Does Greater School Autonomy Make a Difference?

From:: Department for International Development
Published: 1 January 2015

Country:: South Korea
Document Type:: Conference Paper
Theme:: Education
Authors:: Hee-Seung Yang., Liang Choon Wang., Youjin Hahn.

Abstract

The authors study the effects of school autonomy using a randomized natural experiment in Seoul. Private and public high schools subject to the equalization policy in Seoul admit students assigned randomly to them, receive equal government funding, charge identical fees, and use similar curricula, while private schools have greater flexibility in personnel decisions, and their principals and teachers face stronger incentives to perform. They find that private high schools have fewer violent incidents per student, a higher four-year college entrance rate, and better average test scores. Their analysis suggests that autonomy in personnel decisions explains the positive student outcomes in private schools.

Citation

Liang Choon Wang.; Youjin Hahn.; Hee-Seung Yang. Does Greater School Autonomy Make a Difference? Presented at RISE Launch Event on 18-19 June 2015 in Washington DC, USA. (2015) 53 pp.