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An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the investment yield of an endowment. It is governed by a board of directors that is elected by an independent means and a system of governance that ensures its independent operation. It may receive government funds. However, its board must be independent.

The terms independent school and private school are often synonyms in popular usage outside the United Kingdom. Independent schools may have a religious affiliation, but the more precise usage of the term excludes parochial and other schools if there is a financial dependence upon, or governance subordinate to, outside organizations. These definitions generally apply equally to primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education institutions.

Australia[link]

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In Australia, independent or private schools are the fastest growing education sector, and over 85% of them have a religious or church affiliation. In 2009, there were 1,022 independent schools^[1] catering for around 500,000 students in Australia. Some independent schools are prestigious and enrolment highly sought after, with tuition fees to match, however since the 1980s the number of low-fee schools catering for 'average' Australians, and in some cases without any religious affiliation, has increased significantly. Independent schools in Australia receive approximately 75% of Federal Government school educational funding.

Independent schools in Australia make up nearly 15% of total enrolments while Catholic schools, which usually have lower fees, also make up a sizeable proportion (18%) and are usually regarded as a school sector of their own within the broad category of independent schools (some independent schools are affiliated with Catholic religious orders). Enrolments in non-government schools has been growing steadily at the expense of enrolments in government schools which have seen their enrolment share reduce from 78% to 67% since 1970.

Australian independent schools differ slightly from those in the United States as the Australian Government provides funding to all schools including independent schools using a 'needs-based' funding scheme based on a Socio-Economic Status (SES) score. The school's SES score is derived by selecting a sample of parent's addresses and mapping these to a Census Collector District from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census. The household income and education data are then used to derive an SES score for each school, which places it on a sliding scale of funding entitlement. On average, funding granted to an independent school is 47% of that required to operate a government school, the residual being made up by tuition fees paid by parents.

Canada[link]

In Canada "independent schools" refers to elementary and secondary schools that follow provincial educational requirements but are not managed by the ministry; the term "independent" is usually used to describe not-for-profit schools. In some provinces, independent schools are regulated by the Independent School Act and must offer curriculum prescribed by the provincial government. Ontario has the most independent schools in Canada. Some of these include Ridley College, Havergal College, Crescent School, St. Andrew's College, Columbia International College, and Ashbury College. Some west coast based independent schools are Brentwood College School, Shawnigan Lake School, St. Michael's University School,.

Many independent schools in Canada meet National Standards and are accredited by a national not-for-profit organization called Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS).

Robert Land Academy in Wellandport, Ontario is Canada's only independent military style school for boys in grades 6 through 12.

Netherlands[link]

In The Netherlands over two-thirds of state-funded schools operate autonomously, with many of these schools being linked to faith groups.^[2] The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, ranks the education in the Netherlands as the 9th best in the world as of 2008, being significantly higher than the OECD average.^[3]

The Dutch constitution allows faith-based schools to be government-funded. The Christian political party (Anti-Revolutionaries) won equality in funding for their education, by agreeing upon general voting in exchange in the so called Schoolstrijd ("School Struggle"). The outcome of the debate is that schools in the Netherlands are mostly state funded whilst run independently.^[4]

Sweden[link]

In Sweden, pupils are free to choose a private school and the private school gets paid the same amount as municipal schools. Over 10% of Swedish pupils were enrolled in private schools in 2008. Sweden is known for this school voucher model.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Prior to the 1990s there were only a handful of independent schools in Sweden, mostly tuition-funded boarding schools. 1992 saw the introduction of a system of education vouchers, making Sweden one of the first to follow the Netherlands' model. Schools can be run by charity groups or for-profit companies, and anyone can start one. "Free schools", as they're called, are funded with public money from the local municipality (kommun) and are similar to charter schools in the United States or academies in the United Kingdom. Free schools and public schools both receive money from the municipality for every pupil they have enrolled. Economic differences throughout Sweden directly affect how much money each municipality provides per pupil, by as much as 50000 SEK (7150USD, 4375GPB).^[10] As of 2008, more than 10% of Swedish pupils were enrolled in free schools.^[5] This model has been promoted in the Op-ED section of the New York Times, by the conservative Pacific Research Institute.^[11]

Sweden's implementation of free schools is promoted by economic and governmental figures with the words 'Sweden is a world leader in free-market education'.^[5] Per Unckel, Governor of Stockholm and former Minister of Education, summarizes the advantages of Swedish system "Education is so important that you can’t just leave it to one producer. Because we know from monopoly systems that they do not fulfill all wishes".

