Charter Schools vs. Public Schools a Critical

Charter Schools vs. Public Schools

A Critical Analysis

Options for Families

Diversity

Opportunities for Innovation

Competition

Fiscal Inefficiency

High Turnover of the Teachers

Control & Accountability

The given research paper is an attempt to evaluate the merits and demerits of charter schools and public schools in the pursuit of identifying the better schooling system. The document comprises of literature review which helps in identifying the degree of effectiveness of charter schools and also answers of criticisms that have been made on these schools so far. For a beginning teacher, it is important to establish an understanding of differences between charter schools and public schools. Furthermore, in order to be an effective educator, this understanding is of fundamental importance. The research sheds lights on factors diversity, competition, innovation, fiscal viability, control and authority.

Introduction

"Charter schools vs. public schools" is an old debate in the American education system. There are two separate schools of thoughts on the subject matter each advocating one of these school systems. However, charter schools are in their infancy as compared to the traditional public schools and there is relatively less evidence present which would be helpful in indicating if any one of them is better than the other. Although many teachers unions are against charter schools claiming that these schools are widening gaps in American society on racial and economic grounds, there benefits offered by these schools due to their innovative approach which thrives due to autonomy, cannot be ignored.

For the beginning teachers, it is important to understand what constitutes a healthy educational environment which provides maximum benefits to its recipients (students, families and society itself). A critical review of pros and cons offered by charter schools and public schools would enable beginning teachers to study and understand these elements in detail. Furthermore, in order to become an effective teacher, it is essential to understand how the needs of the students vary in different social settings and how the community-based and organizational forces (school policies, environment etc.) can affect the performance of the teacher.

This literature review is intended to perform a detailed critical analysis of charter schools and public schools. This research is intended to examine how the students, their families and communities react to these two schooling systems. Furthermore, the impacts of factors like diversity, competition, innovation, fiscal viability, control and authority, will also be evaluated.

Definition of Charter Schools and Public Schools

Charter schools are an amalgamation of private and public schooling systems. Where public schools are funded by the government and state authorities, private institutions enjoy autonomy and freedom to exercise innovative practices. On the other hand, charter schools are educational institutions funded by state and other educational bodies. They are also provided with donations from various communities and enterprises in the name of social welfare. Although the state government is the funding body, the educational policies of the governing authorities do not levy on them. Therefore, they enjoy freedom of devising their own charter and code of conduct.

The system of charter schools gained popularity in late 1980s and the first chartered school got registered in the state of Minnesota in 1992. This regime of educational system has been replacing the traditional schooling model ever since however it is too early to identify if they will be able to eliminate the prevailing educational model. The charter schools thrive on the basis of three basic principles: the freedom to make choice, ample opportunities offered by flexible educational model coupled with reasonable opportunity.

In the charter schools, the management of the school is free to devise its own set of regulations that best fit the educational model and the requirements of the given community and locality where the school is located. Furthermore, charter schools mainly have some niche which gives them specialization such music or scientific studies. On the other hand, public schools have a pre-decided curriculum which is uniformly levied on all the institutes that fall under the jurisdiction of state's educational board. Furthermore, public educational institutes report to the educational boards for their performance and other administrative matters with little authority left to the management of these schools (Alburger, 2012).

The overall models of these two schooling system has various pros and cons which has given rise to an ongoing debate: which schooling system is better? The debate has remained inconclusive so far as the charter schools have been in place for less than three decades and they have shown a pattern of performance which does not appear to be uniform.

Charters schools vs. Public Schools

In order to evaluate which schooling system offers maximum advantages and effectiveness with efficiency, it is important that there are merits and demerits are weighed down individually. A critical analysis would enable us to identify which schooling system s=provides most suitable solution to the needs of today's American society which also going through a phase of transition itself. In the debate related to charter schools vs. public schools, it is argued that where the autonomy offered charter schools makes them demonstrate innovative ways of imparting education; it makes them less liable for their performance. All the attributes discussed in this debate are related to the freedom provided to these schools (Greene et al., 2003).

Options for Families

Charter schools established in certain localities offer various advantages to the families. Firstly, they are located in the areas where there are no or less public schools allowing an easy access to education. These charter schools provide education which is tailored as per community's background, therefore the students do not feel any unnecessary need to struggle for adjustments. Furthermore, many charter schools develop certain specialties or niches. These specialties make the charter schools stand out and allow the parents to have a vast variety of choice for their child's education. Therefore, the parents are in a better position of evaluating if the prevailing education system can satisfy the requirements related to their child's education.

Other than these benefits, the charter schools are visibly established in areas where the crime rates are higher and the children are more deprived of education. Therefore, the charter schools cater to the parents who are unable to have access to the public institution. There is also an argument that the charter schools are an extension of state welfare system which allows state to provide education to the deprived part of the society without making them feel stigmatic. In the charter schools, the teachers appear to show cultural responsiveness because of their better understanding of community's background (Betts & Hill, 2006).

Public schools on the other hand, follows a rigid form of pre-established schooling system with pre-decided methodology of teaching which takes away spontaneity and innovativeness. Furthermore, since the teaching methods and the curriculum are uniform and cannot be customized, therefore it gives rise to a risk that the specific needs of a child remains ignored.

