relationship between private education and social inequality has long been central to academic and policy debates. While private schools are often justified as mechanisms to diversify provision and accommodate parental preferences, extensive evidence shows that they also contribute to school segregation and the reproduction of privilege. This article examines how urban transformationsspecifically gentrification-reshape the determinants of private school demand, and whether these dynamics differ between primary and secondary education. Focusing on Barcelona-characterised by a strong tradition of publicly subsidised private schooling, a choice-oriented admissions system, and ongoing neighbourhood change-the study explores families' decisions to opt out of local public schools. Drawing on population register data, the analysis investigates the determinants of private school demand in primary education, its evolution between 2014 and 2023, and patterns of transition to private secondary education. The findings show that private schooling operates as a form of selective exit associated with "white flight", but that this relationship is strongly conditioned by local contexts In gentrifying neighbourhoods, opting out of public education at the primary level is less pronounced, suggesting forms of selective tolerance, while transitions to private secondary schooling remain more weakly constrained.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of the government subsidies on low-cost private schools in Sindh, Pakistan, under the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) policy design. The study was guided by research questions on how, in what way, and for whom low-cost Foundation-Assisted Schools (FASs) under PPPs policy design improve access, quality, and equity. The Realist Evaluation theoretical framework and the qualitative study design approach were employed. The data included policy documents, 25 semistructured interviews, and focus group discussions with the FAS stakeholders. This study's findings indicate that FASs under PPPs in education have some advantages over government-run schools, specifically in governance. However, the broader impact of PPP reforms in education through the low-cost schools model still does not result in increased access, quality, and equity to meet the rising demand for education in Pakistan. The implication of this study for policymakers and future researchers is to design more contextually framed model PPPs in education that work for local needs.

This article asks how patriarchy travels across historical rupture without always appearing as domination. Placing a U.S. ethnographic case study of women electricians and union brotherhood in conversation with Janet Afary's history of sexual politics in modern Iran, it proposes brotherhood as a carrier form through which masculine identity becomes institutional authority. Brotherhood is not treated as a sentiment of male loyalty alone, but as a social, symbolic, and communicative formation that converts skill, protection, patriotism, morality, and civic belonging into recognized male power. Drawing on Gramsci's theory of hegemony and Hymes's ethnography of communication, the article argues that patriarchy survives by being renamed in the legitimate language of each historical moment. Its continuity depends not only on male enforcement, but on unequal social transmission through families, workplaces, religious idioms, nationalist projects, and speech events that make domination sound natural.

Föreliggande rapport handlar om hur obligatoriskt skolval införts, organiserats och upplevts i Norrköpings kommun. Rapportens fokus är på segregation, politiska ambitioner och organisatoriska motiv, samt hur elever själva resonerar kring sina val av skola. Studien bygger på intervjuer med politiker, tjänstepersoner samt rektorer och elever vid skolor i olika områden som är geografiskt nära varandra, men med olika socioekonomiska förutsättningar. Rapportens resultat visar att det obligatoriska skolvalet inneburit skolplaceringar enligt en algoritmbaserad modell, med kriterier för skolplacering och fasta bytesperioder. Det samordnade skolvalet där även fristående skolor ingår har också ökat kommunens överblick över behovet av skolplatser. Andelen vårdnadshavare som väljer skola är betydligt högre än innan skolvalet blev obligatoriskt och tjänstepersonerna som arbetar med skolplaceringar upplever med det nya systemet en ökad tydlighet och rättssäkerhet i hur val och placeringar går till. I relation till segregation visar rapporten att skolvalet inte minskar segregation. Snarare riskerar obligatoriskt skolval att förstärka skillnader mellan skolor när det gäller elevers och bostadsområdens socioekonomiska förutsättningar

This thesis examines the persistence of racial and socioeconomic stratification in Arkansas public schools through the mechanism of school zoning. Despite historical rulings like *Brown v. Board of Education*, modern educational landscapes in districts such as Russellville, Conway, and Pottsville remain deeply divided. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates quantitative demographic and performance data with a 2025 survey of 322 Russellville students to explore how spatial organization impacts secondary education outcomes. The research applies spatial justice theory to demonstrate how municipal zoning ordinances, such as exclusionary housing policies and "rental deserts" intersect with school attendance boundaries to reinforce de facto segregation. Findings indicate that students in higher-income, predominantly white zones perceive significantly greater preparedness and access to advanced academic programs, such as Gifted and Talented tracks and robotics. Conversely, schools in lower-income zones exhibit higher concentrations of English language learners and lower standardized testing proficiency. By situating local practices within national legal precedents like *Shaw v. Reno* and *Milliken v. Bradley*, this work highlights the systemic nature of educational inequality. The study concludes that addressing these disparities requires significant policy reform, including decoupling school assignment from residential addresses and implementing broader municipal zoning changes to ensure equitable access to educational opportunities for all students.

The CST is one of 7 national Content Centers in a federal network of 22 Comprehensive Centers. The U.S. Department of Education charges the centers with building the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to assist districts and schools in meeting student achievement goals. The goal of the CST is to provide technical assistance and to identify, synthesize, and disseminate research-based practices and emerging promising practices that will lead to the increased capacity of SEAs to support districts in turning around their lowest-performing schools.

