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The Provision of Public Pre-K in the Absence of Centralized School Management

The Provision of Public Pre-K in the Absence of Centralized School Management Using administrative and qualitative data, we investigate how decentralization affects the supply of optional educational services using the example of school-based prekindergarten (pre-K) in New Orleans during the transition to a majority-charter system. Although charter school leaders are motivated by student- and school-level benefits of pre-K, they face unique obstacles to funding classrooms. We find that the number of pre-K seats fell substantially as decision making and budgeting were decentralized. Charter schools that did offer pre-K experienced few internal benefits, on average, in terms of future enrollment or test performance, as pre-K graduates are highly mobile. This study provides initial evidence that decentralization without offsetting financial incentives can lead to reduced investments in programs that advance the social goals of education. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Educational Research Journal SAGE

The Provision of Public Pre-K in the Absence of Centralized School Management

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References (69)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2019 AERA
ISSN
0002-8312
eISSN
1935-1011
DOI
10.3102/0002831219845623
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Using administrative and qualitative data, we investigate how decentralization affects the supply of optional educational services using the example of school-based prekindergarten (pre-K) in New Orleans during the transition to a majority-charter system. Although charter school leaders are motivated by student- and school-level benefits of pre-K, they face unique obstacles to funding classrooms. We find that the number of pre-K seats fell substantially as decision making and budgeting were decentralized. Charter schools that did offer pre-K experienced few internal benefits, on average, in terms of future enrollment or test performance, as pre-K graduates are highly mobile. This study provides initial evidence that decentralization without offsetting financial incentives can lead to reduced investments in programs that advance the social goals of education.

Journal

American Educational Research Journal – SAGE

Published: Dec 1, 2019

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