A report compared the socio-economic background of students in developed (OECD) countries who attended privately managed schools with that of those who attended public schools. In some countries there was little difference in the profiles. Although the prevalence of privately managed schools in a country was not related to socio-economic stratification within a school system, the level of public funding for privately managed schools was: the higher the proportion of public funding allocated to privately managed schools, the smaller the socio-economic divide. Those countries with narrow socio-economic stratification in their education systems maximized equity and social cohesion, and also performed well in performance surveys.

Source: Public and Private Schools: How management and funding relate to their socio-economic profile, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Links: Summary

Date: 2012-May