This paper explores the pivotal role of parents as "cultural architects" within the educational ecosystem, emphasizing their capacity to shape, bridge, and sustain meaningful family–school partnerships. Moving beyond traditional models of parental involvement, this study examines how parents actively construct cultural frameworks that influence student engagement, academic achievement, and social-emotional development. By analyzing the intersection of home environments and institutional school cultures, the research highlights successful strategies for fostering collaborative, culturally responsive communication between educators and families. Ultimately, the paper provides actionable insights for school administrators and policymakers to co-create inclusive educational environments that empower parents as essential partners in driving systemic student success.

Στην παρούσα εργασία γίνεται μια σύντομη βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση με σκοπό να αναδειχθεί η θετική επίδραση των κοινοτικών σχολείων στην εκπαίδευση των μαθητών στην απόκτηση ενός υψηλού βαθμού κοινωνικο-πολιτικής εγγραμματοσύνης και ενεργούς πολιτειότητας. Η κοινωνικο-πολιτική εγγραμματοσύνη συνάδει με τη λειτουργική χρήση γνώσεων, δεξιοτήτων και αξιών για την επίλυση κοινωνικών και πολιτικών προβλημάτων της καθημερινής ζωής. Η ενεργή  πολιτειότητα συνδέεται με εθελοντικές δράσεις κοινωνικού και πολιτικού χαρακτήρα εντός της τοπικής κοινότητας. Τα κοινοτικά σχολεία σχεδιάζουν και υλοποιούν συστηματικά και εμπεριστατωμένα ποικίλες εκπαιδευτικές δράσεις με σκοπό να προάγουν στην καθημερινή εργασία των σχολείων, των εκπαιδευτικών, των μαθητών και των γονέων την κοινωνική και πολιτική παιδεία, στις οποίες περιλαμβάνονται η συμμετοχική εκπαιδευτική διοίκηση, η συμπερίληψη, η κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη, και η συναισθηματική φροντίδα για όλα τα μέλη της σχολικής και της ευρύτερης τοπικής κοινότητας. Αυτό συμβαίνει, επειδή λειτουργώντας τα  κοινοτικά σχολεία στη βάση της φιλοσοφίας του συστημικού - κοινωνικο-οικολογικού μοντέλου της Epstein, επιτυγχάνουν να υποστηρίζουν πολυεπίπεδα τους μαθητές να σκέπτονται, να συμπεριφέρονται και να ενεργούν ως κοινωνικο-πολιτικά εγγράμματοι και ενεργοί πολίτες με βάση τις θεμελιώδεις αρχές του οικουμενικού ανθρωπισμού και του πολιτικού φιλελευθερισμού. Με βάση τα παραπάνω, χρειάζεται οι  φορείς της παιδαγωγούσας πολιτείας (εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα, οικογένεια, πολιτική διοίκηση, νομικό σύστημα, τοπική κοινότητα, μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης, κοινωνικά δίκτυα) να ενισχύσουν ουσιαστικά και να αξιοποιήσουν παραγωγικά τον θεσμό των κοινοτικών σχολείων προκειμένου οι μαθητές από την παιδική ηλικία να αποκτήσουν δεξιότητες κοινωνικοπολιτικής εγγραμματοσύνης και ενεργούς πολιτειότητας.

Στην παρούσα εργασία γίνεται μια σύντομη βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση με σκοπό να αναδειχθεί η θετική επίδραση των κοινοτικών σχολείων στην εκπαίδευση των μαθητών στην απόκτηση ενός υψηλού βαθμού κοινωνικο-πολιτικής εγγραμματοσύνης και ενεργούς πολιτειότητας. Η κοινωνικο-πολιτική εγγραμματοσύνη συνάδει με τη λειτουργική χρήση γνώσεων, δεξιοτήτων και αξιών για την επίλυση κοινωνικών και πολιτικών προβλημάτων της καθημερινής ζωής. Η ενεργή  πολιτειότητα συνδέεται με εθελοντικές δράσεις κοινωνικού και πολιτικού χαρακτήρα εντός της τοπικής κοινότητας. Τα κοινοτικά σχολεία σχεδιάζουν και υλοποιούν συστηματικά και εμπεριστατωμένα ποικίλες εκπαιδευτικές δράσεις με σκοπό να προάγουν στην καθημερινή εργασία των σχολείων, των εκπαιδευτικών, των μαθητών και των γονέων την κοινωνική και πολιτική παιδεία, στις οποίες περιλαμβάνονται η συμμετοχική εκπαιδευτική διοίκηση, η συμπερίληψη, η κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη, και η συναισθηματική φροντίδα για όλα τα μέλη της σχολικής και της ευρύτερης τοπικής κοινότητας. Αυτό συμβαίνει, επειδή λειτουργώντας τα  κοινοτικά σχολεία στη βάση της φιλοσοφίας του συστημικού - κοινωνικο-οικολογικού μοντέλου της Epstein, επιτυγχάνουν να υποστηρίζουν πολυεπίπεδα τους μαθητές να σκέπτονται, να συμπεριφέρονται και να ενεργούν ως κοινωνικο-πολιτικά εγγράμματοι και ενεργοί πολίτες με βάση τις θεμελιώδεις αρχές του οικουμενικού ανθρωπισμού και του πολιτικού φιλελευθερισμού. Με βάση τα παραπάνω, χρειάζεται οι  φορείς της παιδαγωγούσας πολιτείας (εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα, οικογένεια, πολιτική διοίκηση, νομικό σύστημα, τοπική κοινότητα, μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης, κοινωνικά δίκτυα) να ενισχύσουν ουσιαστικά και να αξιοποιήσουν παραγωγικά τον θεσμό των κοινοτικών σχολείων προκειμένου οι μαθητές από την παιδική ηλικία να αποκτήσουν δεξιότητες κοινωνικοπολιτικής εγγραμματοσύνης και ενεργούς πολιτειότητας.

