Parental Choices in Tajikistan's School Market

A recently published special issue of "European Education" examines the emergence of various forms of education privatization in the former socialist countries. In "Parental choices in the primary and secondary school market in Dushanbe, Tajikistan," Chris Whitsel explores the factors motivating parents in Tajikistan to choose schools for their children in an educational landscape that includes elite public and private schools, low-fee private schools, and neighborhood public schools. Watch a short interview with Chris Whitsel discussing his study!

If this piqued your interest and you would like to read the entire paper or any other content from our journal, you can find out more about subscriptions at this page. See the abstract of the article for more information:

This paper presents findings about factors parents consider when choosing schools in the new educational market in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The eco- nomic and political chaos of the early independence period led to greater dif- ferentiation between public schools. Policies were enacted that encouraged the growth of private schools and fee-charging specialized public schools (lyceums and gymnasiums). In this paper, I first outline some of the causes for the growth of diversity among schools. I then present results about the factors that parents in Dushanbe weigh when deciding among schools. I find that parents utilize a complex matrix of factors—school location, child aptitude, child’s gender, and school quality—in making their decisions. Sur- prisingly, cost is not at the forefront of the decision matrix as most parents make choices that are comfortably in their range of affordability. 

Interview with Svitlana Schudlo, a co-author of "Reworking of school principals' roles in the context of educational privatization: A view from Ukraine"

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, market forces have fundamentally transformed the education system of Ukraine. In "Reworking of school principals' roles in the context of educational privatization," Serhiy Kovalchuk and Svitlana Schudlo examine how various forms of education privatization have affected Ukrainian schools and how school principals have adjusted to the new realia.

Listen to an interview (in Ukrainian language with English subtitles) with Svitlana Schudlo, a co-author of the article, who discusses the influence of market forces on the education sphere in Ukraine, the fundamental changes in the role of school principals, and the implications of the changing social functions of school administrators for education quality and equity in the context of privatization. If you would like to read the entire paper or any other content from our journal, you can find out more about subscriptions at this page.

Переосмислення ролі директорів шкіл в контексті приватизації освіти: 

погляд з України

З часу розпаду Радянського Союзу ринкові відносини фундаментально трансформували систему освіти України. У статті «Переосмислення ролі директорів шкіл в контексті приватизації освіти: погляд з України», Сергій Ковальчук і Світлана Щудло аналізують вплив різних форм приватизації освіти на українські школи, а також  шляхи адаптації директорів шкіл до нових реалій.

Послухайте інтерв’ю (українською мовою з англійськими субтитрами) Світлани Щудло, Доктора Соціології Дрогобицького Державного Педагогічного Університету ім. Івана Франка, яка обговорює вплив ринкових відносин на сферу освіти в Україні, фундаментальні зміни ролі директорів шкіл, а також значення зміни соціальних функцій шкільних адміністраторів для якості освітнього процесу в контексті приватизації.

Reworking of School Principals’ Roles in the Context of Educational Privatization: A View from Ukraine

Educational privatization created new arrangements for funding, provision, and regulation of educational systems and their various stakeholders worldwide. In "Reworking of school principals' roles in the context of educational privatization," Serhiy Kovalchuk and Svitlana Schudlo examine the driving forces of privatization in the public education of Ukraine, focusing specifically on the professional roles of school principals who have been compelled by state underfunding to search for external private funds to maintain and develop their educational establishments.

Listen to one of the author's of the article, Serhiy Kovalchuk, who discusses the factors driving privatization, offers examples of how these factors have reshaped principals’ professional roles, and explains how the Ukrainian principals have adapted to varying degrees to accept the new professional role of fundraisers. 

If you would like to read the entire paper or any other content from our journal, you can find out more about subscriptions at this page.

Just published: (Re)Examining Privatization and Public Education in Eastern Europe and Eurasia

The latest issue of European Education addresses a heatedly debated topic of privatization of public education in post-socialist Eastern Europe and Eurasia. This region is of particular interest because of the rapid transition from central to market economies, and the lack of subsequent systematic research on privatization in education either in the global literature on education or the regionally focused literature on privatization and its extension into marketization and public–private partnerships. This special issue aims to bridge this gap by stimulating further research and debate about the effects of privatization on education across the former socialist region. Drawing on case studies from Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Tajikistan, the articles in this issue raise questions about the incentives and potential for structural discrimination that are created as private funds for education are directed into school systems through a variety of mechanisms that include school choice, private schools, parent payments to public schools, not-for-profit private providers, and supplementary tutoring courses.

If you would like to read the entire paper or any other content from our journal, you can find out more about subscriptions here. We will also be featuring video interviews with the authors about their articles published in this special issue!

Table of Contents

Editorial Introduction: (Re)Examining Privatization and Public Education in Eastern Europe and Eurasia

Kate Lapham, Daniel Pop, and Iveta Silova

Private Pre-University Education in Romania: Mixing Control with Lack of Strategy

Cristina Stănuş

Reworking of School Principals' Roles in the Context of Educational Privatization: A view from Ukraine

Serhiy Kovalchuk and Svitlana Shchudlo

Parental Choices in the Primary and Secondary School Market in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Christopher Whitsel

The “Language Barrier” in Private Online Tutoring: From an Innocuous Concept to a Neoliberal Marketing Tool

Olga Kozar

Table of Contents Volume 46 Number 1 (Spring 2014)

Special Issue: Neo-Empires of Knowledge in Education 

Guest Editors' Introduction
(Re)reading Europe and the World: An Initial Note on Neo-Empires of Knowledge in Education
Eleftherios Klerides, Hans-Georg Kotthoff & Miguel Pereyrapages
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934460100

Educational Transfer as a Strategy for Remaking Subjectivities Transnational and National Articulations of "New History" in Europe
Eleftherios Kleridespages
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934460101

Adult Education/Lifelong Learning Policies in Greece in the Early 2010s: Influences from European Education Policy and National Practices
Eleni Prokoupages
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934460102

Enabling the Use of Research Evidence Within Educational Policymaking in Europe: Lessons from the EIPEE Project
Janice Tripney, Caroline Kenny & David Goughpages
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934460103

Replacing Old Spatial Empires of the Mind: Rethinking Space and Place Through Network Spatiality
Jason Beech & Marianne A. Larsen
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934460104

Book Reviews
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934460105

Table of Contents Volume 45 Number 4 (Winter 2013-2014)

Governmentality (II): Making People and Rethinking Governmentality

Editors' Preface to Special Guest-Edited Issue
Noah W. Sobe & Iveta Silova
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450400

Guest Editors' Introduction
Engaging in Foucault's Governmentality and Styles of Reasoning: A Short Summary
Kenneth Petersson, Thomas S. Popkewitz, Ulf Olsson & John B. Krejsler
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450401

Optimization as a Dispositive in the Production of Differences in Denmark Schools
Bjørn Hamre
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450402

In the Name of Liberation: Notes on Governmentality, Entrepreneurial Education, and Lifelong Learning
Magnus Dahlstedt & Fredrik Hertzberg
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450403

Imaginaries of "Europe" in the Governmentality of PhD Education
Annika Bergviken Rensfeldt
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450404

Governmentality as a Genealogical Toolbox in Historical Analysis
Janicke Andersson
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450405

Teaching with Liangxin (Virtuous Heart) Held in Hands or Not Untangling Self- and State-Governmentalization of Contemporary Chinese Teachers
Weili Zhao
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450406

From the Book Reviews Editor
Kara D. Brown
DOI:10.2753/EUE1056-4934450407

Book and Film Reviews
DOI:10.1080/10564934.2013.11042663

Author Index to European Education