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- Title
- Florida's School Choice Policies and Democracy: Origins and Destinations.
- Creator
- Miller, Adam, Mountford, Meredith L., Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
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School choice is a fast growing alternative to traditional public school education across the nation. According to the Florida Department of Education, school choice policies and laws are rapidly moving Florida away from more traditional forms of schooling toward an increasingly evolving school choice state landscape. The purpose of this study was to examine school choice in Florida by investigating the school choice policies enacted by the Florida legislature leading to the school choice...
Show moreSchool choice is a fast growing alternative to traditional public school education across the nation. According to the Florida Department of Education, school choice policies and laws are rapidly moving Florida away from more traditional forms of schooling toward an increasingly evolving school choice state landscape. The purpose of this study was to examine school choice in Florida by investigating the school choice policies enacted by the Florida legislature leading to the school choice environment in Florida today. Specifically, this investigation was limited to legislation in Florida between 1997 and 2014 and further limited to charter schools, home schooling, virtual education, and two choice options specific to Florida in which public dollars follow students to private schools, the Tax Credit and McKay Scholarship programs. These particular school choice options were chosen as the focus of this study because they change the where of education outside of tradit ional public schools. Other choice options such as magnet schools, inter-district choice, and intra-district choice simply move students among traditional public schools but keep them enrolled in traditional public schools. Ultimately the study hoped to provide a possible road map for the future of school choice policies in Florida. This study utilized a qualitative methodology utilizing document reviews and interviews. This study found that school choice policies in Florida have continued to expand and evolve over the years to increase the liberty available to families to choose the education of their children. This study also found that the Florida legislature has laid the groundwork for Florida school districts, through a focus on equality, to take advantage of a portfolio management model to increase student achievement. Although a focus on equality led to the enactment of various school choice options, some of these options have moved away from their original intent to financially benefit specific organizations and groups. Finally, as reported by Holme, Frankenberg, Diem, and Welton (2013), Florida's charter school, virtual education, and home education policies have been enacted as race-neutral policies that have no regard for diversity, which could lead to resegregation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004522, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004522
- Subject Headings
- Education and state -- Florida, Educational change -- United States -- Florida, Educational equalization -- United States -- Florida, John M. McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities, School choice -- United States -- Florida, School districts -- Florida -- Management
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Public-private partnerships and questions in public procurement.
- Creator
- Williams, Adam, Miller, Hugh T., Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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This study explores the connections of public procurement official perceptions of public-private partnerships and their contracting decisions for public infrastructure projects. Detailed discussion of previous scholarship and its focus on policymaking and project evaluation of public-private partnerships leaves a gap in the public policy process – implementation. Procurement officials are presented in the role of policy implementers rather than agents in a principalagent approach. This...
Show moreThis study explores the connections of public procurement official perceptions of public-private partnerships and their contracting decisions for public infrastructure projects. Detailed discussion of previous scholarship and its focus on policymaking and project evaluation of public-private partnerships leaves a gap in the public policy process – implementation. Procurement officials are presented in the role of policy implementers rather than agents in a principalagent approach. This attempts to address a shortcoming of the description that these officials do nothing more than purchase. Arguments are put forth that these officials are given additional levels of discretion when faced with contracting decisions. Specifically, procurement officials observe that public-private partnerships provide sets of project consequences. A survey instrument is designed to explore the differences in perceptions that procurement officials have with respect to public-private partnerships and traditional contracting out. Survey failures result in findings only being able to attempt a more general view of public-private partnerships. Results allow perceptions to be placed in a decision-making model based on a project phase approach that develops on the assumption that tasks contracted to private vendors produce project consequences. Furthermore, analysis of significant consequence perceptions indicate that those perceptions do not provide a rationale for a procurement official’s decision-making on whether to contract using a public-private partnership for public infrastructure projects. Independent sample t-tests, controlled correlations, multiple ANOVA and linear regression analyses show that perceptions of consequences, the perceptions of differences of those consequences across project phases, relationships of consequences to perceptions of efficiency and effectiveness proxies and a bounded rationalitybased model of decision-making for procurement officials are all inconclusive. Discussion focuses on the development of consequences and phases as defining and clarifying public-private partnerships. Further discussions are presented for procurement officials with respect to their decision-making and possible role as policy implementers. Conclusions fail to uncover any inferential results. The research finds its primary contribution in the conceptual discourse of public procurement official roles and public-private partnership definitions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004236, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004236
- Subject Headings
- Infrastructure (Economics) -- Finance, Public private sector cooperation -- Finance, Public private sector cooperation, Public works -- Finance, Risk management
- Format
- Document (PDF)