White charter school enclaves-defined as charter schools located in school districts that are thirty percent or less white, but that enroll a student body that is fifty percent or greater white-are emerging across the country. The emergence of white charter school enclaves is the result of a sobering and ugly truth: when given a choice, white parents as a collective tend to choose racially segregated, predominately white schools. Empirical research supports this claim. Empirical research also demonstrates that white parents as a collective will make that choice even when presented with the option of a more racially diverse school that is of good academic quality. Despite the connection between collective white parental choice and school segregation, greater choice continues to be injected into the school assignment process. School choice assignment policies, particularly charter schools, are proliferating at a substantial rate. As a result, parental choice rather than systemic design is creating new patterns of racial segregation and inequality in public schools. Yet the Supreme Court's school desegregation jurisprudence insulates racial segregation in schools ostensibly caused by parental choice rather than systemic design from regulation. Consequently, the new patterns of racial segregation in public schools caused by collective white parental choice largely escapes regulation by courts. This article argues that the time has come to reconsider the legal and normative viability of regulating racial segregation in public

This Article critically examines the rise of market-based public school reforms. It argues that market-based public school reforms result in quality public education being normatively conceptualized and treated as what political economists call a private good rather than a public good. While public education is admittedly not a pure public good, it is widely recognized as a quasi or impure public good that benefits society as a whole in many ways. Yet market-based public school reforms situate public education as a private good by diminishing public education’s ability to truly bring positive externalities to society as a whole. They do so by situating the positive externalities associated with a quality public education in ways that do not benefit the greater society. Instead, market-based public school reforms allow a shallow subset of people to take advantage of market-like exchanges to select — rather than be assigned to — a particular school that they believe will provide a qua...

As we navigate the educational landscape of 2026, the increasing formalization of online learning and the algorithmic character of machine-based education have resurrected the radical critiques of Paulo Freire and Ivan Illich. This paper provides the theoretical background for a Dimensions of Choice (DoC) analysis, contrasting the “banking system” of knowledge with the “problem-posing” model and the “manipulative” institution with “convivial” networks. By correcting the “wooden epistemology” of contemporary critics like Sophia Corwin—who dismisses these frameworks as “AI slop” or etymological blunders—this study highlights the necessity of a pedagogical synthesis between training (educare) and critical leading-out (educere). Through two structured DoC tables, the analysis demonstrates how Freire’s conscientization and Illich’s learning webs facilitate the “craftsmanship” of the reflexive insider, fostering a free, investigative mind capable of solving novel problems in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. (Teaching Aides at the end of the essay)

This paper summarizes the dramatic changes in relative male-females educational attainment over the past three decades. Stock measures of education among the entire adult population show rising attainment levels for both men and women, with men enjoying an advantage in schooling levels throughout this interval. Cohort specific analysis reveals that these stock measures mask two interesting patterns: (a) gender difference at the cohort level had vanished by the early 1950 birth cohort and reversed sign ever since; (b) for several cohorts, attainment rates were flat for women and flat and falling for men. This last is puzzling in the face of the large college premia that these cohorts observed when making their schooling choices. We present a simple human capital model showing how the anticipated dispersion of future wages should affect educational investment and find that a model which includes measures of future earnings dispersion fits the data for relative schooling patterns quite well.

Drawing on policy feedback theory, this study examines whether personal experience with choice options and exposure to information about existing programs cultivates broader political backing. Using data from a nationally representative survey (N = 1,447), we find that individuals with direct or familial experience with school choice programs are significantly more likely to support expanding choice programs. A randomized survey experiment demonstrates that framing choice policies as already implemented in real states or countries modestly increases support, varying by the perceived political alignment of the referenced location. These findings suggest that familiarity generates positive feedback, contributing to the momentum behind choice expansion.

The paper analyzes the determinants of optimal electric capacity and contrasts these with the requirements typically applied in a multi-regional model. We first analyze the relationship between usual reliability criteria such as the value of lost load and the targeted probability of failure, on the one hand, and the conditions that define optimal level of capacity on the other. Secondly, we characterize the social gains from energy trading between two interconnected regions that differ in terms of technologies or demand. Market mechanisms are sufficient to reach the first best allocation, irrespective of the correlation between national demand levels, provided that firms have no market power and fully internalize the value of lost load due to power rationing when supplies are inadequate. Thirdly, we explain the impact of various compensation mechanisms such as capacity payments when producers face a regulatory capacity constraint.

