Factors Influencing Enrollment in Virginia's Protestant Christian Schools

Protestant Christian schools have become a noticeable educational entity. The factors influencing parents to enroll their children in these schools are of interest to the Protestant Christian schools themselves and to the public and nonpublic sectors. A study examining enrollment in Virginia's Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) schools indicates that certain factors that tend to lead parents to initially enroll their children in Protestant Christian schools and then to maintain enrollment in Protestant Christian schools. The study also gives a demographic landscape of the principals and parents who are part of ACSI in Virginia. Parents cite certain factors as being specifically important as they initially enroll. When they re-enroll their children in Protestant Christian schools, those factors may remain constant or change. This study looks at the reasons parents state as the initial factors leading them to place their children in Protestant Christian schools and the factors that lead them to continue to enroll their children in Protestant Christian schools. The study also includes perceptions of principals of Protestant Christian Schools of reasons parents enroll their children in these schools. From their experience and position, principals can offer their perspectives of why families enroll their children in Christian schools and keep their children enrolled in the Protestant Christian schools. Parents and principals were asked to rank what they perceived to be the top five factors leading to enrollment of students in Protestant Christian schools. Ranking the various factors isolated the most prevalent factors determining parents' decisions. Isolating the most-often chosen of the various factors aids the Protestant Christian, other nonpublic, and public schools better to evaluate how each attracts, maintains, and services their respective clientele

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2001

Author dc:creator

• Shelton, Janice R.

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Salmon, Richard G.
• Driscoll, Lisa G.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Dawson, Christina M.
• Sughrue, Jennifer A.
• Geide, Cherie A.

• enrollment
• Protestant Christian schools

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-11142001-082000

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/29573