The rapid growth of low-fee private schools in developing countries has attracted much scholarly attention in recent years. In contrast with the traditional private schools that mainly serves elites and the rich, low-fee private schools target the relatively poor households by charging low tuition fees. Some believe that low-fee private school is “the poor’s best chance” to receive quality education while others question the quality of low-fee private schools and whether they are affordable to the most disadvantaged population. The present paper is a case study on a low-fee private school in Cambodia, a country where the low-fee private sector is unexplored. Through in-depth interviews with households and other stakeholders including the government officers, school owner, teachers and students from the low-fee private school, the study seeks to understand reasons beyond the growing popularity of the low-fee private sector and its implications to education in Cambodia. Findings revealed that interviewees believe that the low-fee private school is of better quality and expressed dissatisfactions toward the public sector. The paper discusses the implications of low-fee private schooling on the issues of quality and equity and the role of state in the education provision in Cambodia. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The aim of this study is to produce a critical description and analysis of the understanding of religious belief (with particular reference to the concept of 'truth') which underlies the current practice of collective worship in schools. The research is based on a sample of twelve schools which makes no pretence at being random, but is broadly representative of state education in Luton between the ages of 5 and 16. The study was conducted primarily within the qualitative, interpretive tradition of social research, using the method of 'verstehen', and the 'grounded theory' approach of Glaser and Strauss (1967). The main sources of data were semi-structured interviews with teachers who lead collective worship, participant observation, and the relevant official documents. There was also a brief questionnaire. The research data was, in grounded theory terminology, 'saturated' with four major themes: inclusivity; freedom of choice and personal integrity; the location of the heart of collective worship in moral exhortation, individual reflection, personal spirituality, and 'worthship' rather than in traditional worship; and the powerful influence and leeway of the individual teacher. A critical analysis of these themes leads to the conclusion that the understanding of religious belief which underlies the current practice of collective worship in this sample of schools sees it as an individually chosen, private, practical guide to living - in the terminology of grounded theory this is the 'core category'. This has the conseqences that religious belief is also treated as relative and as subjective. It is further argued that the teachers are operating primarily within a liberal, rationalist understanding of both education and religious belief. This understanding is coming under attack from several directions and looks increasingly unlikely to be able to provide an adequate framework for collective worship in a genuinely plural and postmodern world.

Contemporary public education is viewed by many to be in turmoil, in part due to a changing population: increases in the number of students of poverty, handicapped individuals, teen parents, and students for whom English is not a first language. These and other issues have changed the face of our expectations for American education, and a "one size fits all" mentality will no longer suffice. The resulting school reform often appears in the guise of school choice. School choice can take many forms, including the voucher system, tuition tax credits, magnet schools, and charter schools, among others. This study examines the perceived differences, as viewed by parents, between charter schools and traditional public schools, and the ambient or intangible reasons that parents are making the choice for charter schools. A charter school on the Texas-Mexico border, which had been in existence for at least two years was selected for the study. Participants in the study were parents, all mothers, who completed a pre-survey of basic demographic information. Two extensive interviews were completed for each. Three focus groups, also consisting of charter school parents, were convened and interviewed in an effort to triangulate the data. Chapter Four of the study provides thick descriptions of the participants, while Chapter Five organizes the findings into common, emerging themes. Chapter Six provides the conclusions of the study which indicate that there are some commonalities and some differences perceived by parents between charter and public schools. The ambient or intangible factors involved in choice decision were not found to be any different than those found in other literature on school choice. Implications for the practitioner and future researchers are included in the final chapter. / text

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