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School Choice and Social Justicereviewed by Chris Lubienski - 2003 Title: School Choice and Social Justice Author(s): Harry Brighouse Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford ISBN: 0198295863, Pages: 222, Year: 2000 Search for book at Amazon.com Many observers note with some frustration that policy debates
around school choice would be better informed by more empirical
research. Yet Harry Brighouse’s thoughtful book,
School Choice and Social Justice, is an effective reminder
of the serious theoretical work that needs to be done regarding the
arguments around these reforms. This provocative contribution
to the thinking on education policy offers an articulate
philosophical perspective on the potential of choice to serve just
ends.
Brighouse outlines the numerous inadequacies with the
“generic” rationale for school choice (chapter 2),
before arguing that certain concerns typically raised by
liberal-leftists in challenging school choice — the common
good, commodification, democratic control — are either
misguided or have no real place in the design of education
institutions (chapter 3). While others on the left have
suggested that choice may equalize opportunity (e.g., Coons &
Sugarman, 1978; Gintis, 1995; Jencks, 1972), Brighouse’s case
is grounded in a particular brand of egalitarian liberalism more
commonly seen in philosophy than education policy. The
liberalism Brighouse espouses is of... (preview truncated at 150 words.)To view the full-text for this article you must be signed-in with the appropriate membership. Please review your options below:
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- Chris Lubienski
Iowa State University E-mail Author CHRIS LUBIENSKI is Assistant Professor at Iowa State University. He studies historical and comparative perspectives on education policy and his recent work on the public nature of charter schools appeared in the Teachers College Record. He is currently examining innovation in autonomous schools.
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