The Political Dynamics of School Choice

Choosing for quality or inequality: current perspectives on the implementation of school choice policy in Sweden

“…The more critics, the more openness for alternative solutions, including the competition. Thus the proponents of this position -e.g., Brighouse (2000), Maile (2004), Viteritti (1999), Benveniste, Carnoy and Rothstein (2003), Plank and Sykes (2003), Nechyba (1999Nechyba ( , 2000, Noreisch (2007) -accept the imposition of school choice as an irreversible process and since it has such a strong endorsement by different parental groups (Fusarelli 2003), it is pointless arguing for its abolishment. The focus ought to be shifted, according to this position, from the paralyzing and meaningless dichotomies for or against school choice policy to the more fruitful debate on how to regulate and organize an essentially new educational system with regard to a broadly defined concept of social justice.…”

Governance Tools Addressing the Welfare Issue in the United States

“…Charter schools are important elements of the choice options with the voucher system. They give families in poor communities the ability to have a variety of selection outside of the public school system (Fusarelli, 2003).…”

“…Therefore, they must attract not just the poor but also the affluent. Because most charter schools are located in poor, urban, minority neighborhoods (Fusarelli, 2003), persuading parents in wealthy neighborhoods to matriculate their children in a charter school (in a less affluent area) seems to be a difficult goal to reach (Brown, 1997). As schools compete and voucher use takes its course, schools must target and attract students from a selected segment of the educational market.…”

“…As schools compete and voucher use takes its course, schools must target and attract students from a selected segment of the educational market. The question to consider is whether schools that fail to attract the affluent segment of the market will become a last resort for kids who do not succeed in traditional public schools (Fusarelli, 2003). In the school voucher system, it appears that the most likely group to benefit from vouchers is the group who are already most likely to attain high academic performance in school, regardless of choice.…”

The Controlled School Market and Urban Schools in Sweden

“…On the other hand, impoverished working-class and minority parents want to give their children the best possible options for the future by using the education system as a vehicle for social transformation (Nechyba, 2000). For many minority parents concentrated in urban areas (especially those who may be lacking the ability to assist their children with school assignment support), the choice of another school with middle-class and ethnic Swedes in the majority is, per definition, considered as an investment in their children's future (Fusarelli, 2003;Bunar & Kallstenius, 2007). Making this essential choice fulfills many ideas about what it means to be a responsible parent.…”