James Tooley
Encyclopedia
James Tooley is a professor of education policy
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
, where he directs the E. G. West Centre
. For his research on private education for the poor in India, China and Africa, Tooley was awarded the gold prize in the first International Finance Corporation
/Financial Times
Private Sector Development Competition in September 2006. From 2007 to 2009, he was founding President of the Education Fund, Orient Global, and lived in Hyderabad, India. He is currently chairman of education companies in Ghana (Omega Schools Franchise Ltd) and India (Empathy Learning Systems Pvt Ltd) creating low cost chains of low cost private schools.
, Kingswood, under the tutelage of William Haxworth, and where he was also a contemporary of Richard Scudamore
, presently Chief Executive of the Premier League. In fact they both appeared in the 1977 School production of Joe Orton
’s The Erpingham Camp.
, an MSc from the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, and first class BSc honours in Logic and Mathematics, also from the University of Sussex
. He began his career as a mathematics teacher in Zimbabwe
(1993 to 1996), before moving to the National Foundation for Educational Research
in England in 1998. He held short-term appointments at Simon Fraser University
, Canada, and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, while completing his PhD. His first post-doctoral position was with the University of Oxford
’s Department of Educational Studies, under Professor Richard Pring. From Oxford he moved to the University of Manchester
in 1995; at the same time he also created the Education and Training Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs
in London. He took up his current chair at Newcastle University in July 1998. He is a member of the academic advisory councils for several think-tanks, including Reform
, Civitas, Institute of Economic Affairs, Taxpayers’ Alliance and Globalisation Institute. He is an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute
and a thought-leader for Schoolventures.
, exploring the nature and existence of private schools for the poor in India, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and China, and comparing public and private provision for the poor. This research is reported in a range of books and publications, including The Beautiful Tree: a personal journey into how the world’s poorest people are educating themselves (Penguin, New Delhi, and Cato Institute, 2009). His work has also been profiled in documentaries for the BBC and PBS: for the latter it was featured alongside the work of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus
and Hernando de Soto.
The basic findings of the research show that in urban and peri-urban poor areas (slums and shanty towns) in India and the African countries studied, the majority of schoolchildren are in low cost private schools. After testing 24,000 children, it was found that children in the low cost private schools significantly outperform children in public schools, after controlling for background variables and the school choice process.
and Adam Swift
, and in the major book E. G. West: economic liberalism and the role of government in education (Continuum Library of Educational Thought, 2008).
Education policy
Education policy refers to the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems.Education occurs in many forms for many purposes through many institutions. Examples include early childhood education, kindergarten through to 12th grade, two and four year colleges or...
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle University is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne by an Act of Parliament in August 1963. Newcastle University is...
, where he directs the E. G. West Centre
E. G. West Centre
The E. G. West Centre is an institution at Newcastle University which advocates choice, competition and entrepreneurship in education. They perform research into private schooling in some of the world's poorest economies.-Resources:*Spinprofiles...
. For his research on private education for the poor in India, China and Africa, Tooley was awarded the gold prize in the first International Finance Corporation
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
/Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
Private Sector Development Competition in September 2006. From 2007 to 2009, he was founding President of the Education Fund, Orient Global, and lived in Hyderabad, India. He is currently chairman of education companies in Ghana (Omega Schools Franchise Ltd) and India (Empathy Learning Systems Pvt Ltd) creating low cost chains of low cost private schools.
Early life
Tooley's family moved to Bristol where he was educated at Kingsfield SchoolKingsfield School
King's Oak Academy, formerly known as Kingsfield School and Kingswood Grammar School, is a Mathematics and Computing College located in Kingswood, Bristol, England.-Admissions:...
, Kingswood, under the tutelage of William Haxworth, and where he was also a contemporary of Richard Scudamore
Richard Scudamore
Richard Scudamore is currently Chief Executive of the F.A. Premier League, a position he has held since November 1999.-Biography:Scudamore attended Kingsfield School in Kingswood, Bristol, where he was Head Boy in his final year and which he left in 1977. He studied law at the University of...
, presently Chief Executive of the Premier League. In fact they both appeared in the 1977 School production of Joe Orton
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
’s The Erpingham Camp.
Career background
Tooley holds a PhD from the Institute of Education, University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, an MSc from the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, and first class BSc honours in Logic and Mathematics, also from the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
. He began his career as a mathematics teacher in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
(1993 to 1996), before moving to the National Foundation for Educational Research
National Foundation for Educational Research
The National Foundation for Educational Research was founded in 1946 as a centre for educational research and development in England and Wales. NFER's head office is located at 'The Mere' in Slough, Berkshire, England...
in England in 1998. He held short-term appointments at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
, Canada, and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, while completing his PhD. His first post-doctoral position was with the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
’s Department of Educational Studies, under Professor Richard Pring. From Oxford he moved to the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
in 1995; at the same time he also created the Education and Training Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
in London. He took up his current chair at Newcastle University in July 1998. He is a member of the academic advisory councils for several think-tanks, including Reform
Reform (think tank)
Reform is a British centre-right, liberal, think tank based in London, whose declared mission is to set out a better way to deliver public services and economic prosperity via private sector involvement and market de-regulation. Reform describes itself as independent and non-partisan...
, Civitas, Institute of Economic Affairs, Taxpayers’ Alliance and Globalisation Institute. He is an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
and a thought-leader for Schoolventures.
