Lynn Bosetti

Determinants of school choice: understanding how parents choose elementary schools in Alberta

Rational choice theory suggests that parents are utility maximizers who make decisions from clear value preferences, that they are able to demand effective action from local schools and teachers, and that they can be relied upon to pursue the best interests of their children. This paper presents a different perspective and argues that parents invest a mixture of rationalities when selecting schools. Based on the results of a survey of 1,500 parents of students in 11 private, eight public and 10 alternative elementary schools in Alberta, Canada, this paper explores the logic, values, and concerns that inform parental decision making in the selection of an elementary school for their children and discusses implication for policy and educational reform.

Parental Motivation in School Choice

Abstract Concerned that public schooling leads to mediocrity rather than meritocracy, many middle-class parents are seeking other options such as private schools, alternative public schools, and charter schools to develop their childrens academic, creative, and athletic talents. Based on a mixed method investigation of school choice among parents (N = 1,871) in the two largest cities in the Province of Alberta, this paper examines the logic, values, and concerns that inform parental decision-making and the impact of social class differentiation in the process of selection of elementary schools. Issues surrounding the placement of gifted students in various school options are discussed.

Charter Schools: The Search for Community

Charter schools have been introduced as a means of revitalizing and improving the effectiveness of public schools. The need for change attained national attention after the publication of reports such as A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), which alleged that the American public school system was in a state of crisis. The Commission’s report, and others that noted the failings of the public school systems, provided the impetus for (a) the school effectiveness movement (Barth, 1991; Cuban, 1990); (b) structural changes in the management and financing of public schools (Odden, 1995); (c) attempts to provide greater choice within public education, such as open school boundaries within school districts and even beyond school district lines (Weiss, 1998); and (d) the creation of magnet schools (Smrekar, 1996). The more dramatic attempts to restructure schools are based on the belief that market mechanisms such as various school choice plans will (a) improve the effectiveness of schools through competition among schools for PEABODY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 75(4), 19–36 Copyright

School Choice: Public Education at a Crossroad

In recent years debates over public education have focused on how the system is both ineffective and inefficient. Despite increases in government spending in education there are growing disparities in educational achievement among the middle class, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, and racial minority groups. Some reformers attribute this to the inefficiency of a monopolistic and bureaucratic education system that limits government support to public schools, and they call for a radical restructuring of public education through the introduction of competitive educational markets in which parents are empowered to select schools of their choice that reflect their values and childrearing practices at government expense. These schools of choice would extend to include religious, private, and for-profit entities that provide educational services to the public. Advocates of this approach claim that liberated parental choice and increasingly autonomous schools that compete for students and the per-pupil funding they bring would create necessary pressure and incentive to leverage innovation and improvement in education for all children. Others, more concerned with issues of equity and social justice than efficiency and effectiveness, call for a more regulated approach to government-supported choice. They advocate voucher schemes that target children from disadvantaged families and underserved communities and that provide the public funds necessary for these children to attend private and religiously affiliated schools. The perceived crisis in education is compounded by an acute lack of consensus regarding the goals and purpose of education. Members of our pluralistic society are increasingly mobile and unrooted and share fewer common beliefs, cultural references, and practices. They live and work in a global knowledge economy where intellectual capacity and education credentials have currency. In such a context educational reform centered on an economically driven conception of the self-interested individual empowered to choose

Official Policy and Truncated Practice: a need to reconceptualise the evaluation of teachers

Abstract In recent years Ministries of Education in Canada have developed provincially mandated teacher evaluation policies to ensure the provision of effective classroom instruction to students and the professional growth and development of teachers through the assessment of their performance in the classroom and the quality of their teaching practice. Based on an in‐depth study of teacher evaluation practices in a school jurisdiction in the province of Alberta, the researcher concludes that the policy falls short in meeting these intended objectives for essentially three reasons: (1) teacher evaluation is an externally imposed bureaucratic mandate rather than a requirement that emerges from the professional culture of the school that requires an ongoing review of practice by administrators and teachers; (2) the teacher evaluation process is conducted as a distinct and separate process by school administrators, with little connection to other school and district policies or professional development activ...

Partnership and Innovation in School - Based Mental Health: A Canadian Perspective

The article provides an overview of the social policy and research context for the development of innovative partnerships in school-based settings in Canada. In particular, it focuses on an expanded case study of two school-based programs operating in the Province of Alberta, Canada, one in an urban setting and one in a semi-rural environment. Quantitative and qualitative outcomes for both programs are presented. Challenges and opportunities involved in innovations in existing systems of mental health care are presented, along with the critical elements of partnership necessary to ensure sustainability and ongoing program efficacy. These elements include effective co-ordination of resources at the intake and screening level and the provision of specialist resources early in the process of identification. A collaborative identification model, which improves the capacity of all the stakeholders, a strong component of family support and empowerment and continued patience and perseverance to work through issues are all critical in sustaining effective student health partnerships.

Provisions for Homeschooling in Canada: Parental Rights and the Role of the State

The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive account of the policy and provisions for homeschooling in Canada. Drawing upon existing research, the paper begins by situating homeschooling within the larger educational landscape of Canadian public education, and examines the evolution of homeschooling in this context. The paper highlights the shifting motivation of parents to homeschool during different periods and reviews some of the tension related to this form of schooling. The next section provides a comparative view of the regulatory framework, funding and support for homeschooling in each province, student enrolment figures, student performance outcomes and fiscal efficiencies for Canadian tax-payers. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from the Canadian experience of homeschooling that informs implications for policy makers in other contexts.