Parent Motivations for Educational Activism: The Case of the Opt-Out Movement

• In Event: 66.075 - Politics of State and Federal Education Reform

Abstract

Grassroots education activism is on the rise, but little research has examined the motivations parents have for participating in (or not participating in) education social movements. This mixed methods case study of the opt out movement in four New York school districts reports parent motivations for participating in (or not participating in) the largest grassroots education movement in recent years. Complicating previous opt out scholarship and challenging existing models of parent engagement with education, results suggest that opt out participation is motivated by a complex interaction of publicly-oriented issue preferences (namely opposition to testing) and pessimistic political attitudes (namely feelings of political distrust, inefficacy, and estrangement). Implications for education research and policymaking are discussed.

Author

• David Casalaspi, Colby College