ERIC Number: ED507402
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Aug-9
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Dutch Experience with Weighted Student Funding: Some Lessons for the U.S. Working Papers Series. SAN09-03
Ladd, Helen F.; Fiske, Edward B.
Sanford School of Public Policy
Policy makers and educators in the U.S. have recently shown considerable interest in the concept of weighted student funding (WSF) as a means of financing primary and secondary schools. WSF appeals both to conservatives, who see it as a way to promote parental choice and school autonomy, and to progressives, who are attracted by the call of extra funds for challenging-to-educate students. This paper draws lessons for the U.S. from the Netherlands, which has long experience with WSF. We find that, while WSF has succeeded in directing significant amounts of additional funds to primary schools serving educationally disadvantaged pupils, this policy has been shaped by contextual factors that differ in important respects from those in the U.S. These include a deeply embedded right to parental choice, a centralized funding system, a political system that fosters policy stability, and a national value system that accepts pluralism and encourages tolerance and fairness. (Contains 12 footnotes.)
Descriptors: School Choice, Educationally Disadvantaged, Foreign Countries, Social Values, Institutional Autonomy, Immigrants, Educational Needs, Student Needs, Academic Achievement, Educational Quality, Educational Finance, Educational Equity (Finance), Financial Support, Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools, Politics of Education, Educational Research, Equal Education, Funding Formulas, Resource Allocation, Expenditure per Student, Educational Policy, Finance Reform, Disadvantaged Youth
Sanford School of Public Policy. Box 90239, Durham, NC 27708. Tel: 919-613-7401; Fax: 919-681-8288; Web site: http://www.sanford.duke.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A