Views about privatization's advantages and disadvantages vary widely in the educational research literature. These disparate views are shaped by reviewers' frames of reference and the evaluation criteria that they use. This book was written to help readers develop more refined lenses for viewing the privatization movement. Chapter 1 asserts that the use of private strategies in education should proceed from an informed understanding of the strengths and weaknesses and goals and objectives of this array of policy instruments. Chapter 2 defines privatization and reviews the objectives that the arrangement is designed to meet. The chapter presents a typology of 10 privatization strategies, based on the dimensions of allocation and provision of services. The third chapter traces the evolution of privatization as a policy initiative. The first part examines the growth of the public sector between 1900 and 1980, and the second half addresses the expansion of privatization over the past 25 years. Chapters 4 and 5 examine the pressures and rationale that contributed to the growth of privatization and unpack the arguments advanced by advocates and opponents. The sixth chapter reviews the specific forces supporting privatization initiatives in education, showing how the privatization movement draws strength from: (1) central dimensions of the larger reform agenda; and (2) the privatization efforts under way in other areas of public-service delivery and analog initiatives in the private sphere. Four tables, one figure, and an index are included. (Contains 220 references.) (LMI)