Private universities in the United States receive over 10 percent of their revenue in the form of private gifts and contributions to their endowment funds. Private elementary and secondary schools in the United States also receive direct financial support from corporations, associations, and religious denominations. In some countries, moreover, private groups are direct providers of education. This instruction typically takes place in a classroom at the worksite, with the workplace used for demonstration of work practices and for direct employment of the students after they have learned enough of the trade to be employable. Youth apprenticeship Youth apprenticeship programs like these, where students spend part of each school week in school and the other part at a worksite, are gaining in popularity in the United States, but remain uncommon.
Countries vary widely in their public support of early childhood education, too.
Some, such as France and the Scandinavian countries, provide it largely through public programs, while others, such as the United States, Germany, Spain, and Canada, mostly leave its provision to the private sector. It is very likely that the private share of education is generally underestimated, however. Two factors account for this underestimation. Therefore, much private education financing simply remains uncounted. Second, some countries do not collect education finance data even from regular private elementary and secondary schools.