Peabody Journal of Education, Volume 87, Issue 3, 2012

What Public and Religious Private Schools Can Learn From One Another

The lines between public and private schools have begun to blur. Voucher initiatives, charter schools, and district-wide open enrollment have begun to change the way students, parents, and even policymakers interact with the American school system. With this in mind, it stands to reason that both private and public schools—including public charter schools—can learn much from one another. By looking at their respective strengths and areas of growth, these varied school models can build upon what makes them successful and also look for answers to the questions that may drive some of their perceived struggles. In this edition of The Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, guest editor William Jeynes pushes for such a collaboration between private and public schools. Jeynes calls for a more unified body of research and presents a varied examination of the relationship between private and public schools. In doing so, Jeynes cultivates an open and honest conversation between public and private schools, one that will benefit both types of institutions equally.

The issue begins with an introductory piece by guest editor William Jeynes and guest author Fred Beuttlet. The piece provides context for the relationship between public and private schools, focusing on the many positives both institutions can learn from one another. The authors focus on character education, competition, and the education of special needs students as possible touch-points between public and private schools. In the second article, Jeynes expands on the previous discussion with a meta-analysis of the effects and contributions of public and religious private schools. Jeynes concludes that faith-based private schools and public schools can build on each others’ strengths to improve their own services.

Dick Carpenter and Krista Kafer narrow the focus of the issue in the next article, which discusses the history of private school choice. Beginning with a discussion of early American schooling, and then moving to an in-depth analysis of school choice’s increased role over the past 30 years, Carpenter and Kafer make the argument that a consensus on the role of private school choice has begun to take shape. Keeping the discussion to private religious schools, Leslie Francis, Gemma Penny, and Sylvia Baker introduce and discuss the concept of spiritual health. The authors examine spiritual health’s place within Anglican schools and its impact on student beliefs.

The next article, by Bruce Cooper, Rose McSeen, and Peter Murphy, discusses the emerging blend of public and private institutions occurring in today’s school systems. The article discusses the emergence of a compromise between private schools and public schools, one that allows both institutions to benefit from the others’ services. Timothy Scully and John Staud then examine Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program as an example for possible roles institutions of higher education can play in the improvement of private and public schools’ access to quality instructors. Finally, the issue concludes with an article by Charles Russo and William Thro. Russo and Thro examine the relationship between public schools, private schools, and the students they serve through a legal lens, analyzing the implications of recent, major court cases for both types of institutions.

As always, the Peabody Journal of Education would like to extend its gratitude to William Jeynes for organizing this excellent issue. The PJE is thankful as well to all the authors for their contributions, without which this issue examining the relationship between public and private schools would not have been possible. We hope practitioners and researchers alike will find this discussion insightful and useful.

CONTENTS
Journal abstracts are linked to titles.

What Public and Religious Private Schools Can Learn From One Another
William H. Jeynes
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 283-284.

What Private and Public Schools Can Learn From Each Other
William H. Jeynes and Fred Beuttler
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 285-304.

A Meta-Analysis on the Effects and Contributions of Public, Public Charter, and Religious Schools on Student Outcomes
William H. Jeynes
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 305-335.

A History of Private School Choice
Dick M. Carpenter II and Krista Kafer
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 336-350.

Defining and Assessing Spiritual Health: A Comparative Study Among 13- to 15-Year-Old Pupils Attending Secular Schools, Anglican Schools, and Private Christian Schools in England and Wales
Leslie J. Francis, Gemma Penny, and Sylvia Baker
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 351-367.

Finding a Golden Mean in Education Policy: Centering Religious and Public Schools
Bruce S. Cooper, Rose Byron McSween, and Peter Murphy
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 368-382.

Building New Bridges to America’s Schools: Lessons From the University of Notre Dame
Timothy R. Scully and John J. Staud
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 383-401.

Reflections on the Law and Curricular Values in American Schools Charles J. Russo and William E. Thro
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 87, No. 3: pages 402-412.