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

SES-086512Thomas CookLori Delale-O？康奈尔大学学校选择目前在实证和理论文献中都是一个有争议的话题。家庭将做出明智选择的假设强调了所有的择校理论。然而，信息获取和分散是选择学校的障碍，其形式多种多样。由于选择让家长和/或学生承担信息收集和质量控制的责任，家庭如何选择是学校选择的一个重要方面，对个人选择系统的设计和结果以及更大的教育改革具有影响。这篇论文研究了家庭如何做出学校选择，特别关注影响这些决定的网络、知识和动机。这项研究的三个主要问题是：什么因素影响家长/学生的决策？信息和信息收集在不同的子组中有何不同？以及违约的作用是什么？在一个选择系统内？这项研究的背景是芝加哥公立学校系统，开放的招生政策允许家长和学生从各种选择中选择他们将就读的高中，包括留在分配给他们的社区学校。为了考察选择是如何在这种背景下发生的，本研究采用了三种方法：调查、深度访谈和民族志。这项调查包括人口统计信息和有关信息来源、内容和实施情况的一般性问题，用于做出高中决策。这次深度访谈要求家长们详细阐述他们对选择过程的想法和知识。最后，民族志将学校选择置于其更大的背景下。更广泛的影响。这个项目将有助于更好地理解推动学校选择的机制，以及围绕选择的教育政策的成败。这种洞察力在经验和理论上都很重要。由于择校越来越成为美国教育版图的一部分，了解它是如何运作的，进而了解如何改进它，是补救系统性疾病的关键。除了政策影响，这项研究还有助于撰写更多关于选择、决策、社会文化界限和新自由主义的社会科学文献，所有这些都是社会学和更广泛的社会科学中感兴趣的主题。此外，该项目提供了对实际过程潜在选择的洞察，而不是仅仅依赖结果作为过程的指示。通过这种方式，它允许细致入微地查看选择策略的影响，包括默认设置的影响。

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.