by Ken Gannicott

     Public school systems run into problems precisely because they are operated as government monopolies. Without serious competition or parental choice it is inevitable that government-run schools will fail to satisfy the needs of families and fail to control their budgets. The results of state-run schooling are similarly disappointing all around the world. Readers in North America and Europe will experience an alarming sense of deja-vu as they turn the pages of Ken Gannicott's book, Taking Education Seriously. Gannicott, a professor of education trained in economics, finds that Australian public schools suffer from the same critical flaws as those of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain (to name but a few). Read a guest review of the book by education consultant Dr. Kevin Donnelly or a sample chapter.

by Mark Harrison

     Most industrialized nations have had government-run schools for more than a century. Naturally, we all take them for granted. It's hard to imagine doing away with them, or even significantly changing the way they are run. To help readers see public schooling from a new perspective, Australian education economist Mark Harrison asks us to imagine how supermarkets would function if they were run like public schools: as a government monopoly. A fun and fascinating read.