Lessons from outside the classroom: What can New Zealand learn from the long Chilean Winter?

Abstract

This article explores the potential impact of increased school choice, specifically of proposed charter (partnership) schools, on educational inequality in N ew Z ealand. An initial review of the educational marketplace literature proves inconclusive as to whether privatised schooling is capable of reducing disparity in academic outcomes and broader social contexts, and even suggests it might further increase segregation. Subsequently, the article presents a case study of educational inequality in C hile (1990–2010) to set up a comparison of an education system that has become increasingly market based and unequal. The 20‐year time frame was selected to cover the shift to decentralised education under P inochet until the large‐scale breakout of student protests against systemic inequality, known as the ‘C hilean W inter’. In conclusion, the article suggests that a successful strategy to counter educational disparity needs to create viable alternatives to a free‐market approach and, as such, it appears that there are important lessons that N ew Z ealand can learn from the C hilean W inter – lessons that go beyond the implementation of charter schools to fundamental social structures.