EDUCATIONAL VOUCHERS.   Term Paper ID:18034 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines proposal to use govt. revenues to create vouchers redeemable at public or private primary & secondary schools. Purpose, views of public, politicians & educators, focusing on negative aspects.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines proposal to use govt. revenues to create vouchers redeemable at public or private primary & secondary schools. Purpose, views of public, politicians & educators, focusing on negative aspects. Paper Introduction: The use of government revenues to create tuition vouchers redeemable at public or private primary and secondary schools was proposed by the conservative economist Milton Friedman (1962). The idea of using publicly funded tuition vouchers to finance education, which had a long history before Friedman gave it new life, has assumed a number of guises over the years. Although it has received limited attention from those actually charged with solving the problems of financing education, the voucher concept has received support at various times from concerned parents and educators on the political Left and the political Right (Krashinsky, 1986). Because it promises great freedom in education, the educational voucher remains an attractive idea. Considered to be similar in many respects to educational tax credit programs, a voucher system is even less likely than such Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Chicago: U of ChicagoP. The critics of the voucher system contend, however, that itwould have a deleterious effect on schools, particularly on the alreadyserious compromised distribution of opportunities for meaningful education(Alexander, 1974). an unregulated voucher system could be the most serious setback forthe education of disadvantaged children in the history of the UnitedStates" (Areen & Jencks, 1971, p. In 1969, no school board volunteered when the federalgovernment offered to finance a voucher experiment.Nor has the Americanpublic responded to the voucher idea as voucher advocates might hope:Voter initiatives to convert public funding to the use of private schoolsare routinely defeated; those who would theoretically benefit most from avoucher system, the poor and members of minority groups, generally opposeit vociferously (Catterall, 1984). To assign parents full and unfettered responsibility for choosing their children's education in an open market is to telegraph the message that the matter is solely their affair and not the community's concern. Although a voucher system is seen by its proponents as a measureagainst racial segregation in the schools, it is far from certain that itwould have positive effects on racial balance (Krashinsky, 1986; Raywid,1987). References Alexander, A. Geske, T. Fowler, F. Urbana, IL: U ofIllinois P. The use of a tax credit remains a possibility. (1971). Although some experts, politicians and members of the public stronglysupport the voucher idea, at least in principle, there are a number ofdifficulties inherent in its actual employment. (1982). Operating from premises in near opposition to those that motivateconservative voucher advocates, proponents of a reform voucher system seean extensive regulatory element as an essential part of any voucher system: ". In theory, a voucher system would decrease de-facto segregation, because attendance at public schools would be a functionof schools' attractiveness rather than potential students' place ofresidence. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the present investigation is to examine the positiveand negative effects of implementing some kind of educational vouchersystem in the United States. It leaves a heritage of costs and inequity for the future--overloading the welfare system, filling up the jails, contributing to low productivity growth,and limiting the earning capacity and life chances of many (McMahon, 1982). (1974). Politics and aid to private schools.Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 6(4), 435-44 . (1981). According to Jencks (1966), who favors a regulated voucher system,racial segregation happens because most children must go to local schoolsand only the relatively well-to-do, who are disproportionately white, canchoose to go to private schools. R-1588-FF). Practical and theoreticaldifficulties with its implementation have prevented the general acceptanceof a voucher system for financing education (Peterson, 1983). Such difficulties fall into several recognized categories. Teachers College Record, 72(3), 327-335. Voucher critics have pointed out,however, that vouchers may not have the desired effect of making the bestschools truly available to the disadvantaged. There is, in addition, a lackof theoretical and empirical knowledge about the effects of a vouchersystem on the educational apparatus (Geske, 1982). The idea ofproviding higher voucher amounts for disadvantaged children appears to be away of addressing potential inequities in the system, for example, untilthe problems of monitoring such a system are considered. Phi DeltaKappan, 68(1 ), 762-769.