Concepts and Issues in School Choice (Mellen Studies in Education, V. 23)

Providing an historical development of the concept of school choice, this text provides a presentation and discussion of articles written by various scholars in the late-20th century. It examines the conceptual differences in three forms of school choice - vouchers, magnet plans and public schools of choice - considering the historical backgrounds; philosophical assumptions; and the legal, sociological, financial and political implications of each form. An overview of late-20th-century systems and their success is included, as well as a survey of more than 4000 individuals regarding their perceptions toward choice. It also presents an analysis of site-based management. As it is increasingly implemented as a means of decentralizing school control and empowering educational professionals, schools of choice will be considered as a means of balancing that power with a comparable form of enfranchisement for parents. The book presents a variety of points of view on each area, eliciting the conceptual concerns that are common.