Schools, Markets and Choice Policies

'This will be a very important book because it reports on the largest and most scientific study of the vast experiment in school choice underway now for years in England and Wales. This is a hugely controversial subject internationally among policy makers, educators, and the parents ... The authors are well known and highly regarded in international scholarly circles. Their scientific methodology is sophisticated and well-informed.' - William Boyd, Pennsylvania State University 'This is a very important book on the subject of choice policies and school segregation. This issue is hotly debated, and extremely ideological. The value of this book is its disciplined combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in anwering questions about the effects of choice policies, an issue with broad international implications.' - William A. Firestone, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey 'This book provides a thoroughly documented warning against expecting too much ... from national policies ... [and] includes a firmly evidence-based defence of 'unmodernized' comprehensive schools.' - The Welsh Journal of Education 'There is something in this book for every serious student or scholar of education in both the detail and the more general analyses ... Impressive in both scope and quality, this book is a must read for anyone with a serious interest in schooling in contemporary Britain.' - Ken Green, Educational Review

Stephen Gorard, John Fitz and Chris Taylor are all based at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Wales, Cardiff.

Part 1: Introduction to the debates 1. Markets in public policy: the case of school composition 2. Introducing two debates about markets in education Part 2: School choice and equity 3. What is social segregation and how do we measure it? 4. Changes in the social composition of schools Part 3: School choice and standards 5. What is school performance and how do we measure it? 6. Describing trends in school performance Part 4: Explanation and case studies 7. The role of geography 8. The impact of school organisation 9. The role of the LEA 10. Market frustration for families and schools? 11. Re-appraising the impact of markets