Strategic Thinkers on Uneven Terrain: Urban School Choice as Political Empowerment

• In Event: 44.077 - How Competition and Power Shape Educational Opportunities

Abstract

One of the animating concepts of school choice policies is empowerment. School choice is put forth as a mechanism to empower working class parents of color to escape failing urban schools and contribute to the uplift of historically marginalized groups. The idea that school choice is a mechanism for political empowerment and community uplift is a central theme of contemporary urban school reform and is an important object for critical analysis. The proposed paper draws on findings from a qualitative research synthesis of the decision-making processes of working-class parents of color in the context of urban school choice to unpack this conceptualization of empowerment. Findings indicate that working-class parents of color are strategic political actors navigating an uneven terrain.

Authors

• Scott Ellison, University of Northern Iowa

• Ariel M. Aloe, University of Iowa