هدفت الدراسة إلى بناء تصور مقترح تطوير منظومة استقطاب واختيار الموظفين والمعلمين لتعزيز جودة التعليم الخاص بمنطقة تبوك في ضوء الاتجاهات الحديثة. واستخدم الباحث منهجا مزجياً تمثل في: 1-النوعي بإجراء مقابلات مع عينة بلغت (12) قيادياً وكوادر إدارية بمدرستين، والوصفي التحليلي لـ(72) وثيقة علمية وتقريراً رسمياً (26 بالعربية، 46 بالإنجليزية)، وأظهرت النتائج تبايناً في تنظيم ممارسات الاستقطاب بنسبة توافر بلغت (50%)، مع غياب تام لاستخدام المقاييس السيكومترية والتقنيات الذكية في المفاضلة (0%)، كما كشفت عن أثر طردي للاتجاهات الحديثة في رفع كفاءة الأداء التدريسي بنسبة (25%)، وخفض الهدر الإداري الناتج عن ضعف الملاءمة التنظيمية. وبناءً على هذه النتائج، تم اقتراح تصور (DE-RES) كخارطة طريق ابتكارية لتطوير الموارد البشرية التعليمية. كما أوصت الدراسة بأتمتة عمليات الفرز عبر أنظمة تتبع المتقدمين الآلية (ATS)، وتأسيس مراكز استقطاب مشتركة لمدارس المنطقة؛ وإدراج اختبارات الجدارة السلوكية كمتطلب إلزامي للتعيين، كما قدمت مقترحات بدراسات مكملة في الموضوع.///This study aimed to develop a proposed framework for enhancing the recruitment and selection system for staff and teachers to bolster the quality of private education in the Tabuk region, in light of modern trends. The researcher employed a mixed-methods approach, which included a qualitative component involving interviews with a sample of (12) leaders and administrative staff at two schools, and a descriptive-analytical component examining (72) scientific documents and official reports (26 in Arabic and 46 in English). The results revealed a variance in the organization of recruitment practices with an availability rate of (50%), alongside a total absence of psychometric assessments and smart technologies in the selection process (0%). Furthermore, the findings demonstrated a positive correlation between modern trends and improved teaching performance by (25%), as well as a reduction in administrative waste resulting from poor person-organization fit. Based on these results, the (DE-RES) framework was proposed as an innovative roadmap for developing educational human resources. The study recommended automating screening processes through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), establishing joint recruitment centers for schools in the region, and integrating behavioral competency tests as a mandatory requirement for hiring, while also suggesting further complementary research on the subject.

This case involves dilemmas for educational leaders who may face the process of school consolidation brought on by decreased funding and demands for accountability. We highlight the challenges and opportunities to collaborate within and across diverse communities and schools with varying expressions of cultural, political, ethical, and organizational power and interests. The teaching notes coincide with aspects of the case that involve principal responsibilities, equity concerns, and negotiations amid the demands of multiple constituencies. Theoretical frameworks highlighting asset-based approaches, leadership for social justice, and micropolitics are emphasized.

We consider priority-based school choice problems with farsighted students. We show that a singleton set consisting of the matching obtained from the Top Trading Cycles (TTC) mechanism is a farsighted stable set. However, the matching obtained from the Deferred Acceptance (DA) mechanism may not belong to any farsighted stable set. Hence, the TTC mechanism provides an assignment that is not only Pareto efficient but also farsightedly stable. Moreover, looking forward three steps ahead is already sufficient for stabilizing the matching obtained from the TTC.

Despite years of research and debate, household choice between public and private schools is not well understood. This article investigates factors associated with parental choice between public and private schools using unique census-based school enrollment data for school districts in South Carolina and for neighborhoods in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. This study extends the existing literature by examining patterns of public-private school choice for whites and blacks separately in order to control racial disparities in school choice. Results of multiple regression analyses for the whole population and subdivided racial groups generally support the assumption that public-private school enrollment rate is subject to socioeconomic status, racial proportion, and public school quality. Findings of this study not only suggests the reconciliation of the market-based theory and the racial preference theory, but also provides insights into education policies in terms of stemming white...

Truthful revelation of preferences has emerged as a desideratum in the design of school choice programs. The Gale-Shapely's deferred acceptance algorithm achieves this strategyproofness but limits students' abilities to communicate their preference intensities, which entails an ex ante inefficient allocation when schools are indifferent among students with the same ordinal preferences. We propose a new deferred acceptance procedure in which students are allowed, via signaling of their preferences, to influence how they are treated in a tie for a school. This new procedure preserves strategyproofness of ordinal preferences and yields a more desirable allocation.

The Boston mechanism is among the most popular school choice procedures in use. Yet, the mechanism has been criticized for its poor incentive and welfare performances, which led the Boston Public Schools to recently replace it with Gale and Shapley's deferred acceptance algorithm (henceforth, DA). The DA elicits truthful revelation of "ordinal" preferences whereas the Boston mechanism does not; but the latter induces participants to reveal their "cardinal" preferences (i.e., their relative preference intensities) whereas the former does not. We show that cardinal preferences matter more when families have similar ordinal preferences and schools have coarse priorities, two common features of many school choice environments. Speci…cally, when students have the same ordinal preferences and schools have no priorities, the Boston mechanism Pareto dominates the DA in ex ante welfare. The Boston mechanism may not harm but rather bene…t participants who may not strategize well. In the presence of school priorities, the Boston mechanism also tends to facilitate a greater access than the DA to good schools by those lacking priorities at those schools. These results contrast with the standard view, and cautions against a hasty rejection of the Boston mechanism in favor of mechanisms such as the DA.

ized matching markets, despite the fact that it provides participants with opportunities to "game the system." Accounting for the lack of information that participants typically have in these markets in practice, I introduce a new notion of behavior under uncertainty that captures participants' aversion to experience regret. I show that participants optimally choose not to manipulate the deferred acceptance mechanism in order to avoid regret. Moreover, the deferred acceptance mechanism is the unique mechanism within an interesting class (quantile-stable) to induce honesty from participants in this way.

