The Pull and Push Toward Conservative Christian Schools: Making Sense of Parental Choice

• In Event: The Evolving Role of Religion in Education Research and Practice

Abstract

Enrollment in Conservative Christian schools has increased across the United States aided by policies around the Covid-19 pandemic and other social and cultural issues. Using an institutional perspective, this paper used data collected in a larger ethnographic case study of King’s Academy, a Conservative Christian school, to understand the assumptions and narratives driving parents’ choice of Conservative Christian schools. This case study found that parents were pulled toward King’s because perceived value of the Christian worldview and the socialization the school offered and they were pushed toward King’s because of perceived cultural ideologies impacting public education. The portraits presented here offer an understanding of how parents make sense of the choice to send their students to Conservative Christian schools.

Author

• Jeremy Alexander, Boston College