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Coping With Competition: The impact of Charter Schooling on Public School Outreach in Arizona
Author(s) -
Hess Frederick M.,
Maranto Robert A.,
Milliman Scott
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2001.tb02100.x
Subject(s) - charter , outreach , competition (biology) , accountability , coping (psychology) , political science , public relations , business , public administration , economic growth , psychology , economics , ecology , psychiatry , law , biology
Advocates of market‐based education reform hypothesize that competition will cause traditional public schools to increase outreach efforts as they seek to market themselves. Advocates hope such efforts will result in more information on school activities and performance and thereby enhance accountability. We examine the effect of charter school competition on outreach efforts by a sample of 98 Arizona district schools, finding that charter competition is associated with a short‐term increase in outreach. Organizational structure influenced school response, with more decentralized district schools responding more readily to charter competition. Competition modestly increased information regarding schooling in the short run, although long‐term implications are less clear.