Diversity

Diversity is the principle advantage offered by charter schools. In the public schools, the curriculum and teaching methods remain the same which ignores the needs of the students from diverse backgrounds. Today's American society is facing a high degree of diversity triggered by race and ethnicity, gender-based division and social hierarchy. Due to these factors, the needs of the students differ greatly from each other. Public schools struggle to address the diverse needs of the students as the teachers are usually unqualified to do so and the given course material may not support students' learning style (Hoxby, 2004).

Considering these difficulties, diversity can be considered as the strength of charter schools. As stated earlier, charter schools customize their teaching methods and respective courses according to community's needs; therefore they are in a better state of understanding the requirements of the students and satisfy them accordingly. However critics of charter schools also provide an argument that the American society is already struggling with the menaces of diversity in the name of racism, social inequality and gender bias. Presence of charter schools is further adding to this problem. The teachers' associations in many states, are against the charter schools on the ground that charter schooling system is widening the gap in the society due following racial and class-based discriminatory lines. Furthermore, the needs of students who lack English language proficiency and have other disabilities also remain unsatisfied (Chen, 2009).

But if the benefits offered by charter schools are evaluated in the lens of diversity, it can be identified that charter schools are addressing to the communities that are ignored under uniform education system. Therefore, irrespective of the debate that it is giving rise to division in American society, charter schools are managing to impart education yet satisfying the needs of their targeted students.

Opportunities for Innovation

With the changing landscape of the American society, innovation has managed to penetrate into every field and profession; education is no different. The innovation in the living styles of today's Americans has also changed their preferences towards education. It was the urge for innovation which has given rise to the present public schooling system which is based on smart methodologies and established (tested and retested) practices. However, considering the dynamics in the society, it is important that innovation is also presented in the teaching methods and curriculums as well.

Charter schools thrive on innovation. It is the ideology of their management which makes them stand out of the given pool of educational institutions. Since charter schools provide specialized knowledge, therefore they use innovative mediums to provide education. On the other hand, teachers are provided with autonomy to exercise their innovative ideas (which they deem suitable for the satisfying the needs of the students). Resultant is the customized yet effective teaching style which suits the learning needs of the students. Where there are various established theoretical models for teaching that are generally accepted and practices; there is always a room for improvement. Therefore, the charter schools can act as the laboratories where the new methods of teaching and education can be tested and implemented (NCSL, 2012).

Public schools are not provided with a suitable scope of autonomy. Therefore, the management and the teachers are forced to carry out their practice in the traditional fashion with limited and controlled element of innovation.

Competition

Charter schools are gaining popularity in many states in United States. This increasing rate of students' registration is exerting pressure on public schools to deliver the desired level of quality in their service (Booker et al., 2005). The competition has certainly raised the bars for public schools as well as charter schools. Where the charter schools are in a better state of addressing the needs of the students due to diversity, autonomy and innovation; the public schools may need to opt suitable practices which would make them survive this increasing competition (Nicotera et al., 2009).

The beneficiary of this competition will ultimately benefit the students who need education satisfying their learning needs; and parents who seek for suitable education system for their children.

Fiscal Inefficiency

The critics of charter schools have presented an argument that the charter schools only offer their services to a limited mass of students in the society. With a large amount invested in their established and then continuity, it is not an economical model to pursue in the long-term. The benefits offered by chartered schools fail to justify their costs. On the other hand, public schools cater to larger population with their benefits extending to maximum students. Therefore, in monetary terms, public schools are more suitable models. It is also argued that the students, who offer more risks, are not admitted in these schools in order to avoid poor representation in overall school's performance (Miron & Nelson, 2001).

However, if a counter argument to this criticism is presented, it is important to mention that charter schools are still in their infancy. The concept has been generally accepted and is now gaining grounds in the American educational system. Therefore, it is quite early to decide if these schools are fiscally viable or not. Besides, the cost of establishment is a one-time cost which will be recovered with the increase in number of students that will ultimately take place with increase in population and also the increasing reputation of the school itself. Another argument is the maintenance of these schools with welfare / charity funds provided by various associations. Therefore, the states do not bear unnecessary burden of the costs borne by charter schools.

High Turnover of the Teachers

It is also argued that charter schools have higher rate of turnover. If the background of charter schools is observed, it will be found that the teachers in these schools are made to deal with parents who have specific needs. Some of these parents have issues related to language and ethnicity. On the other hand, the needs of the students require the teachers to put in extra effort which is not well-compensated while working in a charter school. It has also been observed that various charter schools are located in areas where crime rates are higher as compared to other regions. Therefore, the educators are also forced to interact with parents and even students with criminal records. Thirdly, charter schools have a lower probability of continuing their operations in the long run. Such demanding and uncertain working conditions contribute to the high teachers' turnover in charter schools.

Control & Accountability

Critics further present an argument that where the charter schools are provided with funds for their operations out of state budget and the educational bodies' assets; these authorities have a limited control over the operations of charter schools. Therefore, charter schools are not accountable to any higher authority for their compromised performance which hinders the transparency in operations of the charter schools.