Educational privatization: Expanding spaces and new global regulatory trends

Education privatization has expanded globally. However, far from following a single pathway, privatization springs from very different causes and is a constantly changing context-sensitive phenomenon. Building on a policy instruments perspective, this chapter grapples with the dynamic nature of education privatization by examining how related policy frameworks have evolved over the last decades. We argue that the adoption of privatization policies can be motivated by multiple policy goals, thus crystallizing in diverse regulatory configurations. We also argue that, over time, a broad consensus about the negative effects of privatization on equity has emerged. Accordingly, a number of countries have engaged in efforts to readjust pro-market policies—through either the adoption of new regulatory instruments or the calibration of existing ones. While emerging evidence suggests that there are important limits to the transformative power of the public regulation of educational markets, regulatory reforms continue to gain momentum, contributing to the continuous transformation of privatization trends.