Parents, Elite Frames, and the Great Charter School Debate

• In Event: Parents' Perspectives and Concerns With School Choice

Abstract

Using the 2016 Massachusetts charter ballot initiative campaign as a case, this study explores a) parents’ perceptions of elite rhetoric surrounding the ballot initiative, b) their beliefs about charter schools’ potential to reduce or exacerbate racial and ethnic inequality in education, and c) how those beliefs shaped their support for or opposition to lifting the cap on charter schools. Overall, parents felt that the elite messaging did not reflect their concerns as parent seeking high-quality schooling options. Results also indicate that parents’ support or opposition to the initiative was shaped by their perceptions of inequity within traditional public schools, their perception of the constraints to enacting change, and their willingness or ability to personally invest in improving public schools.

Author

• Daphne M. Penn, Harvard University