Governance Lessons

Abstract

Charter schools are one of the newest, most frequent, and controversial approaches to introducing parental choice and competition in educational systems. The policy questions raised by charter schools involve not only organizational and management concerns but also key issues of governance. This article examines how the theories, arguments, and findings of earlier studies on the use of other market mechanisms in local governance may inform the current debate about charter schools. By highlighting the presuppositions and results of the local government reform experience, the authors conclude that the use of market mechanisms like charter schools should be approached with caution.