----------------------- 14 The use of a system of vouchers suggests that education exists as aprivate benefit (Krashinsky, 1986; Raywid, 1987). A voucher system is aspecific type of education financing, but educational choice can take manyforms. Vouchers maybe designed to cover only part of the costs of educating a child, with theparents expected to contribute the rest. Whether conceived as a return to market capitalism or as aprogressive reform, a voucher system embraces some positive elements of theAmerican economic system. In spite of the publicity it has received, an educational vouchersystem has not generated an enthusiastic response by school officials(Krashinsky, 1986). (1986). Educational finance: Research findings andpolicy implications. New York: Twentieth Century Fund. The level of regulationrequired to keep a voucher program fair may so mar its efficiency as tomake it thoroughly impractical (Krashinsky, 1986). Public and privateschools. The implementation of a voucher system has been presented as a way ofincreasing educational choices and improving American education. Market forces, rather than regulations, would govern aneducational system funded by vouchers (Krashinsky, 1986). Second, private schools may receivethe best students in any case for a number of reasons; as mentioned above,a voucher system may simply make the inequalities between private andpublic schools worse. Perhaps because vouchers were presented by William Bennett, PresidentReagan's Education Secretary, as a method of giving parents a choice in theeducation of their children, the employment of vouchers has gottenconfounded with the issue of choice (Raywid, 1987). McMahon & T. McMahon & T. (1966). Although the concept of educational vouchersis at least as old as modern capitalism, very few industrialized statesactually employ such a system as a means of school finance (Krashinsky,1986). Urbana, IL: U ofIllinois P. Vouchers are not an exclusive property of political conservatives. In W. Although proposals for a voucher system or a specialincome tax credit have been made for years, no such system is yet in placeon a regional or national basis. Therefore, opponents of a voucher systemargue, policies that tend to portray education chiefly as a privatebenefit, misdirect the popular attention. First,critics have suggested that some parents may not be able to evaluateschools well enough to make an informed decision about where to cash theirvouchers; enough information about schools may not be available to supportan informed choice by most parents. A study by Coleman and his colleagues identified a number ofdifferences between public and private education, differences that indicatethat private schools are more effective educational institutions (Coleman,Hoffer & Kilgore, 1981). Krashinsky, M. For that reason, private schools can concentrate much more thanpublic schools on education and less on discipline and remediation.Coleman and his colleagues (Coleman, et al., 1981) concede that the levelof discipline at private schools depends in part on the control suchschools can exercise over who attends them. A voucher system, instead of equalizingeducational opportunity, could make the differences between poor schoolsand rich schools (public and private) even greater than they are atpresent. . Although a small number of recognized expertsand powerful politicians support the voucher idea, practical andtheoretical problems have consistently prevented its implementation. Liberal reforms of the voucheridea, on the other hand, include provisions for providing extra funds todisadvantaged families. Vouchers, according to some critics, far fromincreasing educational choice, would actually obstruct it. Contrary to its stated intentions, a voucher system could exacerbatethe present educational inequities. It is possible that such a system would exacerbate the veryproblems it is intended to address (Raywid, 1987). (1984). Catterall, J. Under most circumstances, a community could endorse that approach only if it felt that it had little stake in and would realize little value from the education of the young (Raywid, 1987, p. (1987). More important than its possible effects on popular attitudes is thenegative effect a voucher system might have on American public and privateschools, voucher critics suggest. In the view of many voucher advocates, regulations can protect theequality of the voucher system (Jencks, 1966; Areen & Jencks, 1971).Unfortunately, the problems of regulating the system could prove to be acrushing burden, so heavy that it destroys the potential benefits of avoucher system (Krashinsky, 1986). Capitalism and freedom. If the systemwould actually work as well as its advocates claim, it is difficult tounderstand why teachers and administrators would oppose it so vigorously.Thus, the argument that the educational establishment stands in the way ofa perfectly good system suffers from considerable weakness. The poor quality of the education and the poor results being achieved in the urban ghettos and other poor neighborhoods in the United States is a national and international disgrace. That income tax credits have been proposed as aninstrument of choice demonstrates that vouchers fit within an array offinancing alternatives that may, under some circumstances, support a systemof educational choice. The problemsconnected with balancing the demand for unregulated simplicity against theequity requirement may, however, explain the inability of the voucherconcept to achieve popular acceptance. Is the public school obsolete? In that way, a voucher program could make itpossible for impoverished youngsters to attend private schools. Statement of the Problem The educational voucher system is designed to address the