Education Essay Sample on Public and Private Universities

The row between public and private institutions has been present since their inception. Issues of quality education, the ability to provide differentiated services among other reasons have all been basis why some prefer private institutions of learning over public. On the other hand, there have been matters of the quality and age of the institution coming into play when choosing institutions. Prestige comes in during this time. This paper is an analysis of these claims based on the review of three academic journals in order to draw a conclusion.

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The differences between public and private management have been noted to be so great that the transfer of methods from one sector to the other has been said to be detrimental to the recipient group (Boyne, 2002). As a result, just like in business practice, the difference between the two types of institutions, especially in higher learning are o significantly different that they are believed to have different results and achievements in the making of their students. Boyne (2002) conducted a study between 37 public and private institutions, albeit not of higher learning, and recognized that the goals and differences in managers of these two sectors have significantly different approaches and results that they obtain.

In this study, the researcher noted that there was a significant difference in the ability of the managers to achieve because of the higher levels of bureaucracy, a lower commitment to the organizational prosperity and a lower affinity to achievement as opposed to their private sector counterpart. This translates to the situation in education both in the public domain and the private. However, the research from Boyne (2002) notes that empirical research from this sector has been limited to very small amounts of data that do not necessarily depict the situation in the whole of the sector and cannot thus be taken to be the gospel truth of the situation.

The economics of public and private schools are is also different and plays a large role in the different results that have been offered in the institutions of higher education. In an analysis of the situation, it has been noted that there is a significant variance in quality offered in the different types of schools that has nothing to do with whether the school is public or private (Hanushek, 1986). This is due to the fact that both private and public schools have such different policies of management that it is no longer possible to equate the two without first considering the policy differences in the institution. Policy considerations can take the form of sex education in school as well as the inclusion of other upcoming educational concerns within the institution.

It is therefore important to consider that special education implementation largely depends on the type of institution and the kind of policy considerations that they have made at the inception of the school. This is the approach that has been taken in ensuring quality in UK schools where the schools ranking system will consider the policies that the school is implementing and the effectiveness of the school administration in reaching those goals (Matley, 2005). The changing socio-economic environment in the case of the sampled business schools in this study dictated the kind of research that was implemented and the quality of education that was given. Such concerns must also be addressed in the determinance of whether a public or private university is better.

Concerns have however been raised concerning the safety and security of public schools especially because they are publicly funded. Because of their affinity to the government, the public education sector in schools and institutions of higher learning are prone to the turbulent effects that are felt when the government is undergoing a financial crisis (Rose & Gallup, 2002). When the government is faced with an economic crisis, there is usually a cut in spending in various areas in order to retain enough revenues to sustain the government. Some of the reductions are made in the education sector which can jeopardize the general effectiveness of the sector. A reduction in public funds towards certain areas means that these areas will suffer loss in terms of quality and their ability to sustain the current number of students that they are teaching.

This has been a concern in many public schools. Recent attacks in public schools and institutions of higher learning have also caused concerns towards the quality of education in such schools. The role of the education sector is not only to provide the students with knowledge relevant to their areas of expertise, but also to ensure that such students become all-rounded members of society that can be deemed as law-abiding. The incidences in public schools bring this role of the school under fire and suspicion and cause the public schools to be viewed in a negative light.

In conclusion, schools cannot simply be ranked based on their characteristic as public or private. Research shows that varying policies come into play within these consideration. The dependence of the quality of education on the state of the nation however, sets the public at unease because of the inconsistent promise of quality that is offered in public institutions of learning.

Bibliography

Boyne, G., 2002. Public and Private Management: What's the Difference?. Journal of Management Studies, Volume 39, pp. 97-122.

Hanushek, E., 1986. The economics of schooling: production and efficiency in public schools. Journal of Economic Literature, pp. 1141-77.

Matley, H., 2005. Entrepreneurship education in UK business schools:: Conceptual, contextual and policy considerations. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(4), pp. 627-43.

Rose, L. & Gallup, A., 2002. The 34th Annual Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll of the Public's attitude towards the public schools. [Online] Available at: http://www.pdkmembers.org/members_online/publications/GallupPoll/kpoll_pdfs/pdkpoll34_2002.pdf[Accessed 22 October 2015].