The deferred acceptance mechanism has been widely adopted across centralized matching markets, despite the fact that it provides participants with opportunities to “game the system.” Accounting for the lack of information that participants typically have in these markets in practice, I introduce a new notion of behavior under uncertainty that captures participants’ aversion to experience regret. I show that participants optimally choose not to manipulate the deferred acceptance mechanism in order to avoid regret. Moreover, the deferred acceptance mechanism is the unique mechanism within an interesting class (quantile-stable) to induce honesty from participants in this way

of full-time-equivalent school employees grew 2.3 times faster than the increase in students over the same period. It also claimed that despite these staffing increases, there was no progress on test scores or drop-out reductions. The new report disaggregates the trends in K-12 hiring for individual states and responds to some of the criticisms leveled at the original report. Yet this new report, like the original, fails to acknowledge that achievement scores and dropout rates have steadily improved. What it does instead is present ratios comparing the number of administrators and other non-teaching staff to the number of teachers or students, none of which has been shown to bear any meaningful relationship to student achievement. Neither the old report nor this new one explores the causes and consequences of employment growth. When a snapshot of hiring numbers is not benchmarked against the needs and realities of each state, it cannot illuminate the usefulness or wastefulness of hiring. The new companion report, much like the original one, is devoid of any important policy implications.

of full-time-equivalent school employees grew 2.3 times faster than the increase in students over the same period. It also claimed that despite these staffing increases, there was no progress on test scores or drop-out reductions. The new report disaggregates the trends in K-12 hiring for individual states and responds to some of the criticisms leveled at the original report. Yet this new report, like the original, fails to acknowledge that achievement scores and dropout rates have steadily improved. What it does instead is present ratios comparing the number of administrators and other non-teaching staff to the number of teachers or students, none of which has been shown to bear any meaningful relationship to student achievement. Neither the old report nor this new one explores the causes and consequences of employment growth. When a snapshot of hiring numbers is not benchmarked against the needs and realities of each state, it cannot illuminate the usefulness or wastefulness of hiring. The new companion report, much like the original one, is devoid of any important policy implications.

Resumen: El sistema escolar chileno es un espacio social único para analizar la puesta en acto de políticas de mercado y accountability. El artículo presenta una investigación que examina los contenidos y racionalidades de la oferta educativa de escuelas de Santiago de Chile. La oferta educativa se operacionalizó mediante afiches de publicidad exterior que, siguiendo la teoría de S. Ball, constituyen fabricaciones, es decir, imágenes o versiones de las escuelas, que pueden o no ser verídicas, y cuyo fin es responder a las disciplinas del mercado. En lo metodológico, se empleó un enfoque mixto secuencial que, en la primera fase cuantitativa, permitió analizar variables predictoras del uso de afiches en una población de escuelas e identificar afiches prototípicos. Luego, en la segunda fase cualitativa, se indagó en la interpretación sociocultural que directivos y familias efectuaron de los afiches prototípicos.

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرّف على دور الإدارة المدرسية في توفير الوسائل الصوتية لمادة اللغة الإنجليزية من وجهة نظر معلمي مدارس مرحلة التعليم الأساسي (الشق الأول) ببلدية ترهونة، وذلك نظرًا لأهمية هذه الوسائل في تنمية مهارات اللغة لدى التلاميذ وتحسين مستوى تحصيلهم الدراسي. واعتمدت الدراسة على المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، حيث تم جمع البيانات باستخدام استبانة أُعدّت خصيصًا لهذا الغرض. وتكوّن مجتمع الدراسة من (183) معلمًا ومعلمة من معلمي مرحلة التعليم الأساسي (الشق الأول) للعام الدراسي 2025–2026م ببلدية ترهونة، في حين اعتمد الباحث على العينة العشوائية البسيطة لاختيار عيّنة الدراسة من مجتمعها الأصلي، وقد استُخدمت الاستجابات الصالحة للتحليل الإحصائي لتحقيق أهداف الدراسة. وأظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن الإدارة المدرسية تواجه صعوبات في توفير الوسائل الصوتية اللازمة بصورة كافية، كما كشفت عن وجود عدد من المعوقات التي تحدّ من الاستخدام الفعّال لهذه الوسائل، من أبرزها نقص الموارد المادية، وضعف التدريب المتخصص للمعلمين، والمشكلات التقنية، إلى جانب محدودية الدعم الإداري. كما بينت النتائج أن توافر الوسائل الصوتية وتوظيفها بصورة فاعلة يسهم في رفع دافعية التلاميذ نحو تعلم اللغة الإنجليزية، وتحسين مهارات الاستماع والنطق لديهم، وتعزيز التفاعل داخل البيئة الصفية. وفي ضوء هذه النتائج، أوصت الدراسة بضرورة تعزيز الدعم المادي والفني من قبل الإدارة المدرسية، وتوفير برامج تدريبية متخصصة لمعلمي اللغة الإنجليزية حول كيفية استخدام الوسائل الصوتية بفاعلية، إضافة إلى متابعة وتقييم توظيف هذه الوسائل بشكل منتظم داخل المدارس، بما يسهم في تحسين جودة العملية التعليمية وتحقيق أفضل المخرجات التربوية.

Title:
Grades as a Commodity: The Tension Between Professional Integrity, Pedagogy, and Market Economy

Abstract:
This paper critically examines the professional ethical dilemmas that arise when the logic of the market economy intersects with pedagogical practice. Specifically, it analyzes the phenomenon of "grades as a commodity," where the act of assessment risks being reduced to a tool for ensuring customer satisfaction and institutional stability rather than reflecting authentic learning. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Gert Biesta and the concept of pedagogical phronesis, the study explores the tension between bureaucratic-administrative demands and the ethical exercise of the teaching profession.

