ABSTRACT
Private providers have become competitors with government institutions at all educational and training levels, and educational policy is moving increasingly toward decentralized solutions and the marketplace. In order to understand the arguments for and against educational vouchers and educational privatization, it is important to identify the criteria that have emerged in the public debate. Each of these criteria is highly important to particular policymakers and stakeholders: freedom to choose; efficiency; equity; and social cohesion. Much can be learned from the market of preschools for two reasons. First, it has traditionally been private in responsibility and operations. Second, it is moving more and more toward the public sector, in many respects the opposite of the current shifts in K-12 education. Just as the K-12 sector can learn from preschool and higher education markets, there are lessons for building a study agenda from the international experience. Clearly, the impact of privatization will depend very heavily on its implications for the major stakeholders.