The system is especially popular among right-wing voters in large cities, and has even expanded overseas.^[5][12] Criticism has been expressed that this reform has led to a large number of fundamentalistic religious schools, and that the system results in increased segregation. Some municipal assemblies, for example Täby Municipality, have sold public schools to private persons, for example the head of the school, for a much lower price than what a school chain would have paid on the open market.

Profit opportunities in education (from public money), but more specifically, education's deregulation in Sweden, contrasts its 20th century socialist trends and history. These two aspects are utilized as economic, social, and ideological marketing levers for claims about the benefits of independent schools in Sweden (see, ideological theory of Alain Badiou).^{[13][not in citation given]} In addition to real public support (and dislike), the desire to promulgate the constituted and constituent ideology deregulation opportunities (and profit making) support claims that the Swedish system is popular.^[5][12]

Two large independent Swedish school chains are Internationella Engelska Skolan and Kunskapsskolan (“Knowledge Schools”), which is the biggest school chain. Kunskapsskolan offers 30 schools and a web-based environment, has 700 employees, and teaches nearly 10,000 pupils.

United Kingdom[link]

In the United Kingdom, independent education has grown continually for the past twenty years.

England, Wales, and Northern Ireland[link]

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the more prestigious independent schools are known as "public schools", sometimes categorised as major and minor public schools. Although some may regard membership of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference as what defines a school as a public school (though this includes many independent grammar schools), the term refers to the schools being for the public and controlled by a board of governors drawn from the public.^[14]

Scotland[link]

In Scotland,^[15] those schools which are not state-funded are known as independent or private schools. In some cases they are also The Merchant Company Schools.^[16] Independent schools may also be specialist or special schools - such as some music schools, Montessori schools, or schools for those with special needs.^[17]

Scottish independent schools currently educate over 32,000 students, and employ approximately 3,000 teachers.^{[citation needed]}

United States[link]

Independent schools in the United States educate a tiny fraction of the school-age population (slightly over 1% of the entire school-age population, and only around 10% of the 10% of students who go to private schools). The essential distinction between independent schools and other private schools is self-governance and financial independence, i.e., independent schools own, govern, and finance themselves. In contrast, public schools are funded and governed by local and state governments, and most parochial schools are owned, governed, and financed by religious institutions such as a diocese or parish. Independent schools may be affiliated with a particular religion or denomination; however, unlike parochial schools, independent schools are self-owned and governed by independent boards of trustees. While independent schools are not subject to significant government oversight or regulation, they are accredited by the same six regional accreditation agencies that accredit public schools. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a membership organization of American pre-college independent schools.^{[citation needed]}

The NAIS provides this definition of an Independent School^[18]:

Independent schools are 501(c)3 nonprofit corporate entities, independent in governance and finance, meaning:

1. Independent schools "own themselves" (as opposed to public schools owned by the government or parochial schools owned by the church) and govern themselves, typically with a self-perpetuating board of trustees that performs fiduciary duties of oversight and strategic duties of funding and setting the direction and vision of the enterprise, and by delegating day to day operations entirely to the head of school.
   
2. Independent schools finance themselves (as opposed to public schools funded through the government and parochial schools subsidized by the church), largely through charging tuition, fund raising, and income from endowment.

Independence is the unique characteristic of this segment of the education industry, offering schools four freedoms that contribute to their success: the freedom to define their own unique missions; the freedom to admit and keep only those students well-matched to the mission; the freedom to define the qualifications for high quality teachers; and the freedom to determine on their own what to teach and how to assess student achievement and progress.

In the United States, there are more independent colleges and universities than public universities, although public universities enroll more total students. The membership organization for independent tertiary education institutions is the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.^[19]

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Hein, David (4 January 2004). What Has Happened to Episcopal Schools? The Living Church, 228, no. 1, 21-22.
• Windrush School.

External links[link]

• Scottish Council of Independent Schools (Scotland, UK)
• National Association of Independent Schools (U.S.A.)
• Canadian Association of Independent Schools
• Independent Schools Council of Australia
• Association of Independent Schools of NSW (Australia)
• The Independent Schools Directory 2011
• The Independent School Report (U.S.A.)
• Guide to Independent Schools in Canada
• The Hobsons UK Boarding Schools Guide 2008/09
• Private School Entrance Exam Help