SCHOOL CHOICE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDY ON PARENTAL DECISION FACTORS FOR HIGH SCHOOL SELECTION IN THE COVID-19 ERA

School selection options place parents at the center of the school choice sector and create market forces that shape schools and impact students. High school selection in a school choice environment has ramifications for parents, students, school leaders, school marketers and policy makers. An understanding of the factors that parents use to make their high school decisions is important for all stakeholders in a high school choice environment as selection factors may shape the educational landscape of communities. Using a mixed-methods case study approach, this study sought to determine the primary marketable factors that parents in a mid-sized urban public school system use to make high school selections, the sources of information they rely on to make their decisions, how their perceptions of public schools may influence their selection, the types of choice perspectives they employ in selecting schools, and whether COVID-19 responses by the schools impacted their decisions. Parents in this study most often used the primary selection factors of social and specialized programs and athletics and academics and college and career readiness, followed by school safety, respectively. Parents most often used the perspectives of rational choice and social capital in their decision-making. Parents also focused greatly on their child’s needs and desires in making their selections, tried to ensure the success of their child by selecting schools with preferred peer influences, and sought a school that “best fit” their child. Further research should be considered to determine the connections between student needs and desires and parent selection and the outcomes of their selections. Further research may also include expansion to private school and cyber and virtual schooling parents.

Grantor dc:publisher

Temple University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Schneider, Richard

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cordes, Sarah A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Estrada, Armando X.
• Brandt, Carol B.

• Educational leadership
• Choice
• COVID-19
• High school
• Parent
• Selection

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.

Licence dc:rights.uri

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

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/7713

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/7713