Education Commons^™

Becoming A Stem-Focused Catholic School: Insights Into Adopting A Curricular Specialization, Julie W. Dallavis

Journal of Catholic Education

School choice policies seek to increase access to educational opportunities and stimulate innovations in schooling. This study examines the early stages of one such innovation—school-wide curricular specialization—in three Catholic elementary schools adopting a STEM focus and uses interviews to consider how and why different levels of support exist for the shift and under what conditions private and religious schools are prepared to make significant changes in instructional practice. Findings suggest that school resources—material, human, and social along with professional development—play an important role in shaping engagement in the adoption of a school-wide curricular focus.

The Potential Of Catholic Schools: Public Virtues Through Private Voucher, Joseph Prud'homme

Journal of Catholic Education

Recent US Supreme Court cases signal a likely increase in calls for K-12 school choice programs that include the option of enrolling in religious schools. In turn, criticism of religious school-inclusive school choice programming is likely to shift to policy and values-based critiques. This article addresses two allegations of Catholic primary and secondary school deficiencies in achieving objectives important to a pluralist society, allegations that would invalidate indirect state support of Catholic schools. By analyzing the aesthetics of Hans Georg Gadamer and Aristotelian moral theory in light of American Catholic schools’ potential, this paper rejects claims that Catholic education is …

Interdistrict And Charter School Mobility In Arizona: Understanding The Dynamics Of Public School Choice, Jeanne M. Powers, Amelia M. Topper, Amanda U. Potterton

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

We investigate the mobility patterns of elementary students enrolled in Arizona’s traditional public school districts and charter schools. We address interdistrict and charter school mobility simultaneously. Most student movement is interdistrict or between school districts. In Arizona, interdistrict mobility has played a greater role in creating and sustaining the “educational market” than charter schools. There is also a substantial amount of student movement from charter schools to school districts. Regression analyses suggested that the relationship between demographic and achievement variables and the different types of student mobility differed across the two sectors. We also document regional differences in mobility patterns, …

Conceptions Of Choice, Equity, & Rurality In Educational Research, James Bridgeforth, Kate Kennedy, Jacob Alonso, Taylor Enoch-Stevens

The Rural Educator

School choice is often thought of as a rural issue, however, rural communities have also engaged in forms of school choice decision-making. Limited research has explored rural school choice and there is a need for further exploration of rurality and school choice. This review is not intended to advocate for an expansion of school choice policies. Rather, we call for additional research that seeks to better understand how school choice policies are currently operating in rural areas and their implications for educational equity. In this piece, we review the existing literature on school choice and rural education, provide key recommendations, …

Interdistrict Choice And Teacher Beliefs: Implications For Educational Expectations, Equity, And Policymaking, Eric P. Ambroso, Erin Rotheram-Fuller, Daniel D. Liou

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Interdistrict choice, which allows families to choose between schools outside of their districts of residence, is currently serving more students than any other choice program in the United States. Yet, despite this popularity, there is a pressing need for more research on how interdistrict choice may affect educational equity within U.S. public schools. Drawing on the analytic framework of educational racial contract, this study examines the issue of teacher beliefs in the context of interdistrict choice at a large, urban high school in Arizona, where market-based school choice programs have been continually expanded for nearly three decades. Data were collected …

High School Options And Post-Secondary Student Success: The Catholic School Advantage, David J. Fleming, Stéphane Lavertu, William Crawford

Journal of Catholic Education

Recognizing that post-secondary student attainment and achievement is of increasing import for economic success, this study compares the post-secondary performance of students who attended public and private high schools. The results generally indicate that students who attended Catholic high schools had higher college GPAs, were more likely to graduate, and were more likely to graduate with a STEM degree. This Catholic school advantage was wide-ranging, benefiting many subgroups of students, including non-white, low income, urban, and low-achieving students. We controlled for a rich set of factors and conducted sensitivity analyses to establish the strength of these results.

Using School Choice To Connect To Mathematics Learning In A Statistics And Probability Course For K-8 Pre-Service Teachers, Ha Nguyen, Heidi Eisenreich

Georgia Educational Researcher

This pilot qualitative study explored K-8 pre-service teachers (PSTs)’ learning experience in a Statistics and Probability course and their ability to make connections between mathematics and their everyday lives when given opportunities to investigate mathematics through a social issue. Data from student surveys, assessments, and written reflections will be reported, analyzed, and discussed. The researchers also describe approaches and reflect upon experiences for PSTs while studying school choice voucher programs.

School Choice Vouchers And Special Education In Indiana Catholic Diocesan Schools, William H. Blackwell, June M. Robinson

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic schools are now located at a crossroads of school choice voucher programs and special education services. With enrollment in Catholic schools declining over the past several decades, voucher programs that allow parents to use public funds for tuition at private schools – including tuition for students with disabilities – could possibly help to steady or even reverse this decline. This study examined the impact of Indiana’s statewide voucher program on Catholic schools, student enrollment, and special education services in three large diocesan school systems. The findings address issues related to enrollment growth, changing student population characteristics, special education services, …

The Establishment Clause, School Choice, And The Future Of Catholic Education, Matthew P. Cunningham

Journal of Catholic Education

This article reviews several recent court cases at the federal and state levels related to school choice initiatives in the United States. Through this review, the article sheds light on the enduring question of whether these programs are unlawful bonds between church and state. The review includes details about choice programs that exist (or have existed in the past) in the states where the cases originated: Ohio, Washington, Indiana, Arizona, and Colorado. Following this review, the article examines relevant, large-scale evaluations of choice programs and concludes with a discussion of the place of Catholic education in the school choice movement.

On Maine’S First Charter Schools: Promises And Pitfalls, Sarah Butler Jessen

Maine Policy Review

In the last two years, Maine has begun the process of developing public charter schools throughout the state. As Maine moves forward into this new educational realm, questions need to be raised about what the implementation of charter schools might mean for the state on many levels. This commentary article contextualizes the state’s charter movement by outlining the national debate on charter schools. The article discusses the political, organizational, and educational challenges that these new schools may face as they break new ground. The author calls for evaluative review of each of the charter schools in the state in order …

Will Residency Be Relevant To Public Education In The Twenty-First Century?, Sarah L. Browning

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Long before the framers of New Hampshire’s first constitution admonished legislatures and magistrates to cherish education, the provincial government had already established requirements for providing public education; these requirements were related to the size of a settlement.

By 1708, the provincial government in New Hampshire had established the first public school. Not surprisingly, the school was in Portsmouth, which was, at the time, the seat of the provincial government. On May 2, 1719, the province passed an act that required communities of fifty families to employ a school teacher. Under the same act, a community that had one hundred …

Alternative School Administrators "At Risk": What Does It Mean For Children?, Christopher Dunbar Jr.

Trotter Review

Alternative public schools have evolved from their origins in school choice and the progressive education movement of the 1920's into a system of schools that have become the assigned "dumping ground" for a population of ill-prepared, behaviorally disruptive youth, a population that is also disproportionately composed of minority students. Research suggests these schools fall short of providing an optimal educational opportunity for their students. There are multiple factors that place alternative school administrators "at risk" of failing in their charge to educate. Using a case study from a Midwestern alternative school, the author focuses on policy and the role of …