Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

This paper informs the choice debate by analyzing how parents continue to engage with schooling after their initial selection, using parent survey and focus group data collected in Nepal in 2011. I find substantial heterogeneity within and between public and private schools in how parents engage with their children’s schooling. In particular, the parents who chose smaller private schools had stronger engagement with the school and their children, were more likely to voice their concerns, and consequently were more satisfied. In contrast, parents in below average public schools were highly dissatisfied but had no recourse to action.

This paper analyzes the parent decision-making processes underlying school selection in Nepal. The analysis is based on primary survey and focus group data collected from parent meetings in diverse local education markets in two districts of Nepal in 2011. It highlights three main arguments that are less frequently discussed in the context of school choice, including in developing countries. First, children who go to public schools play a significant role in their own decision-making on schooling; this complicates the currently predominant conceptualization that schooling decisions are primarily made by parents and school officials. Second, the gradual growth in private schools …