ERIC Number: EJ1194589
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2332-8584
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
School Choice Decision Making among Suburban, High-Income Parents
Altenhofen, Shannon; Berends, Mark; White, Thomas G.
AERA Open, v2 n1 Jan-Mar 2016
Parents' decision making about whether to send their children to a traditional public or charter schools has been studied mostly in urban, low-income areas. Few studies have focused on the decisions of high-income, suburban families. In a sample of Core Knowledge charter schools in a predominantly White and socioeconomically advantaged set of suburbs in Denver, Colorado, we are able to examine both the closed- and open-ended responses of parents who reported the importance of various factors in the decision-making process. Similar to findings from urban, low-income areas, we find that parents rely on their social networks in choosing schools and report the importance of effective teachers, distance to school, and academic quality, which our open-ended responses reveal means different things to different parents. Contrasting previous research, we also find that high-income parents "do their research" on schools to which they are applying.
Descriptors: School Choice, Decision Making, Parent Role, Suburbs, Charter Schools, Advantaged, Parent Attitudes, Social Networks, Teacher Effectiveness, Proximity, Educational Quality, School Safety, Discipline, Racial Composition, Elementary Schools
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colorado (Denver)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305E090003
Author Affiliations: N/A

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