This paper provides an overview of some of the findings of a recently completed
study of school choice in 33 local schools which may be indicative of the effect
of an increase in the marketisation of schools. Since it is unlikely that debate
over parental choice can be settled by theoretical argument alone and it may
also be too early to understand the full implications of the relevant recent
governmental reforms in the UK, results from research in other sectors of
education can be used in the interim. The research presented here is partly
based upon a limited market model of cheap fee-paying schools. This market has
been established for a long time, and so some of the benefits or damage caused
by markets in education may already be observable in operation.
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