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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Student Surveys; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Expectation; Elementary School Students; School Choice; Parent Attitudes; Intergroup Relations; Student Diversity; Learning Problems; Learning Processes; Friendship; Peer Relationship; Language of Instruction; Developing Nations; Outcomes of Education; Chinese; Code Switching (Language); Ethnic Diversity; Religious Cultural Groups; Religious Factors

Abstract:
This study surveys 200 Malay students enrolled in three Chinese primary schools in relation to three issues, i.e., parental choice of schooling, learning processes and inter-ethnic friendship patterns. The three issues are explored through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Parental expectations for their children's learning and academic outcomes emerge as the dominant factor influencing Malay enrollment in Chinese primary schools. Unfortunately, the Malay students are unable to meet these high expectations due to learning difficulties that stem from the lack of proficiency in the Chinese-medium of instruction, despite intervening measures by the school authorities. Their learning difficulties are also compounded by the lack of parental inputs as well as the limited use of code-switching by teachers. Meanwhile, the fostering of inter-ethnic friendships is impeded by ethnic differences, the rise of Islamic awareness and the increased numerical size of Malay students. However, there is a willingness among the Malay students to interact with the Chinese students through task-related activities, indicating that the fostering of inter-ethnic friendships needs to be guided by a convergence of interests. (Contains 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Females; Foreign Countries; Private Education; Curriculum; Interpersonal Relationship; Self Concept; Security (Psychology); Economic Factors; Educational Attainment; Educational Practices; Family Relationship; Academic Aspiration; Occupational Aspiration; Expectation; Extracurricular Activities; Interviews; Student Attitudes; School Choice

Abstract:
This paper takes as its starting point the concept of concerted cultivation as coined by Annette Lareau. It examines whether a focus on concerted cultivation adequately captures the various practices observed in young women's experiences of being privately educated in four schools in one area of England. We suggest that a variety of practices of cultivation are evident in the reasons reported as influencing the choice of private education, the ways schools present themselves and organise the curriculum, the manner in which young women in such schools relate to one another, and the experiences young women have in securing different forms of accomplishment. Regardless of whether this accomplishment is "effortless" or more worked at, the outcomes of these practices support young women in having a high degree of surety in the self. This surety is facilitated through family and school practices and is grounded, for the most part, in educational and economic security. Together, these processes support the reproduction of various forms of privilege in and through young women's lives. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
School Desegregation; Socioeconomic Status; Social Integration; Achievement Gap; Public Schools; Middle Class; Economically Disadvantaged; Students; Educational Change; Resistance to Change; School Choice; Politics of Education; Evidence; Educational Research; Cost Effectiveness; Barriers; Track System (Education); Magnet Schools; School Turnaround; Charter Schools

Abstract:
Integrating our schools is a goal that many of us share. But some seem to have given up on the idea, as plans to boost racial diversity have come under attack, and as the fixation on test scores has narrowed some people's concept of a good education. There is, however, new hope: integration by socioeconomic status. It's a cost-effective, legally sound strategy that can promote racial diversity while narrowing the achievement gap. (Contains 48 endnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
School Choice; Rural Areas; Rural Education; Foreign Countries; Rural Schools; Educational Policy; Public Policy; Case Studies; Financial Support; Federal Aid; Marketing; Parent Attitudes

Abstract:
Market principles now dominate the education and social policies of many Anglophone countries, including Australia, but articulate differentially within specific contexts. Existing historical legacies, local economic and social conditions, and geographical settings interact with federal and state funding and transport policies to shape the nature of regional education markets and the choices families make in a rural school market in Australia. Through two school case studies, this article explores the effects of policy shifts on parental choice and student movement within a regional Victorian community. Informed by policy sociology, the article views the policy as a dynamic, often "ad hoc" process with contradictory effects. It indicates how an ensemble of federal and state funding and conveyancing policies enable some schools to develop marketing practices that reconstruct the local education market to their advantage through the introduction of transport and flexi-boarding policies. It demonstrates that education markets are not confined to urban settings and that while choice is not a new phenomenon in this rural area, federal and state funding and transport policies have reconfigured local markets and intensified the market work undertaken by schools and parents with, in this instance, unequal effects on the provision of schooling in a rural region. (Contains 78 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
School Choice; Research Needs; Tuition; Educational Legislation; Outcomes of Education; Economics; Educational Vouchers; Prediction; Educational Trends; Educational Finance; State Legislation

Abstract:
Legislators considering large scale school choice proposals want information on more than likely schooling outcomes. They look to their fiscal bureaus and economic studies to provide that information. The fiscal notes that must accompany all proposals with revenue or expenditure implications are especially important. Often, fiscal notes must be produced on short notice. The article assesses the fiscal notes that have accompanied the major U.S. charter law and tuition voucher proposals, and to highlight key issues and research needs it assesses fiscal and economic impacts of the proposed Texas (2011-HB 33) tuition voucher program. We assess fiscal notes in terms of research basis for predictions, predicted level of participation (# of choosers), and predicted basis for fiscal impacts, including time trend of effects. Finally, we propose how the fiscal notes might be improved; not just what legislative analysts should do, but also what could be done to make doing a better job easier. (Contains 6 tables and 10 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
School Choice; Predictor Variables; Incentives; Classification; Educational Policy; Academic Achievement; Scores; Comparative Analysis; Class Size; Accountability

