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Maintaining the integrity of public education: A comparative analysis of school autonomy in the United States and Australia

journal contribution
posted on 2016-05-01, 00:00 authored by Amanda KeddieAmanda Keddie
This article takes a critical comparative approach to examining autonomous schooling in the United States and Australia. Amid the market imperatives currently driving education priorities, its focus is on how autonomy can be mobilized in ways that preserve the integrity of public education. Through reference to key debates and research about school autonomy in the United States and Australia, integrity is defined with reference to three values: (1) public ownership (i.e., governance that is responsive to the people it serves), (2) equity and access (i.e., adequate funding and inclusive student admission practices), and (3) public purpose (i.e., prioritizing the moral and social purposes of education; Darling-Hammond and Montgomery 2008). The analysis is mindful of the resonances and differences between the education systems in the United States and Australia and the fluidity and complexity of the notion of autonomous schooling. Against this backdrop, the article illustrates the significance of embedding these values within school autonomy policy in order to preserve the integrity of public education.

History

Journal

Comparative Education Review

Volume

60

Issue

2

Pagination

249 - 270

ISSN

0010-4086

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2016, Comparative and International Education Society

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