Policy Studies

Beneath controversies about whether school choice “works ” are deep philosophical and moral commitments about how choice advances different educational values, purposes and aims. This policy brief takes a step back from practical debates about such issues as efficiency and effectiveness to examine the underlying philosophical debate. In particular, this brief examines how different claims for and against school choice pose different understandings of “public ” and “private ” educational goals and priorities. While many scholars, researchers and advocates frequently use the terms “public ” and “private, ” the meaning assigned to these terms varies widely. Philosophy offers resources for clarifying these terms. In particular, different philosophical frameworks allow for the clearer understanding and evaluation of various choice proposals, especially in terms of their implications for the “public ” purposes of American education. The brief begins by describing how school choice policies have shifte