Attend Public or Private Schools? Research Paper

Only one respondent had strong views regarding the difference between private and parochial school funding, stating that it was dangerous to fund schools with religious affiliations, because of the potential favoritism this could generate, and citing the need for a separation from church and state. Most of the respondents said that it did not matter whether parochial or secular private schools received funding, and they were more concerned about the justice of the funding than any religious issues at stake. Regarding support for special needs children whose needs were not being met by the conventional school system, almost all of the respondents agreed that this was a necessary instance of public funding for private education except for one, who stated that too many students were being diagnosed with learning disabilities and he was not sure the money would be spent wisely.Support for charter schools (which are not private schools, but public schools that receive federal funds but are exempt from many regulations regarding admissions, accountability, and standardized assessments) tended to depend upon the respondent's position on private school funding. Supports of private school vouchers tended to support charter schools as a way of extending more individualized attention to students while supporters of public schools believed that too much emphasis on charter schools, which could only help a small segment of the population, would divert resources away from the public school system.

References

Charter schools: pro and con. (2011). National Convention of State Legislatures.

Retrieved August 28, 2011 at http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Education/CharterSchoolsProsandCons/tabid/12921/Default.aspx

School vouchers debate. (2004). PBS. Retrieved August 28, 2011 at http://www.pbs.org/now/society/voucherdebate.html.....