School Choice In Chile: Two Decades of Educational ReformSchool Choice in Chile examines the dramatic educational decentralization and privatization of schools in Chile. In the early 1980s, the Pinochet regime decentralized schooling, providing vouchers for parental choice of public or private schools. At the same time, the government supposedly gave the administration of schools to local municipalities. Although the reform has merit and is defended by some as a major achievement, Varun Gauri shows the many ways in which it has not worked.In this process of reform, neither the administration of schools nor school content was really decentralized from the Ministry of Education, nor did students gain equality of educationaly opportunity or better schooling outcomes. These failures of the post-welfare model are due partly to Chile's political and economic problems of the era, but are also evidence of flaws at its core, at least where education is concerned.The study presents data for an original survey of 726 households in Greater Santiago that finds more evidence for social and economic stratification among Chilean schools than past analyses have shown. Gauri finds that information about school quality, a sense of entitlement, and the use of specific search techniques increase the odds that a child attends a school with high achievement scores. Gauri offers some insights as he supports the criticism that market forces might exacerbate inequalities without necessarily generating clear gains in academic achievement. In the new system, many parents continued to be ill-informed about differences among schools, nonacademic factors played a major role in school selection, schools appeared to use entrance exams to practice a form of "creaming," and parental wealth was a strong determinant of whether families were willing and able to take full advantage of choice programs.These are extremely timely findings, especially in light of the current debate over school choice and vouchers in the United States. Because the United States has little experience in school choice, School Choice in Chile presents a convincing and necessary report on an almost twenty-year-old experience with information from which all nations can learn. Parents, policy analysts in education and social welfare, as well as those studying political science, public policy, and education, will find it extremely useful. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 The Theory and Practice of School Choice in Chile | 14 |
3 Stratification in the Chilean Educational System | 50 |
4 The Politics of PostWelfare Reforms in Education | 73 |
5 Implications for the Debate on School Choice | 99 |
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Common terms and phrases
alcaldes attending a top bottom schools central government child Chile Chilean education Chilean pesos choice system choose a school Concertación decentralization Decreto democratic economic educa Educación education in Chile educational choice educational policy educational reforms educational system effects El Mercurio enrollment Estatuto Docente Finance funds Greater Santiago higher achieving schools ideological improve increase institutions interest groups ipal Juan Carlos Méndez junta manage ment military regime Ministry of Education multinomial logit municipal and private municipal schools neoliberal officials organization parents parties percent pesos political post-welfare incentive post-welfare model post-welfare reforms private paid private schools private sector private subsidized schools problem programs providers public choice theory regime's salaries sample Santiago school choice school owners school quality school types service delivery SIMCE scores social sector socioeconomic subsidized sector subvention Table teachers teaching test scores tion transfer union variables vouchers Wald test World Bank