Ebook: The Retreat from Public Education: Global and Israeli Perspectives

This book provides a critical analysis of the implementation of market ideology and practices in education. The social and educational consequences of the most characteristic market-practices, such as parental choice and the involvement in schools of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, are examined via the prism of both modern democratic theory and the discourse of rights. It is argued that current social forces, such as globalization and the preeminence of postmodern and multicultural ideologies, changed both the role of government and of citizens in democracy, paving the road for the introduction of markets in all public spheres. The book examines the Israeli case-study of the rise and decline of public schooling, offering a unique opportunity to appreciate the centrality of public schools in the process of nation-building and the erection of democracy. The conclusion is that markets in education defy the democratic purposes of public schools, and violate children's right to quality education.

The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the universal elements which characterize markets in education without focusing on any particular country. This includes the examination of the social conditions that facilitate the invasion of all public spaces by the free market, analysis of the various education policies and practices that embody privatization of education, and most importantly, exploring the educational and social consequences of markets in education. Secondly, the book examines the process of the building of the public education system in Israel, and analyze the retreat from it in recent years. The Israeli public (or state) education system emerged shortly after the establishment of the state in 1948. This case study provides a unique opportunity to closely examine the significance of public schooling in the process of nation-building, and in the building of a democracy. This represents a pioneering attempt to study the rise and fall of state education in Israel.