Privatization processes of public education: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Over the years, the privatization of and in education has reached an international dimension, noticeable in several countries and their educational systems, regardless of their economic and political differences. This paper is a systematic literature review of scientific articles based on the term “privatization” connected to “education” and “public school.” For the theoretical framework, three online databases were searched: Scopus, Web of Science and Education Resources Information Center. The search was limited to open access, peer-reviewed scientific articles that, in addition to the term “privatization” in their title, abstract or keywords, also reference at least one of the keywords featured in the PHD project underlying this systematic literature review: governance, globalization, or new public management. As a result of the content analysis of the 23 selected scientific articles, we intend to identify what forms assumes the implementation of privatization processes in education. From the analysis, we ascertain seven processual routes of privatization: market, financing, service provision, humanitarian crisis, economic crisis, “shadow education,” and “inertia.” These processes are attributed to policies of neoliberal influence, with emphasis on the “modernization of public administration.”