The analysis centers on a problematic situation involving the pressure exerted by parents—acting as "customers" in a marketized school system—to influence grading outcomes. This "juridification" of the educational space shifts the focus from the student as a unique human being to the student as a consumer of educational services. The study deconstructs the power dynamics at play: who defines the educational problem—the teacher’s value-based pedagogy or the guardians' influence? Using a multidimensional ethical analysis, the report evaluates various courses of action, from total transparency and dialogue to the risk of compromising professional integrity to avoid conflict.

Key findings suggest that the marketization of education fosters an environment where grading becomes a transactional element, threatening the teacher's autonomy and the fundamental rights of the child. The study highlights how a school focused on fulfilling bureaucratic requirements may neglect the relational and ethical dimensions of teaching. By advocating for a "compass" rooted in professional ethics and phronesis, the author argues for reclaiming the teacher's role as a moral agent who prioritizes the student's holistic development over market-driven metrics. Ultimately, the paper calls for a structural and individual reflection on how to maintain professional integrity within a system that increasingly treats education as a marketable product.

Background: Although the extant critical literature suggests that no-excuses charter schools and charter management organizations (CMOs) embody neoliberal and racist logics, recent staffing data suggests that they have diversified their teaching force considerably over the last decade. Indeed, national staffing data indicates that charters and CMOs now employ more Black teachers than traditional public schools. This study aims to understand this tension between the critical literature and the school staffing literature.
Purpose: Grounded in neoliberal multiculturalism theory, this study seeks to explore the experience of Black teachers in a space that embodies neoliberalism and, simultaneously, ostensibly becomes more multicultural. Specifically, this qualitative case study of the Black teacher experience in a no-excuses CMO asks: What are the primary reasons Black teachers joined their CMO-based school, and how do Black teachers describe their experience at their CMO-based school?
Research Design: This study used a case study design with the CMO as the primary unit of analysis. The lead researcher collected data though in-depth semistructured interviews with Black teachers from two representative schools within the same CMO. Through analytic memos and inductive coding, the research team analyzed the data thematically.
Conclusions: We find that Black teachers joined their school believing that the CMO valued their identity as an asset in educating Black and Brown students. Instead, in line with neoliberal multiculturalism theory, they learned that their Black identity, and that of their students, is both commodified and rejected in their CMO.

Even under the best of circumstances, policy conversations about private school vouchers are complicated. In many cases, they are also fraught with disagreements about impact, accountability, and constitutionality. Despite the controversy, some states have enacted voucher programs as a strategy for improving student achievement and expanding choice in education. The rationale behind the strategy is simple: by allowing parents to use the public dollars set aside for their children's public education to attend a private, and ostensibly better, school, the children will achieve at higher levels. But as most policymakers know, few things in education are ever so simple. The issue becomes even murkier when the students using private school vouchers have disabilities. Within public schools, students with disabilities are protected under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). But in many states, once a student accepts a private school voucher, federally mandated protections, such as those required by IDEA, are no longer in place. The services and support guaranteed to that student by IDEA are now offered at the private school's discretion with little oversight or accountability (see Box A on the next page). For special education advocates and families of students with disabilities, this often-unknown consequence of accepting a private school voucher is a growing concern. Since most special education voucher programs-and private schools-are not required to meet the same rigorous accountability and transparency requirements of public schools, these vouchers raise additional concerns. As policymakers and education leaders consider using vouchers as a way to assist students with disabilities and their families, they will need research to better understand the impact of these policies. According to the Alliance for School Choice annual yearbook , the number of states that offer vouchers to special education students has doubled over the last seven to 10 years (see table 1 for a current list of special education voucher programs). The number of students using these vouchers is just over 43,000. State expenditures on special education vouchers have also increased dramatically, more than doubling in recent years to $468 million. This substantial growth in special education voucher programs has occurred despite limited evidence of their efficacy and little or no accountability and oversight.

Recognizing that post-secondary student attainment and achievement is of increasing import for economic success, this study compares the post-secondary performance of students who attended public and private high schools. The results generally indicate that students who attended Catholic high schools had higher college grade-point averages (GPAs), were more likely to graduate, and were more likely to graduate with a STEM degree. This Catholic school advantage was wideranging, benefiting many subgroups of students, including non-white, low income, urban, and low-achieving students. We controlled for a rich set of factors and conducted sensitivity analyses to establish the strength of these results.

Few school choice evaluations consider students who leave such programs, and fewer still consider the effects of leaving these programs as policy-relevant outcomes. Using a representative sample of students from the citywide voucher program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we analyze more than 1,000 students who leave the program during a 4-year period. We show that low-performing voucher students tend to move from the voucher sector into lower performing and less effective public schools than the typical public school student attends, whereas high-performing students transfer to better public schools. In general, transferring students realize substantial achievement gains after moving to the public sector; these results are robust to multiple analytical approaches. This evidence has important implications for school choice policy and research.

than national averages. However, MPCP parents and students are generally more positive about their schooling experience than their counterparts in MPS. MPCP parents are less likely to report problems at school such as school violence, and had slightly higher educational expectations for their children, than comparable MPS parents. Students are also very positive about their schools, differing only slightly in their evaluation of their school climate depending on whether they were in the MPCP or MPS. The LEGS is a student-based extension of the evaluation of the MPCP made possible by WI Act 125, Sec. 8, 119.23 (7)(e), 2 to be carried out by the SCDP based at the University of Arkansas. This project is being funded by a diverse set of philanthropies including the Annie E. Casey, Joyce, Kern Family, Lynde and Harry Bradley, Robertson, and Walton Family foundations. We thank them for their generous support and acknowledge that the actual content of this report is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect any official positions of the various funding organizations, the

