Charter School Typologies: Differences Among Charter Schools That May Explain Contradictory Claims

• In Event: 34.078 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 34.078-1 - Understanding Diverse Approaches to Charter School Practice

Abstract

This year’s theme speaks to America’s struggle to achieve equal educational opportunity for all students. One of the most controversial topics in education are debates about charter schools and the extent to which they provide equal educational opportunities. Reference to charter schools as a new civil rights issue highlights how problematic segregation and disproportionate educational outcomes are in the 21st century (Frankenberg & Siegel-Hawley, 2009). However, research on charter schools remains largely inconsistent. This inconsistency might be a result of conceptualizing charter schools as a monolithic group. This research aims to move away from the monolithic treatment of charter schools by (a) developing a charter typology and (b) determining whether the typology can explain differences across contradictory charter school claims.

Authors

• Molly D Galloway, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Leah Peoples, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign