Contrasting Models of State and School: A Comparative Historical Study of Parental Choice and State Control

Description

'School Choice' and the forming of citizens for responsible freedom are two of the most hotly debated topics in educational policy. International comparison offers perspective on the effects of alternative policies. This book profiles - historically and currently - two countries which give strong support to parental choice (The Netherlands and Belgium) and two others that maintain a strong State role in controlling education (Germany and Austria). Charles L. Glenn draws upon Dutch, French, and German sources to contrast how the Dutch and Belgians came - over the 19th and 20th centuries - to entrust education to civil-society institutions with strong parental choice, while Germany and Austria maintained a predominant State role in education. Glenn illuminates the implications of these policies and the dangers that can arise when the State uses popular schooling to shape popular beliefs and loyalties. This is essential reading for policy specialists concerned with balancing school autonomy and government oversight, and with debates over parental choice of schools.

Charles L. Glenn is Professor of Educational Leadership at Boston University. He is the author of nine books including The Myth of the Common School (published also in Italian and Spanish), Educational Freedom in Eastern Europe, and Educating Immigrant Children, and co-author of a multi-volume study of educational policies in forty countries. From 1970 to 1991 Professor Glenn served as director of urban education and equity efforts for the Massachusetts Department of Education, and he has served as a consultant to Russian and Chinese education authorities, and to states and major cities across the United States.

The book reminds us that education is all about commitment and belief . . . challenges our cultural imaginations... Certainly, Glenn's history invites American scholars and activists to ask the big questions all over again in light of our increasingly pluralistic society and post-Enlightenment outlook. -- The Hedgehog Review- 13.3 Summarized. -- Paul Neufeld Weaver * Journal of Education and Christian Belief *