Rethinking the Welfare State: The prospects for ... - e-Library

8
Primary and secondary education
Introduction
Ever since Milton Friedman proposed a voucher system for primary and secondary public
education in 1955, 1 a vigorous debate has ensued in the US (and to a lesser extent
elsewhere) on the virtues of school voucher systems. Recently, limited initiatives and
pilot programs in various jurisdictions using vouchers and other choice-oriented
initiatives such as charter schools and open enrollment plans have fuelled this debate with
results that have spurred divergent analyses and interpretations. 2
To evaluate the potential of school voucher systems on the quality of educational
outcomes, we must first examine the objectives of primary and secondary education and
the rationales for government intervention. Against this backdrop, we then consider the
various modes for delivery of primary and secondary education, focusing primarily on
the conventional public school model of education delivery in which government both
owns and operates schools, and then contrast this instrument with a range of different tied
demand-side subsidy instruments (including vouchers). In light of the burgeoning
international empirical evidence that finds significant educational improvements from the
adoption of demand-side subsidy schemes (as against monopoly government provision),
we then proceed to evaluate the myriad design challenges entailed by the adoption of
educational vouchers so as to ensure that these programs are responsive to legitimate
public values.
The ends of primary and second education and the rationales for
government intervention
There are two 3 broad approaches to the question of the ends of primary and secondary
education. The “skills model” emphasizes the market value of the skills provided by
primary and secondary education to the individual student. According to this view, the
most important benefits that primary and secondary education confers on students are a
range of job-related skills that translate into an increased probability of employment after
graduation. These skills can range from basic literacy and numeracy to specialized
vocational training and education in critical thinking and problem solving. 4 The second
approach, the “citizenship model,” is less concerned with the private benefits accruing
from education and instead focuses on the solidarity benefits that society derives from
having an educated population that can think critically, recognize subtlety and appreciate
moral and cultural values. Although this sort of “republican virtue” may, in fact, be of
tangible market value, it would be inappropriate to evaluate the success of an educational