Markets without choice?: the development of public markets in elementary schooling in Slovenia
Keywords: Education, Marketing
Education, Slovenia
Education, Economic aspects
Education, Slovenia
School choice, Slovenia
Schools, Public relations
Schools, Slovenia
Educational equalization, Slovenia
Education and state, Slovenia

In 1991, Slovenia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia. Since then, many changes have followed. Some of these changes affected education. In 1996 new legislation was passed on to schools. In this new legislative package, catchment areas as geographical zones from which the schools draw their students, remained. In 1998 the Decree on Criteria about the Design of the Public Network of Elementary Schools, the Public Network of Elementary Schools and Institutions for Education and Schooling of Special Needs Students, and the Public Network of Music Schools (Ministry of Education and Sport, 1998a) was published. It specifies the transfer procedures between schools with the respect of catchment areas. The choice of schools is transformed into regulated transfer between assigned and chosen schools. This study deals with the marketization processes in elementary public schooling in Slovenia. It is designed as a case study of two Ljubljana downtown elementary public schools. The research questions are related to formal properties and informal arrangements, to the ends and goals of marketization efforts, to marketing practices and to the question of equity. The study is based on the notion of choice as being pivotal for markets in education but it also questions the idea that choice is pivotal to the creation of markets in education. It is focused on the provider's (school's) side only. The research methods involved observations, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. Six of the most knowledgeable informants from each school were interviewed and three events were observed. The study provides rich description. The new legislation does not provide an opportunity for open enrolment. There is a discrepancy between schools' market-based practice and state-regulated legislation. However, marketing does exist, and the thesis shows that the schools in the study market themselves in order to survive. Transfers between the schools are based on mutual consent. The absence of schools' written admission policies enables the schools to choose the students that they want. Also, they promote themselves to attract specific population of parents and students. This phenomenon is defined as “cream skimming”. The schools differ in their perceptions of what constitutes ‘the cream’ but they try to attract students that fit in to their culture (school A) or students that are ‘solvable’ (school B). Schools are different in their perceptions about marketing. School A is keen on marketing, while school B rejects the marketing culture, idea and philosophy. This difference is also seen through the language they employ and their aims and ends. Yet, both schools practice marketing. Marketing as a set of values, as a philosophy and practice also involves moral dilemma when individuals are confronted with different values and beliefs. However, neither school pays much attention to the question of equity. More research is needed in order to explore the clash of values and moral dilemma brought about by market philosophy, the question of accountability and parental involvement in decisions about the students, the role of catchment areas in maintaining equity in access, the transfer itself and the use of marketing techniques in education. This study has some implications for policy makers.