Examining the Relationship Between Instructional Approaches and Geographic Contexts: The Case of California Charter Schools

• In Event: 47.061 - Geographic School Choice Research Across the Local-Global Scale

Abstract

There is a paucity of research that examines differences between charter schools in geographic contexts—urban, suburban and rural. By identifying the different educational approaches offered in charter schools across geographical scales, this study allows for a sophisticated representation of instructional/curricular themes, such as “traditional” or “progressive”, and the implications of the geographic location. Considering that charter school students—many of whom have racially, culturally and socioeconomically diverse student populations—choose schools according to parental preferences and values about education (Levin, 1991), geography can be the most important factor shaping instructional and curricular themes. For example, the advent of a new breed of charter schools that locate in predominantly homogeneous, suburban locales, and serve largely affluent families challenges the oft-heard claim among advocates that charter schools reduce educational inequalities by providing a higher quality learning environment for disadvantaged students who would otherwise be stuck in a failing traditional public school (Altenhofen, Berends, & White, 2016).

The growth of charter schools across geographical landscapes as well as their varied instructional approaches presents a fascinating research opportunity. Accordingly, California’s larger size with its numerous and diverse communities offers a more fertile educational landscape. This study asks two main research questions: (1) To what extent do the instructional/curricular themes differ across geographic contexts? (2) Is a charter school instructional theme influenced by geographic context? This study builds on prior studies that use organizational theories (i.e., mimetic isomorphism) to study educational organizations or populations and synthesizes theories of market segmentation and locational decisions (Henig & MacDonald, 2002; Rowan & Miskel, 1999).

Charter schools in California, unlike other privately managed school organizations, have one huge advantage for research: a plethora of easily accessible data. Our document analysis requires access to websites, publications, brochures, or other documentations that captures a charter’s educational program. Here we reveal the degree to which charter schools' approaches are converging around traditional education, such as back-to-basics, or diversifying education in the form of progressive or vocational training. Second, we use logistic regression model for predicting specific instructional or curricular approaches associated with geographic contexts. Finally, we utilize GIS and multilevel modeling to evaluate the role of population composition and area‐based contextual factors in accounting for urban-suburban-rural variation.

Our preliminary results show the extent to which the charter schools in urban areas are likely to espouse traditional approaches rather than progressive or vocational education. On the other hand, charters in suburban and rural communities continue to attract families by providing unique educational programs not provided by traditional public schools. In the case of suburban charters, such programs include progressive educational approaches (i.e., Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf) and culturally oriented curricula such as dual language programs. Alternative delivery approaches such as virtual education and blended learning are more prevalent among charter schools in rural communities. Thus, this study echoes long-standing concerns about how charter schools might exacerbate patterns of sorting in education and deepen inequality of educational opportunities.

Authors

• Charisse Atibagos Gulosino, University of Memphis

• Jonah Liebert, Columbia University