presentinequities in the American educational system. . Coleman, J., Hoffer, T., & Kilgore, S. In some respectseducation does have benefits that accrue to specific individuals, and inthat sense it is a private benefit. Conclusions and Recommendations A system of educational vouchers or a special income tax credit haveboth been proposed as a way to overhaul the delivery of education in thiscountry. Literature Review Some researchers have suggested employing an educational vouchersystem to improve the efficiency and equity of the American educationalsystem as a whole. Analysis The educational voucher system is intended to improve education andreduce the inequities of the American educational system. In summary, theimplementation of a voucher system is problematic. Friedman, M. The design of a voucherprogram is supposed to facilitate access to the best education for thegreatest number of students, protect the overall quality of education andprevent schools from circumventing the intent of the program. Under a reformed voucher system,parents would not be permitted to make additional financial contributionsto schools; schools could not turn away applicants as long as there wasspace for them; a lottery would be used to determine who was entitled tospace in desirable schools if demand exceeded supply. That control could diminishunder a voucher program because private institutions might be required toaccept the type of students currently forced on the public schools. In that way, good schools would prosper and badschools would go bankrupt. (1982). The presentsystem denies opportunity to disadvantaged children, reserving the bestschools for the privileged. Consequently, other factors besides the unenterprising character ofmembers of the educational establishment must account for the failure of avoucher system to establish itself (Peterson, 1983; Krashinsky, 1986). Raywid, M. Even proponents of some form of voucher systemhave suggested that a truly unregulated voucher system, as Friedmansuggested it should be, could be a social disaster (Areen & Jencks, 1971).If parents were allowed to contribute additional funds beyond the vouchersubsidy, for example, the funding differences between rich and poor schoolscould get worse instead of better. A vouchersystem that worked well would be too popular to resist, and yet both theeducational establishment and the public have long resisted theimplementation of a voucher system at any level of the educational system(Catterall, 1984). Despite its obvious attractions and virtues, a voucher systemapparently has some serious drawbacks. Education has positive benefits on thepublic as a whole, so it is also a public good (and its absence is surelyinjurious to the commonwealth). An unregulated voucher system, likethe one Friedman (1962) has proposed, may not achieve its goals and mayinstead worsen conditions (Areen & Jencks, 1971). It has been argued that the theoretical basis for a voucher system isvalid, but that a voucher system cannot be put in place for purelypolitical reasons (Krashinsky, 1986). In someversions, a voucher program would include a number of restrictions onschools, including a ceiling on costs and limits on the ability of schoolsto expel or suspend students (Peterson, 1983). (1962). Perhaps the difficultiesassociated with balancing the need for unregulated simplicity against theneed to insure equity explains the failure of the voucher concept to takehold in United States and most other countries. An educational voucher system is conceived as a way of fosteringexcellence in education by encouraging healthy competition among schools.In its simplest form, such a system would provide parents with a fixedamount for each child to use for enrolling the child at the school of theirchoice, public or private. Background paper. The modified versions of the original plan,retreating from Friedman's doctrine in some respects, include measures toadjust the amount available to reduce obvious inequities. Financingeducation: Overcoming inefficiency and inequity. In W. Public Interest,2, 18-27. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation. Fourth, it is possible that private schools functionas well as they appear to do because of their selectivity; expansion ofschools that do a good job so that they serve more people may hurt theireffectiveness. The idea of using publiclyfunded tuition vouchers to finance education, which had a long historybefore Friedman gave it new life, has assumed a number of guises over theyears. At present, realeducational opportunity is denied to many of the children who neededucation the most. Teachers College Record, 88(2), 139-151. In France,where there is a voucher program, public schools teach the poor, andprivate schools teach the rich (Fowler, 1987). Financingeducation: Overcoming inefficiency and inequity. The arguments by voucher advocatesabout the benefits of vouchers in efficiency and equity have failed toconvince either educational professionals or the general public of theefficacy of vouchers as educational policy. The French experience with public aid to privateschools. Modified in various ways, a program of vouchers has beenon the agenda of various groups of educational reformers in this countryfor the last three decades. Apparently the political, social,educational and financial costs of a voucher system together outweigh itspotential benefits. In itssimplest terms, a voucher system would remove the automatic subsidiespublic schools receive and return those funds to parents, who would be freeto spend them at the best schools convenient to them, public or private(Friedman, 1962). In Making the grade: Reportof the twentieth century task force on federal elementary and secondaryeducation policy. On its surface, a voucher system would appear to have much torecommend it. McMahon, W. Areen, J., & Jencks, C. Those attending nonpublic schools score betterthan those attending public schools on tests of verbal and numericalability even when differences in ethnicity and socioeconomic status aretaken into account. The use of government revenues to create tuition vouchers redeemableat public or private primary and secondary schools was proposed by theconservative economist Milton Friedman (1962). 