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ERIC Number: EJ733816
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 40
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-956X
EISSN: N/A
Switching Schools?: A Closer Look at Parents' Initial Interest in and Knowledge about the Choice Provisions of No Child Left Behind
Howell, William
Peabody Journal of Education, v81 n1 p140-179 2006
Whether public and private school choice initiatives usher in widespread enrollment changes or whether they cater to a small niche of students critically depends on the decisions that parents make on behalf of their children. Thus far, participation rates in most programs have proved disappointing. This article focuses on parents' knowledge of and interest in the choice provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), for which a miniscule percentage of qualifying students nationwide have enlisted. Drawing from a survey of Massachusetts public school parents completed in the summer of 2003, 18 months after NCLB's enactment, two basic findings emerge. First, although parents claimed to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualified for the act's choice provisions did not know that their child's school was on the state's list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools were especially interested in pursuing alternative schooling options. This interest, however, did not derive from pointed dissatisfaction with their current schools, and it was regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford-specifically, private schools. An essential point underscores these findings: If advocates of NCLB are to boost participation rates, and if scholars are to accurately predict the likely scope of other kinds of school choice programs, parents require considerably greater attention than they have received up until now.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Journal Subscription Department, 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430-2262. Tel: 800-926-6579 or 201-258-2200; Fax: 201-236-0072; e-mail: journals@erlbaum.com; Web site: https://www.erlbaum.com/journals.htm.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A040043