What can international comparisons teach us about school choice and non-governmental schools in Europe?

Publication type

Journal Article

Authors

Publication date

June 1, 2015

Summary:

All European states have a primary obligation to establish and maintain
governmental schools everywhere, but as the result of political struggle
and constitutional guarantees, they have also allowed and often
financed non-state schools based on special pedagogical, religious or
philosophical ideas. Depending on the level of state grants for
non-state schools, states have more or less the right to supervise these
non-governmental schools and seek to guarantee that the quality of
organisation and teachers are not lower than those in governmental
schools. Using comparable cross-national data for all member states of
the European Union, we first describe four existing basic arrangements
of non-governmental and governmental schools: integrated educational
systems of public and non-state schools, denomination supportive
educational systems, limited-support non-governmental schools and
educational systems with segregated public and non-state schools. Using
the same cross-national data for all member states of the European
Union, we then explore three other topics: parental background and the
choice of non-governmental schools, non-governmental schools and their
cognitive outcomes, and non-governmental schools and their non-cognitive
outcomes. There are important differences between non-governmental-independent (without state grants) and non-governmental-dependent schools (with state grants); that school choice of non-governmental-dependent schools is more related to socially mobile parents, whereas schools choice of non-governmental-independent
schools is more related the reproduction of social classes; that in a
majority of European countries, non-governmental-dependent schools are more effective cognitively than governmental schools, but that non-governmental-independent
schools are more effective cognitively only in a few countries and more
ineffective in a larger number of countries. Also non-governmental-dependent schools are not more effective non-cognitively than governmental schools.

Published in

Comparative Education

Volume

Volume: 51

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2014.935583

ISSN

3050068

Subjects

Notes

Albert Sloman Library Periodicals *restricted to Univ. Essex registered users*

#522961

News

Latest findings, new research

Publications search

Search all research by subject and author

Podcasts

Researchers discuss their findings and what they mean for society

Projects

Background and context, methods and data, aims and outputs

Events

Conferences, seminars and workshops

Survey methodology

Specialist research, practice and study

Taking the long view

ISER's annual report

Themes

Key research themes and areas of interest