Low-cost private education
Tooley is best known for his work on low cost private education. He began this work in 2000, having discovered for himself the existence of low cost private schools in the slums of Hyderabad while doing consultancy for the International Finance Corporation. A major research programme was subsequently undertaken between 2003 and 2005, funded by the John Templeton FoundationJohn Templeton Foundation
"The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organizationthat funds inter-disciplinary research about human purpose and ultimate reality. It is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation...
, exploring the nature and existence of private schools for the poor in India, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and China, and comparing public and private provision for the poor. This research is reported in a range of books and publications, including The Beautiful Tree: a personal journey into how the world’s poorest people are educating themselves (Penguin, New Delhi, and Cato Institute, 2009). His work has also been profiled in documentaries for the BBC and PBS: for the latter it was featured alongside the work of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...
and Hernando de Soto.
The basic findings of the research show that in urban and peri-urban poor areas (slums and shanty towns) in India and the African countries studied, the majority of schoolchildren are in low cost private schools. After testing 24,000 children, it was found that children in the low cost private schools significantly outperform children in public schools, after controlling for background variables and the school choice process.
Educational philosophy and thought
Tooley’s work has also explored the role of government in education from philosophical and other theoretical perspectives. This has resulted in academic articles challenging the work of philosophers Harry BrighouseHarry Brighouse
Harry Brighouse is a British political philosopher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include the relationship between education and liberalism. His work on this topic has been widely cited . In addition to academic journals, his work has been published in the...
and Adam Swift
Adam Swift
Adam Swift is a British political philosopher and sociologist who specialises in debates surrounding liberal egalitarianism. He has published books on communitarianism, on the philosophical aspects of school choice, and on social justice, as well as an extremely successful introduction to...
, and in the major book E. G. West: economic liberalism and the role of government in education (Continuum Library of Educational Thought, 2008).
Prizes and awards
The following are the major awards won by Tooley:- Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Prize, for The Beautiful Tree, April 2010
- Gold Prize Winner, 1st Financial Times/International Finance Corporation, Private Sector Development Research Paper Competition, September 2006
- Templeton Prize for Free Market Solutions to Poverty, 1st Prize, March 2006
- Alexis de Tocqueville Award for the Advancement of Education Freedom, May 2007
- National Free Enterprise Award, Feb 2007
Publications
The following are the books and monographs published by Tooley:- Tooley, James (2009) The Beautiful Tree: a personal journey into how the world’s poorest people are educating themselves. New Delhi: Penguin; Washington, DC: Cato Institute
- Tooley, James (2008) E. G. West: economic liberalism and the role of government in education (Continuum Library of Educational Thought). New York and London: Continuum
- Tooley, James & Dixon, Pauline (2005) Private Education is Good for the Poor: a study of private schools serving the poor in low-income countries, Washington DC: Cato Institute.
- Tooley, James & Dixon, Pauline (2005) Private Schools Serving the Poor: a study from Delhi, India. New Delhi: Centre for Civil Society
- Salisbury, David & Tooley, James (eds) (2005) What Americans Can Learn from School Choice in Other Countries. Washington, DC: Cato Institute
- Tooley, James (2004) 教育的全球化能够使穷人受益吗? (Could the Globalization of Education Benefit the Poor?), Beijing: 九鼎公共事务研究所 (Cathay Institute for Public Affairs) (in Chinese)
- Tooley, James (2004) 全球教育产业——发展中国家私立教育的经验教训 (The Global Education Industry); translated by Professor Qu Hengchang. Shanghai: People's Publishing House (in Chinese)
- Tooley, James (2003) Mehr Bildung für die Armen (Occasional Paper No. 3). Potsdam: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung
- Tooley, James & Stanfield, James (eds) (2003) Government Failure: E. G. WestE. G. WestEdwin G. West was an economist and economic historian, interested in the relationship between the state and the education sector. He applied public choice theory to state education....
on education, London: Profile Books - Tooley, James; Dixon, Pauline & Stanfield, James (2003) Delivering Better Education: market solutions to education London: Adam Smith Institute
- Tooley, James & Dixon, Pauline (2003) Private Schools for the Poor: a case study from India. Reading: CfBT
- Tooley, James (2002) The Miseducation of Women. London and New York:Continuum
- Tooley, James (2001) The Global Education Industry; 2nd edition, London and Washington DC, Institute of Economic Affairs and International Finance Corporation, in association with Profile Books, London
- Tooley, James (ed.) (2001) Buckingham at 25: freeing the universities from state control. London: Profile Books
- Tooley, James (2001) The Enterprise of Education: opportunities and challenges for India. New Delhi: Liberty Institute
- Tooley, James (2000) Reclaiming Education. London: Cassell
- Tooley, James (1999) The Global Education Industry. London and Washington DC: Institute of Economic Affairs in association with International Finance Corporation
- Tooley, James with Howes, Andy (1999) The Seven Virtues of Highly Effective Schools. London: TC Trust
- Tooley, James with Darby, Doug (1998) Educational Research: a critique London: Ofsted
- Seville, Adrian & Tooley, James (1997) The Debate on Higher Education: challenging the assumptions London: Institute of Economic Affairs
- Tooley, James (1996) Education without the State London: Institute of Economic Affairs
- Tooley, James (1995) Disestablishing the School Aldershot: Avebury Press
- Tooley, James (1993) A Market-Led Alternative for the Curriculum: breaking the code. London: Tufnell Press
- Mason, Keith & Tooley, James (1992) Moving Forward in Mathematics: a diagnostic teaching approach. Windsor: NFER/Nelson