Comparing degrees of ‘publicness’ and ‘privateness’ in school systems: the development and application of a public-private index

Figures & data

Table 1. The Domains and Dimensions of the Index

Domain	Dimension	Public Private
Delivery	Provider “Who provides the School”	The state		A non-state agency authorised to make a profit
	Opening decision “How is it decided that the school can open?”	A public authority directly appoints the provider (or is the provider)		Providers can apply and a public authority decides based on limited criteria
	Inspection/ Intervention over quality “How is the quality of the school overseen?”	The state can intervene		The state cannot intervene and the school is not mandated to report publicly on quality
Access/ Inclusion	Pupils’ selection “Who can attend the school”	Anyone in the age band		Limited by gender, religion or academic ability
	Socioeconomic inclusion “Does income and wealth directly influence access?”	No – education is free		Yes - fees are charged and there is no obligation to ensure socio-economic diversity
Finance	Family co-payment “Who pays for the education provided”	The state (in full)		The family (in full)
Decision	Admission “How are pupils admitted to the school?”	Allocated by public authority		Selected by school
	Curriculum “Who determines the curriculum?”	The state		The school
	Teachers “Who determines teachers’ qualifications and terms and conditions of work?”	The state		The school

Table 2. Decision criteria and score allocation

Domain	Dimension	Decision criteria	Score
Delivery	Provider	The provider is the state	0
		The provider is a non-state agency not authorised to make a profit	3
		The provider is a non-state agency authorised to make a profit	5
	Opening decision	Public authority appoints the provider (or is the provider)	0
		Application by providers assessed by public authority according to both demand and qualifying criteria for providers	3
		Application by providers assessed by public authority according to one factor (demand/ qualifying criterion) or other.	5
	Inspection/ Intervention over quality	School can be intervened in by the state based on their quality	0
		School is mandated to provide information to the state regarding their quality, but cannot be intervened in by the state	3
		School is not mandated to provide information regarding their quality to the state and cannot be intervened in by the state	5
Access/ Inclusion	Pupils’ selection	School does not restrict the admission of students from any specific group (gender, religion, or academic ability)	0
		School only admits students from one or more specific groups (gender, religion, or academic ability)	5
	Socioeconomic inclusion	The school does not charge family fees	0
		The school charges family fees but is under public regulation to ensure socioeconomic diversity	3
		The school charges family fees and it is not under public regulation to ensure socioeconomic diversity	5
Finance	Family co-payment	Individuals do not pay	0
		Individuals pay in part, the state pays in part	3
		Individuals pay in full	5
Decision	Admission	The pupils are allocated to schools by an Educational Authority (or based on public rules) and neither parents nor schools express preferences	0
		The pupils are allocated to the school by an Educational Authority but parents may express preference	1
		The pupils are not allocated to the schools by an Educational Authority, but schools must comply with public rules to decide the admission	3
		The pupils are not allocated to the schools by an Educational Authority, and schools are not mandated to comply with public rules to decide the admission	5
	Curriculum	The school follows a national/federal/state curriculum	0
		The school determines its own curriculum but has to follow some nationally-determined criteria	3
		The school determines its own curriculum	5
	Teachers	Teachers’ qualifications are mandated and their terms and conditions comply with a state-determined code	0
		Either teachers’ qualifications are mandated OR their terms and conditions comply with a state-determined code	3
		Teachers’ qualifications are not mandated and schools can follow their own terms and conditions of employment	5

Table 3. Characteristics of Santiago and London (2015)

	Santiago 2015	London 2015
Population (m)	5.9	8.7
Child Population (18 and under) (m)	1.5	2.0
Secondary Schools	896	602
Municipalities	34	33

Figure 1. Total index value and scores by domain.

Figure 2. Trends of privatisation in London (boroughs) and Santiago (municipalities).

Figure 3. Effect of using equal dimension weights on the index values.

Figure 4. Effect of controlling for school enrolment on the index values.