Doctoral Dissertation Research: Information, Understanding and Choice in the Chicago Public Schools

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SES-086512Thomas CookLori Delale-O?ConnorNorthwestern UniversitySchool choice is currently a topic of contention in both empirical and theoretical literature. The assumption that families will make informed choices underscores all school choice theory. However, information access and dispersion are barriers to school choice in its myriad forms. Because choice places the onus for information gathering and quality control on the parents and/or students, how families choose is an important aspect of school choice that has implications for the design and outcomes of individual choice systems, as well as larger education reform. This dissertation project examines how families make school choices, focusing in particular on the networks, knowledge, and motivations that affect these decisions. The three main questions that animate this research are: What factors influence parent/student decision making?, How does information and information gathering differ across different subgroups?, and What is the role of ?defaulting? within a choice system? The study is set in the Chicago Public School system, where open enrollment policies allow parents and students to choose the high school they will attend from a variety of options, including remaining in their assigned neighborhood school. To examine how choice occurs in this context, the study employs three methods: survey, in-depth interview and ethnography. The survey consists of demographic information and general questions about information sources, content, and implementation used for making the high school decision. The in-depth interview asks parents to expand on their thoughts and knowledge about the choice process. Finally, ethnography situates school choice in its larger context. Broader Impacts. This project will contribute greater understanding of both the mechanisms that drive school choice, as well as the success and failure of educational policies surrounding choice. Such insight is important both empirically and theoretically. Because school choice is increasingly part of the educational landscape in the U.S., understanding how it works and, in turn, how to improve it is key to remedying systemic ills. In addition to policy impact, the study contributes to larger social science literatures on choice, decision-making, socio-cultural boundaries and neo-liberalism, all topics of interest in sociology and the social sciences more broadly. Further, this project offers insight into the actual processes underlying choice, rather than merely relying on outcomes as an indication of process. In this way, it allows a nuanced look at the impact of choice policies, including that of default settings.