"That's What I'm Familiar With": How Parental Reference Points Impact School Selection

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Charter School Parents and School Leaders Speak

Abstract

Through an analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews with an economically and racially diverse sample of 83 parents in Dallas, Texas, we examine how parents’ educational experiences impact the school selection process. The type of school parents attended and their experience within these schools, both positive and negative, served as a reference point from which they evaluated and selected a school for their children. We find parents who seek to replicate or avoid their own educational reference point and parents who attended school in Mexico and have a non-U.S. reference point. While parental reference points drove initial decisions about school enrollment, the subsequent experiences of their children in school added additional reference points which shaped future school choices.

Authors

• Anna Rhodes, Rice University

• Siri Warkentien, RTI International

• Julia Colleen Campbell Szabo, Rice University