145). 763). Although it has received limited attention from those actuallycharged with solving the problems of financing education, the voucherconcept has received support at various times from concerned parents andeducators on the political Left and the political Right (Krashinsky, 1986). Eschewing theextreme laissez-faire ideology that animated Friedman's voucher proposals,Jencks and his colleagues have presented vouchers as a way to make schoolsmore diverse and more responsive. An educational voucher system can assume several forms. No. In summary, the employment of a vouchersystem remains merely a theoretical possibility rather than practicalreality. Theactual implementation of a voucher system is fraught with difficulties andcosts. Aliberal version of an educational voucher system was proposed byChristopher Jencks (Jencks, 1966; Areen & Jencks, 1971). The best schools, those in the predominantly white,middle-class suburbs and private institutions, are generally available onlyto those who already enjoy economic and social privilege. It uses choice and diversity as way ofmaintaining quality and ensuring wide, if not completely equitable,distribution of important services (Krashinsky, 1986; Peterson, 1983). There is some reason tobelieve, in fact, that a voucher system could exacerbate the presenteducational inequities. Geske (Eds.). Phi Delta Kappan, 68, 356-36 . Educational vouchers: A proposalfor diversity and choice. In conjunction with consumer (parent) choice, a vouchersystem could raise both the equity and the efficiency of schools in theUnited States. Geske (Eds.). A sufficiently differentiated assortment of available schools wouldgive parents a choice. (1983). A comparison of public and private schools has been used to supportthe argument for vouchers (or other forms of public aid to privateschools). Peterson, P. For these reasons, itmay be unwise to follow a course that could lead to the implementation of avoucher system in the near future. According to this view, theeducational establishment, which largely opposes the voucher system, is toostrong and well-organized to be overcome by parents and taxpayers, thosewho theoretically stand to benefit from a voucher system. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center. The "reformist" voucher system includesa complex system of regulations intended to reduce the potential for abuse. Why educational vouchers may be badeconomics. Because it promises great freedom in education, the educational voucherremains an attractive idea. Considered to be similar in many respects toeducational tax credit programs, a voucher system is even less likely thansuch programs to be put into operation. moreover there is a shortage of both theoretical andempirical knowledge of the effects of a voucher system on the efficiencyand equity of educational institutions (Geske, 1982). (1987). Efficiency and equity criteria for educationalbudgeting and finance. Those results have been taken in some quarters asstrong evidence for the inherent superiority of private education, anelement of the education system that would be likely to benefit greatlyfrom the institution of a voucher program. Because the public schools accept many of thestudents who are most difficult to teach, those with psychological problemsor learning disabilities, private schools are free to serve the beststudents. On the other hand, the amount ofregulation necessary to insure the fairness of a voucher program couldprove a crippling burden (Krashinsky, 1986). Public choice, yes; vouchers no! The political demands of the vouchersystem could easily prove costly in both financial and social terms."Monitoring the schools to ensure that the public benefits are preserved iscostly, and that cost will be very different when education is provided bya large number of voucher schools" (Krashinsky, 1986, p. Particularly in urban areas, vouchers could further strengthenthe two-tiered educational system that already exists, good schools for thewell-off and bad schools for the disadvantaged (Raywid, 1987). Teachers, salaries, and school districtexpenditures (Rpt. According to the vision promulgated by Friedman and others, avoucher system would also result in a reduction of the role of governmentin education. Third, there are serious problems in establishingthe true cost of education; it might be impossible to arrive at a realisticvalue for vouchers. Jencks, C. There is reason to believe, moreover, that the effectiveness ofprivate schools depends at least partially on the presence of publicschools (Peterson, 1983). 332). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.