Who's Missing From School Choice Research? African American Girls' School Choice Decisions

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: The Impact of School Choice on Schools and Communities

Abstract

School choice polices are intended to provide students, particularly those in high-poverty, urban districts, better educational opportunities and outcomes. While research on school choice has examined how parents engage in school decisions, it has overlooked students’ role. This paper addresses this knowledge gap. It presents an exploratory, qualitative study that examines how four African-American girls attending middle school in a high-poverty, urban district choose high schools. We find that the girls’ decisions were constrained by their social networks, poverty and district efforts to maintain enrollment. Tracking their decisions from pre-application to high school entrance, the study shows how school choice policies can reinforce existing enrollment patterns that entrench racial and social class segregation.

Authors

• Monique Golden, University of Connecticut - Storrs

• Dorothea M. Anagnostopoulos, The University of Connecticut

• Shannon Holder, Central Connecticut State University