Abstract:
We seek out the good institutional features of the European choice policies that can enhance both equity and efficiency at the system level. For causality analysis we construct the typology of 28 European educational systems by using fuzzy-set analysis. We combine five independent variables to indicate institutional features of school choice policy: availability of choice, tracking, school variability, empowerment of parents, and financial incentive schemes supporting choice policy. Findings show that the most important complements producing efficiency are "no-choice" with "no-tracking" and "choice" together with "tracking" and "school variability." "No-choice" with "no-tracking" can also lead to more equity. (Contains 5 figures, 4 tables and 5 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Higher Education; Females; Foreign Countries; Sex Fairness; Admission (School); School Holding Power; Academic Persistence; School Choice; Womens Education; Gender Bias; Equal Education; College Students; Gender Differences; Interviews; Enrollment Trends; Graduation Rate; Cultural Influences

Abstract:
Jordan is viewed as a country of social, political, and economic and advancement. It currently leads the region in literacy rates and is well on its way to achieving gender equity. However, some reports claim that Jordan maintains the widest gender gap in higher education completion in the region while others report that the percentage of females is higher than males. There is a body of literature on college student retention but no such work has taken place in the Middle East, and more specifically in Jordan, on the experiences of women in higher education and retention. This study explores the experiences of 18 women that, at the time of the data collection (2008-2009), were in their final year or semester of higher education and preparing to graduate (average age 22.3 years old) and 10 women, that were at one point formally enrolled but at the time of the study had departed from completing higher education (average age 22.8 years old). These women represented 13 different universities (7 public and 6 private) throughout Jordan. Interviews were conducted with each participant. In addition to interviews, visits with the women were conducted on the university campus and official university and ministry education records were collected to examine enrollment, graduation, and retention rates. These varied qualitative methods allowed for a holistic exploration of the patterns in the persistence of women in higher education. This study found that the main retention theories formed in the United States are not completely adequate in helping explain the situation of women in Jordan and this study alters and extends them, placing more weight on characteristics at the individual-level, rather than on the institutional-level, with more attention paid to the role of the commute and the inflexibility of the higher education admissions process, in order to make them more applicable to the context of women in Jordan. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 9 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Finance; Budgeting; Funding Formulas; Resource Allocation; Expenditure per Student; Public Schools; School Choice; Educational Equity (Finance); Student Characteristics

Abstract:
One way districts can enable funding portability is with the use of student-based allocation formulas that allocate funds to districts and schools based on enrollment of students and student types. The student-based allocation model enables "pocketbook power," creating incentives for schools to attract students, keep full enrollment, and demonstrate excellent student performance. Student-based allocation models (also known as "weighted student funding") have been around for two decades, but not always as a mechanism to enable choice and accountability. Some policymakers implemented these kinds of policies to create more financial equity across schools, or as a component of school-based decision-making. This brief explains the need for a student-based allocation system in the context of school choice, and provides an overview of the key features that enable student choice across schools within districts. Specifically, the brief covers: (1) How traditional staffing-based allocation schemes clash with choice policies; (2) How student-based allocation can enable more portable funding across schools; and (3) Whether it is feasible for schools to lose funds as students choose other schools. (Contains 6 figures and 9 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Evidence; Competition; School Choice; School District Size; Educational Policy; Policy Analysis; Measurement Techniques; Evaluation Criteria; School Districts; Computer Software; Program Evaluation; School Effectiveness; Taxes; Educational Finance; Free Enterprise System; Parent Attitudes; Selection Criteria; Evaluation Problems; Evaluation Methods

Abstract:
In this report the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution presents the results of a self-developed Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI) along with an interactive application that grades large school districts according to the ECCI. The index is composed of 13 pro choice criteria. The authors present the ECCI as a new approach to education policy, but the ideas are not new. The report repeats many of the same arguments and logic found in other pro-market publications over the past 25 years. The sole unique recommendation is to permit "popularity" to serve as an adequate standard to judge school quality and a sufficient criterion by which to direct taxpayer dollars. Yet, this recommendation also hearkens back to previous calls, common in the 1990's, for unregulated school choice policies. The ECCI assumes benefits of market competition, but these benefits depend on how parents choose schools, and the report includes no research on how parents make school choice decisions. It is also devoid of any evidence that higher scores on the ECCI are related to the outcomes that the authors predict. In fact, the only large district with an "A" rating per the ECCI received a "D" according to its state accountability system. In essence, the report reads like an essay in support of free-market choice policies. Because of the dated assumptions and the subjective nature of the index, the study and its rankings fall short of being an effective policy tool. Notes and references are included. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
School Choice; Personal Narratives; Private Schools; Tax Credits; Guides; Comprehensive Guidance; Educational Vouchers; Scholarships; Funding Formulas; Eligibility; Student Participation; Participant Characteristics; Student Characteristics; State Programs; State Surveys; Educational Practices; Information Sources

Abstract:
"The ABCs of School Choice" is the most comprehensive guide to every private school choice program in America, showcasing the voucher, tax-credit scholarship, education savings accounts, and individual tax credit/deduction programs currently operating in 21 states and Washington, D.C. "The ABCs of School Choice" provides policymakers, advocates, researchers, and reporters data on each program's funding levels, eligibility rates, and participation numbers. The 2013 edition also features personal stories of the students, parents, and schools that benefit from school choice along with "Friedman Feedback" on ways states can expand each program to eventually fund all children, a vision first established by the late Milton Friedman. [For the 2012 edition of this report, see ED528821.] Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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