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The Potentially Educational and Socioeconomic Reasons for Choosing between Public and Private Schools

Cultural Anthropology

Fall 2008

PhD Shoup

Introduction

The Moroccan educational system has undergone deep changes. Particularly, the government implemented a privatization policy of the educational system. The country has encouraged the establishment of private schools by taxes exoneration and selling public schools to the private sector. Each sector has its own characteristics and aspects; however, their common mission is to create tomorrow’s leaders. The dichotomy between the public and the private sector put the parents between a rock and a hard place. This study is intended to investigate the main reasons that push parents to choose between a private and a public school. Also, this research is to shed light on the educational features of each side and try to draw any possible relationship between the choice of school and the socioeconomic backgrounds of people. Such a study may help develop the quality of education and promote the credentials of both the private and public sectors. Therefore, two core questions arise, what are the educational aspects of both the private and the public sector? And what are the socioeconomic factors that influence parents’ choice between public and private schools?

Location of study

Framework

Another setting that was taken into account is the timeframe. Actually, we spent four hours in the field moving from target to target. Since the timeframe was limited, the target should have been smartly approached to ensure an efficient data collection. As far as the target is concerned, there was mainly three parts. First, we met the headmaster of “Al Fourat” private school with whom we set an appointment in advance. Then, we met a primary school teacher in the public sector who is a friend of our headmaster. Finally, we went and met parents in the street to collect their opinions. As a matter