ABSTRACT
We begin this chapter with a brief review of the arguments made in the book, which set the stage for our recommendations for improving public education, especially in inner-city schools. Our analysis begins by noting that current reform efforts and pressures in education are part of a broader movement toward privatization—an attempt to minimize governmental action and size. In examining the privatization movement, we look at examples provided by hospitals, which have been affected by this pressure for some time, and by prisons, which have been more recently impacted. The market approach to reforming these two institutions has had its own problems. Some of these problems are especially disturbing if they predict how privatization eventually will play out in schools. By recognizing that privatization per se is not an answer, we set the stage for raising questions about the adequacy of our knowledge base for enhancing school performance and about the commitment of new resources needed to improve education.