This is the second year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). This program, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2007-08 was $6,607, and approximately 20,000 children use a voucher to attend either secular or religious private schools. The MPCP is the oldest and largest urban educational voucher program in the United States. This evaluation was authorized by Wisconsin Act 125 enacted in 2005. We also examine students who switched between schools and between the MPCP and MPS sectors. Considerably more MPS students switched schools from October 2006 to October 2007 than students in the MPCP. However, over the year more MPCP students switched to MPS than MPS students switched to become voucher students. Student switching between schools was incorporated in some of our achievement gain estimates and always predicted lower achievement growth. Finally, we provide a preliminary assessment of missing cases, defined as students we could not locate in the second year of the study. Approximately nine percent of the total samples drawn in 2006-07 could not be located. This number is considerably below our initial assumption of 20 percent when we conceived sample sizes and the need to refresh the samples. A somewhat greater percentage of MPS students (11%) than MPCP students (7%) were lost. There were few discernable differences between missing and nonmissing students on baseline test scores or demographic variables. Further, in examining missing students, there were almost no differences in student characteristics between those missing from the MPCP or the MPS panels. Throughout the report, we describe a range of cautions and caveats, with the most important being that this is only the second year of a five-year study, and that student achievement trajectories often take time to change. Thus, while at the present time in terms of achievement as measured by one year of achievement growth we conclude that there is no significant difference overall between MPS students and MPCP students, this result may change in future analyses. This report and its companion reports continue a series of annual reports on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) that will be conducted by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP). An initial draft of this report was greatly improved based on comments from the

Housing Choice Vouchers have expanded housing opportunities for millions of low-income households throughout the United States. Vouchers provide low-income households the opportunity to move to different neighborhoods. A growing body of research has shown where a households reside has a large impact on both, economic outcomes, and the quality of their children’s education. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect neighborhood choice has on the academic achievement of Housing Choice Voucher participant’s high school aged children. Using survey data, this study explored the relationship neighborhood choice had on passing STAAR reading and mathematics exam in three different socioeconomic settings comprised of low, middle, and high-income neighborhoods. Additionally, it explored if the use of neighborhood resources and perceived neighborhood characteristics correlated to the passing STAAR reading and mathematics exam. Findings were analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-square an...

Background/Context: The lack of court-ordered support for race-based policies that maintain and create integrated schools has forced communities of color to seek other avenues to obtain equitable education, such as school choice. Individual states and the federal government, as seen in grant provisions through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, are encouraging the expansion of choice at the very time that options for increasing student diversity, particularly racial diversity, are being narrowed by the courts. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The article uses critical race theory to examine the outcomes of specific school reforms, based on market theory models of school choice, that were designed to alleviate schooling inequities in urban districts. Setting: The context of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as a microcosm of urban districts that have embraced school choice to create more equitable schooling options. Milwaukee, like most metropolitan areas, has a history of court-ordered desegregation that served as a temporary solution to racially segregated schools. Given the federal and district court turn from supporting race-based desegregation policies in schools, Milwaukee and other metropolitan districts are looking for new models to serve students of color in their districts and cities. Research Design: This article is a conceptual paper that incorporates data from a variety of sources to support the authors' conclusions. Data Collection and Analysis: Data for this project were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, documents from newly created small high schools, such as Web sites and curriculum designs; current newspaper articles discussing issues of small high schools; archival newspaper articles documenting the creation of the 1990 choice and charter programs; professional experiences as a member of the Bill and Melinda Gates institutional selection and

Background/Context The lack of court-ordered support for race-based policies that maintain and create integrated schools has forced communities of color to seek other avenues to obtain equitable education, such as school choice. Individual states and the federal government, as seen in grant provisions through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, are encouraging the expansion of choice at the very time that options for increasing student diversity, particularly racial diversity, are being narrowed by the courts. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The article uses critical race theory to examine the outcomes of specific school reforms, based on market theory models of school choice, that were designed to alleviate schooling inequities in urban districts. Setting The context of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as a microcosm of urban districts that have embraced school choice to create more equitable schooling options. Milwaukee, like most metropolitan areas, has a h...

The central argument of this chapter is that post-colonial states operate—and, due to their roots in colonialism and capitalism, have always operated—according to an “ethos of privatization,” through which state agents derive private benefit from positions ostensibly responsible for providing public services. The chapter offers a framework for understanding the ethos of privatization as central to state behavior that is based on insights from literatures in four areas: global education policy, political economy, world systems theory, and post-colonial studies. The chapter demonstrates
the theoretical and methodological value of this framework for producing insights on the nature—and consequences—of state origins by applying it to the case of educational privatization in Honduras. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the benefits of this framework, particularly vis-à-vis more established approaches rooted in the policy sociology literature.

The ability of school (or teacher) value-added models to provide unbiased estimates of school (or teacher) effects rests on a set of assumptions. In this paper, we identify six assumptions that are required in order that the estimands of such models are well-defined and that the models are able to recover the desired parameters from observable data. These assumptions are 1) manipulability; 2) no interference between units; 3) interval scale metric; 4) homogeneity of effects; 5) strongly ignorable assignment; and 6) functional form. We discuss the plausibility of these assumptions and the consequences of their violation. In particular, because the consequences of violations of the last three assumptions have not been assessed in prior literature, we conduct a set of simulation analyses to investigate the extent to which plausible violations of them alter inferences from value-added models. We find that modest violations of these assumptions degrade the quality of value-added estimates, but that models that explicitly account for heterogeneity of school effects are less affected by violations of the other assumptions.

