A Look Back: Taking stock of public school choice in Kappan

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Teresa Preston
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Alternative Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
Magnet Schools ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
Look Back

In this monthly column, Kappan managing editor Teresa Preston explores how the magazine has covered the questions and controversies about school choice. Although many authors across the decades objected to the use of vouchers to pay private school tuition, those same authors lent support to the idea of choice among public schools. Advocates of public school choice have endorsed various models for providing choices, from alternative schools, to magnet schools, to charter schools.

scholarly journals Multiple choice: How public school leaders in New Orleans's saturated market view private school competitors

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huriya Jabbar ◽  
Dongmei Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Private Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Competition ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
The Impact

School choice policies, such as charter schools and vouchers, are in part designed to induce competition between schools. While several studies have examined the impact of private school competition on public schools, few studies have explored school leaders’ perceptions of private school competitors. This study examines the extent to which public school leaders in New Orleans, which already has a robust public school choice system, perceived competition with private schools, and the characteristics that predicted competition between the two types of schools. We find that while over half of principals reported competing with private schools for students, there was a wide range of the number and percentage of possible competitors reported. Furthermore, the results suggest that school voucher policies did not play a major role in influencing why schools competed with private schools. In addition, public school leaders who did lose students to private schools through the voucher program reported that they often recouped those losses, when parents returned to public schools unsatisfied or facing additional unexpected costs. 

When Public School “Choice” Is Not Academic: Findings From the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Sosniak ◽  
Corinna A. Ethington
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Education Longitudinal Study ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
Education Longitudinal Study ◽  
Principles Of Practice

Public schools of choice are fast becoming part of national educational debate and practice. This article presents an empirical test of the claim that choice encourages something other than standardized education. We draw our data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Our analyses center on questions at the heart of curriculum studies: What knowledge is of most worth and what principles of practice govern work with curricular content? Using multiple measures of curriculum content and of the procedures governing work with that content, we find little support for the argument that public school choice, as currently implemented, is an inventive mechanism for altering the academic lives of students and teachers.

Sinking Swann: Public School Choice and the Resegregation of Charlotte's Public Schools

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 983-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kenneth Godwin ◽  
Suzanne M. Leland ◽  
Andrew D. Baxter ◽  
Stephanie Southworth
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Public School Choice

Charter Schools: A Viable Public School Choice Option?

1997 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry G. Geske ◽  
Douglas R. Davis ◽  
Patricia L. Hingle
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
Choice Option

scholarly journals Segregated Neighborhoods, Segregated Schools: Do Charters Break a Stubborn Link?

Demography ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-498
Author(s):  
Peter Rich ◽  
Jennifer Candipan ◽  
Ann Owens
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Residential Segregation ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
National Sample ◽  
School Segregation ◽  
Residential Patterns ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Residential and school segregation have historically mirrored each other, with school segregation seen as simply reflecting residential patterns given neighborhood-based school assignment policy. We argue that the relationship is circular, such that school options also influence residential outcomes. We hypothesize that the expansion of charter schools could simultaneously lead to an increase in school segregation and a decrease in residential segregation. We examine what happens when neighborhood and school options are decoupled via public school choice in the form of charter schools using data from the census and the Common Core of Data on a national sample of more than 1,500 metropolitan districts. We find that Black-White school segregation increased and residential segregation declined in response to increases in the charter enrollment share from 2000 to 2010. In districts with charter schools, the average increase in the charter enrollment share corresponded to a 12% increase in school segregation and 2% decline in residential segregation. We find no relationship between charter school expansion and school segregation between White and Hispanic students, perhaps because Hispanic students attend more racially diverse charters than White or Black students. White-Hispanic residential segregation declined as charter enrollment increased. Our results demonstrate that educational policy is consequential for both school and neighborhood population processes. When these two contexts are decoupled via public school choice, school and neighborhood segregation patterns move in opposite directions, rather than mirroring each other. Our findings also provide a cautionary lesson for unfettered expansion of choice without integration imperatives.

