An Integrative Theoretical Framework for School Choice and Stratification

• In Event: Examining School Choice Using Varied Methods and Theories

Abstract

A substantial body of research has studied school choice and stratification, and has identified a host of different stratifying mechanisms. Most of this research, however, tends to focus on either family decision-making or school behavior, instead of recognizing the dynamic relationship between them. Much of it also fails to situate family and school behavior within existing social and institutional arrangements that are shaped by cultural, political, economic, geographic, and legal factors. I present a novel framework for school choice and stratification that brings together research from different theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and on different dimensions of school choice. This integrative framework supports a holistic and contextualized understanding of school choice and stratification, and can guide future research and policymaking.

Author

• Jeremy Lee Singer, Wayne State University