This Article occupies the junction of dis/abilities studies and critical race theory. It joins the growing commentary analyzing the groundbreaking lawsuit by Compton, California students and teachers against the Compton school district brought under federal disability law and seeking class certification and injunctive relief in the form of teacher training, provision of counselors, and changed disciplinary practices. The federal district court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss but also denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and class certification, resulting in prolonged settlement talks. The suit is controversial because it seeks to address the trauma suffered by Black and Latinx students in poor, violence-torn inner-city communities by characterizing the students as having disabilities. The Article disagrees with legal scholarship thus far, which posits that using disability law to help these students both stigmatizes them and ignores current disability ...

Competition has been considered as a desirable feature of education markets for over fifty years (Friedman, 1962). The rationale is that more competition generates incentives for schools to increase their productivity and, hence, improve their results (Hoxby, 2003). Therefore, many countries have embarked in privatization efforts to increase competition, either promoted by the government (Woods, Bagley, & Glatter, 1998) or despite their efforts (Harma, 2011). Therefore, private enrolment has increased worldwide by 58% between 1991 and 2004 (Patrinos, Barrera-Osorio, & Guaqueta, 2009). However, the positive effects of competition on achievement seem mild (Borland & Howsen, 1993) and the effect on the overall quality and equity of the education system is contested (Darling-Hammond & Adamson, 2016).

Peru has also seen an exponential increase in the number of private schools since the liberalization of education in 1996 (Peruvian Government, 1996) with the aim to increase innovation and improve the educational results by having more competition (Balarin, Kitmang, Ñopo, & Rodríguez, 2018). Yet, in the province of Lima, capital of Peru, primary private schools are performing worse than public schools as an aggregate (Balarin, Kitmang, Ñopo, & Rodríguez, 2018). This is significant, since the theory suggests that competition would reduce their enrolment and attractiveness, which has not happened. However, no study has been done to analyse the role competition plays in the achievement of the schools in the province of Lima.

Thus, the aim of this research is to understand the effect of competition on achievement in low-income areas of the province of Lima using two types of regressions: OLS and 2SLS. To that end, this research first defines low-fee private schools (LFPS) in the province of Lima. Then, calculates the degree of competition each school faces using the Competition Index (CI) developed by Misra & Chi (2011). Finally, this research uses correlations and regressions to understand the relationship and effect of competition on achievement, measured using the 2015 ECE tests results for reading and math in the second grade of primary education.

The first finding of this research was that the primary education market in the low income areas of the province of Lima is highly competitive. Each school has about ten other schools competing with them in just 1 km of distance. The second was that competition, measuring using the logarithm of the CI, has a moderate negative correlation with achievement, for both reading and math, significant at the 1% level. The third finding was that competition might have a negative effect on achievement. However, the regressions did not provide enough evidence that the results were not due to endogeneity, making a case for further studies on these topics.

Despite the uncertainty over our main hypothesis, these findings add to the
debate of whether competition in education has positive effects in all contexts and over time. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few empirical researches that suggests that competition might have negative effects on achievement. This research supports the idea that market forces alone do not improve education and that it is fundamental for governments to regulate the education market and take responsibility to ensure quality education for all.

Este artículo estudia las percepciones que poseen estudiantes de cuarto medio en un centro educativo público de Viña del Mar (Chile) acerca de sus propias condiciones socioeconómicas. La investigación presenta un estudio de caso de carácter cualitativo, elaborado a través de extractos de entrevistas etnográficas hechas a los estudiantes (91). El estudio tuvo como objetivo principal conocer que percepciones poseían estos estudiantes sobre sus realidades sociales y económicas cotidianas, de su futuro inmediato, casi siempre asociado a una idea de "ascensor social" a través del mundo de la universidad. Vimos una fuerte normalización conceptual de sus precariedades y, en algunos casos, de una pobreza preocupante; de como esconden, en muchas ocasiones inconscientemente, dichas dificultades financieras y duras realidades sociales con etiquetas socioeconómicas como lo es la "clase media". La presente investigación reflexionará sobre la importancia de investigar sobre percepciones estudiantiles bajo un enfoque antropológico, filosófico e histórico al mismo tiempo.

Sobre el sistema de admisión antes y después de la Ley de Inclusión Escolar: exposición del estado actual, la "tómbola" y la plataforma "anótate en la lista" (parte II) "...La nueva normativa de PAd trató de subsanar las deficiencias que presentaba el régimen vigente anterior al 1° de marzo de 2016; sin embargo, no tuvo éxito (...) y hubo una ausencia del fortalecimiento del sistema recursivo para los futuros estudiantes frente a incumplimientos de normativa PAd, sobre todo en aspectos de claridad, eficacia y eficiencia de los medios de impugnación que se encuentran regulados de manera dispersa en distintos cuerpos normativos..." Jueves, 22 de enero de 2026 a las 14:20 A propósito del debate que se reabrió tras las largas filas y carpas afuera de los colegios, de la presentación de proyectos de ley para eliminar la "tómbola" y de solicitudes de respaldos a proyectos de ley que buscan modificar el actual Sistema de Admisión Escolar (SAE), en oportunidades anteriores intentamos presentar una serie de precisiones en cuanto a la situación de los procesos de admisión antes de la dictación de la Ley Nº 20.845, de inclusión escolar, que regula la admisión de los y las estudiantes, elimina el financiamiento compartido y prohíbe el lucro en establecimientos educacionales que reciben aportes del Estado (LIE).