Stuck in School: How Social Context Shapes School Choice for Inner-City Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Barbara F. Condliffe ◽  
Melody L. Boyd ◽  
Stefanie Deluca
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Inner City ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Public School Choice

Background High school choice policies attempt to improve the educational outcomes of poor and minority students by allowing access to high school beyond neighborhood boundaries. These policies assume that given a choice, families will be able to select a school that supports their child's learning and promotes educational attainment. However, research on the effects of public school choice programs on the academic achievement of disadvantaged students is mixed, suggesting that families do not necessarily respond to these programs in ways that policymakers intend. Purpose The purpose of this article is to identify how family and neighborhood contexts interact with public school choice policies to shape the educational opportunities of inner-city students. Specifically, we ask: What criteria are used to choose schools? What are the implications of these school choice decisions for students’ future educational and occupational opportunities? Research Design We use data from interviews and fieldwork conducted with 118 low-income African American youth ages 15–24 who attended Baltimore City Public Schools at some point during their high school career. Research on school choice tends to rely on data from parents, and we offer a unique contribution by asking youth themselves about their experiences with school choice. Conclusions Although school choice policies assume that parents will guide youths’ decision about where to go to high school, the majority of youth in our sample were the primary decision makers in the high school choice process. Additionally, these youth made these choices under considerable constraints imposed by the district policy and by their family, peers, and academic background. As a result, the youth often selected a school within a very limited choice set and chose schools that did not necessarily maximize their educational opportunity. Our results demonstrate that school choice policies must take into account the social context in which educational decisions are made in order to maximize chances for students’ individual academic achievement and to decrease inequality by race and social class.

A Look Back

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Teresa Preston
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Religious Schools ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
The Public ◽  
Look Back

This exploration of Phi Delta Kappan’s archives shows how the magazine has covered questions related to the purposes, governance, and funding of the public schools. Articles have discussed the role of schools in a democratic society, how schools should relate to the public, whether public funds should be diverted to private and religious schools, and whether charter schools and other vehicles for school choice are beneficial to families and schools.

Leaders’ experiences in Arizona’s mature education market

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda U. Potterton
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Education Market ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Mature Market

Purpose In Arizona’s mature, market-based school system, we know little about how school leaders make meaning of school choice policies and programs on the ground. Using ethnographic methods, the author asked: How do school leaders in one Arizona district public school and in its surrounding community, which includes a growing number of high-profile and “high-performing” Education Management Organisation (EMO) charter schools, make meaning of school choice policies and programs? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The author analysed 18 months of qualitative fieldnotes that the author collected during participant observations and six semi-structured school leader interviews from both traditional district public schools in the area (n=4) and leaders from EMO charter schools (n=2). Findings School leaders’ decision-making processes were influenced by competitive pressures. However, perceptions of these pressures and leadership actions varied widely and were complicated by inclusive and exclusive social capital influences from stakeholders. District public school leaders felt pressure to package and sell schools in the marketplace, and charter leaders enjoyed the notion of markets and competition. Practical implications As market-based policies and practices become increasingly popular in the USA and internationally, a study that examines leaders’ behaviours and actions in a long-standing school choice system is timely and relevant. Originality/value This study uniquely highlights school leaders’ perceptions and actions in a deeply embedded education market, and provides data about strategies and behaviours as they occurred.

scholarly journals Deal or No Deal? The Effects of Deregulation on Public School Leaders’ Support for Private School Choice in California

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey A. DeAngelis ◽  
Lindsey M. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Private School ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Adjustment Costs ◽  
School Vouchers ◽  
Unexpected Result ◽  
Regulatory Capture ◽  
School Voucher

Public school leaders might be more likely to support private school voucher programs if they are enacted alongside public school deregulations. We use a survey experiment to examine the effects of public school deregulations on actual public school leaders’ support for a hypothetical private school voucher program in California. We do not find evidence to suggest that public school deregulations affect public school leaders’ support for private school vouchers overall. However, we unexpectedly find that deregulations related to teacher certification and administration of standardized tests further decrease support for private school choice for leaders of large public schools. This unexpected result may be explained by expected adjustment costs or regulatory capture.

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