Public Private Partnership Schools Research Articles

Bridging the gap? Evaluating the effectiveness of Punjab's public–private partnership programmes in education

The study examines the effectiveness of Punjab's Public Private Partnership (PPP) programmes in Education in improving value-added math, English and Urdu test scores for grade four pupils. The use of an instrumental variable (IV) approach was possible to assess the impact of PPP schooling on student achievement for two (out of four) PPP programmes. Using the IV approach, the study finds that of the various PPP models being implemented in Punjab, only the private school subsidy programme has a positive, statistically significant association with math student achievement, with students scoring 0.5 standard deviations higher than public school students. However, an Oster (2019) bias adjustment procedure suggests the magnitude of the effect may be overstated. This study finds no evidence that PPP schools are more effective than public schools at improving learning outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged students.

Mapping the form of continuing professional development in public-private partnership schools in the Western Cape

Public-private partnership (PPP) schools in the Western Cape, South Africa, are known as collaboration schools. The management of these schools is outsourced to private entities known as school operating partners and these are, inter alia, also contracted to provide support to teachers through continuing professional development (CPD). The CPD activities are meant to up-skill teachers to improve teaching and learning and ultimately, advance learner performance. Although this is a valid principle, there is a need to evaluate the CPD received by collaboration schools. This paper profiles CPD provided in PPP schools to add to the understanding of this new form of schooling that which has taken hold in the Western Cape. Data were collected in the form of questionnaires and in-depth individual interviews with school operating partners, Western Cape Education Department officials, school leadership, teachers, and school governing body members. An analysis of the gathered information reveals that CPD received by teachers tends to focus narrowly on teaching and learning, and lacks the provision of a broad, expansive, and holistic notion of education. It also indicates the need for a better understanding of how such schools provide professional development support for teachers, and the effects on the provision of equitable and quality education for all.

Running schools on two legs: The impact of policy oscillation on a public-private partnership school in China

This article aims to deepen our understanding of the impact of an oscillating policy environment on non-traditional schools in China since 2010. It does this through analysing policy documents and an analytic case study of one newly founded school in Shenzhen, China. The wavering policy environment framing the paper reflects a long-running internal government tussle between educational centralization and decentralization. The article first maps the trajectory of policy change associated with the “walking on two legs” tradition. It then examines how national policies are locally interpreted and enacted by depicting one school’s historical episode and re-examines the case from a macro social change perspective to understand why the policy environment changed. The paper explores the issue by asking what significant policies describe China’s “running schools on two legs” policy approach, how the oscillating policy environment influenced practices in one school and why the government changed its stance to re-centralize control of education. The paper discusses a number of implications arising from the case and shows the power of central policy ideology on the shape and purpose of schools.

Cost Benefit Analysis of Public Construction Projects under PPP Operation Mode

<p>The public-private partnership (PPP) model that the state vigorously promotes is becoming a focus of stabilizing growth and adjusting structure. However, the application of the PPP model in public construction projects in China is still in its infancy. When the government makes project decisions, how to clarify the project risks, requirements and opportunities undertaken by all participants and weigh the external benefits brought by the PPP model has become an urgent problem to be solved to promote the reform of public service projects in China. Starting from practice, this paper reviews the relationship between school infrastructure investment and student performance involved in new school projects and the pros and cons of introducing the PPP model in the education field under the PPP framework. By comparing new PPP schools and non-PPP new schools in Victoria, Australia, the case is analyzed in multiple dimensions, it is concluded that there are indeed differences in operating expenditure and education performance between PPP schools and non –PPP schools. PPP schools have higher operating expenses than non-PPP schools and their educational achievements are also more prominent. The cumulative curve shows that the PoF of PPP school project operating expenditure is 48.37%, slightly higher than 48.05% of non-PPP school project. According to conclusion of this case data statistics, the introduction of the PPP model is explained to increase school infrastructure investment and promote better educational outcomes to a certain extent. School projects under the PPP framework can promote good educational achievements and provide theoretical support and countermeasures.</p>

Impact of Public-Private-Partnership Programmes on Students’ Learning Outcomes: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment

Learning outcomes refer to the performance of the students in academic tests pertaining to the respective grade level. In Pakistan, survey evidences from Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) show a significant dispersion in learning outcomes of public schools as compared with private sector counterpart. The perceived results of learning outcomes in private schools very clear but less evidence is found for educational outcome of schools run under public-private partnership programs. This becomes especially relevant when status of curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities is compared between public school, private schools, and schools run under public private partnership. In recent literature, it is found that schools taken up by public-private partnership have been providing a better learning environment—Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Development, Administrative changes, Academic Innovation and Planning, Teacher Reform and Student Affairs—is perceived to have a positive impact on learning outcomes. It is to investigate and document that the investments in these areas are justifiable. To promote this fact, we conduct a quasi-experiment to examine the profiles of students in a public-private partnership school at Karachi (running under Zindagi Trust program) and a public school (as counterfactual) in the same neighbourhood. We also recorded the household and socioeconomic characteristics to create a good set of control variables. The propensity-score results show that public-private school is performing better than that of comparison group in attaining learning outcomes thus showing positive effects of PPP. Finally, the study probed into household and parental covariates of student's educational outcomes to enhance internal validity of results. JEL Classification: I21, C21, L32. Keywords: Educational Learning Outcomes, Public-Private Partnership, Quasi-experiment.

Effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Integrated Teaching and Learning in Primary Schools

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integrated teaching and learning at primary level in Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools. The study also investigated how ICT is integrated for teaching and learning at primary level in PPP schools. The study was qualitative in design and employed phenomenological approach. Data for the study were collected through semi structured interviews, lesson observations and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The study participants were 15 teachers and 5 head teachers. The study indicated that the schools used Smart LED TVs and Tablet PCs with interactive e-learning application and story-based animated content of Science, English and Mathematics for teaching and learning in classroom. The findings of the study showed that ICT integration improved students’ academic achievements, increased their interest in learning and also increased students’ attendance and enrolment. The findings of the study also presented that ICT integration shifted teachers’ teaching practices from teacher centered to student centered, increased their interest in teaching and made teaching easier for them. The findings of the study may be helpful for different stakeholders working to improve the quality of education in the context of underprivileged areas especially PPP organizations, schools and teachers. 
 Keywords: Teaching and Learning, ICT Integration, Primary Schools, Technology Effectiveness, Public Private Partnership

The enactment of the neoliberal citizen: evidence from a case study in Bogota, Colombia

ABSTRACT This article looks comparatively at the enactments of citizenship in two schools in Bogota, Colombia: a private elite institution and a public-private partnership school from the outskirts of the city. Data was collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews Enactments of students were conceptualised so as to identify the discourses of citizenship that were at play. I argue that both schools are under the influence of a strong neoliberal project that places emphasis on educating productive citizens. However, this conceptualisation of citizenship might not work for contemporary Colombia as it continues to reproduce a highly stratified society that carries within itself colonialities that do not allow for the interaction and collaboration of peoples. The article concludes that a thick cosmopolitanism that emphasises causal responsibility might be a more adequate lens for citizenship education in Colombia.

Cream skimming? Evaluating the access to Punjab’s public-private partnership programs in education

This paper seeks to evaluate the access to Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools by examining their geographic distribution and the factors that predict whether a child enrolls in a public, PPP, or private school in Punjab, Pakistan using multiple micro data sets. The analysis shows that PPP schools are located in districts where high shares of children are out-of-school, unlike public and private schools. The results indicate that while private school students are the most likely to belong to more affluent households and receive private tuition, there is no evidence that students enrolled in PPP schools come from more advantaged households than public school students. Girls are more likely to be enrolled in PPP schools than in public schools, while students enrolled in the New School Program seem to be the most disadvantaged amongst all PPP students.

School Management and Public–Private Partnerships in Uganda

Can the quality of school management explain differences in student test scores? In this paper I present the first internationally benchmarked estimates of school management quality in Africa (based on the “World Management Survey”). The level and distribution of management quality is similar to that found in other low and middle- income countries (India and Brazil). I combine this data with individual student panel data, and demonstrate that differences in school management quality matter for student value-added - a standard deviation difference in management is associated with a 0.06 standard deviation difference in test scores. Finally I contribute to understanding the role of the private sector in education in a low-income setting. Contrary to common perception, I find no difference between the quality of school management in government, private, or public-private partnership (PPP) schools (despite the higher level of autonomy available to them). An exception is an internationally-owned chain of PPP schools, which are as well managed as schools in the UK.

Twelve years of scottish school public private partnerships: Are they better value for money?

This research evaluates the value-for-money (VFM) obtained from public-private partnership (PPP) schools in Scotland, based on headteachers questionnaires, local authority interviews and Scottish School Estate Statistics. The period covered is 2000-2012, when 395 new schools were commissioned. The PPPs were better in building condition and maintenance standards and conventionally-financed schools were better in terms of teacher access and improvement in staff morale. There was transfer of knowledge whereby the high standards of the PPPs then became the new standards for the conventionally-financed schools. Concerns about PPP VFM relates to the high cost of unitary charges and contract inflexibilities. A higher percentage of headteachers of conventionally-financed schools (63.64%) considered their new schools resulted in good VFM compared to PPP schools (42.86%).

The valuation of risk transfer in UK school public private partnership contracts

A number of studies have examined the public private partnership (PPP) policy and have questioned the risk transfer argument used by the UK government to legitimise its adoption. This paper contributes to the literature by illustrating how accounting numbers have been used to value risks and justify the PPP decision. Data from the full business cases of two UK PPP schools and semi-structured interviews are used to illustrate the complexities and subjective judgements involved in valuing risks and achieving optimal risk transfer. The analysis suggests that the accounting numbers used to value risks are not neutral or objective but are socially constructed and may be manipulated to justify the PPP decision.

Teaching teachers to teach ICT integration—T3

Based upon a nation wide campaign called Public Private Partnership—Schools in the Net (PPP-SiN) (Public Private Partnership—Schule im Netz (PPP-SiN), 2000) we were able to initiate an externally financed project of in-service teacher education. The paper describes the realization of this project. Reflections are given on why teachers hesitate to integrate ICT into their teaching. Media competencies are recognized to be key in this context. We reflect upon the following five questions: 1. How do we educate the right thing as well as educate the right way? 2. Which ambient conditions must be met? 3. Which preliminary actions have to be taken and implemented? 4. Which tools, methods and instruments do we need? 5. How do we make sure that the transfer of learned knowledge will take place to find its way into successful teaching?