Doctoral Dissertation Research: Public School Selection Processes, Educational Inequality, and the Meaning of Rejection.

每年，成千上万的学生申请城市公立高中。申请人可以被选定的学校选中或拒绝。选拔过程的结果决定了学生在城市公立学校分层系统中的位置。没有被名牌学校录取的学生通常就读资源不足的社区高中。本研究探讨了拒绝对于那些将学校视为实现向上流动的手段的学生的意义。激励本研究的研究问题是：(1)学生如何解释选择/拒绝过程对他们自己未来的意义？(2)选拔过程的结果如何（如果有的话）影响学生随后的学术前景。本研究采用定性方法，包括观察和访谈。在关于教育不平等的研究中，被拒绝的经历在很大程度上是缺失的。然而，初步研究表明，被拒绝的学生将选择/拒绝过程的负面结果解释为他们教育机会减少的标志。此外，初步证据表明，未能进入心仪学校的学生对自己的教育前景感到悲观。越来越多的美国公立学校的学生可以选择申请他们指定的社区学校以外的学校。然而，家庭选择学校并不简单。学校也会选择学生。因此，选择越多，被拒绝的可能性就越大。本研究将拒绝经历作为教育社会学研究的重要变量。对年轻学生来说，被拒的重要性还具有政策意义。这项研究可以帮助人们关注美国公立学校应该如何以及何时进行选拔。通过关注选择和学校选择对那些没有进入他们喜欢的学校的人的影响，本研究邀请政策制定者更仔细地审视选择和学校选择政策的设计和实施。

SES-1303603PI: Annette Lareau Co-PI: Shani Adia EvansUniversity of PennsylvaniaEach year, thousands of students apply to selective urban public high schools. Applicants can be selected or rejected by selective schools. The outcome of the selection process determines students' location within a stratified system of urban public schools. Students who are not admitted to a selective school attend typically under-resourced neighborhood high schools. This study investigates the significance of rejection for students who view school as a means to achieve upward mobility. The research questions motivating the study are: (1) How do students interpret the significance of the selection/rejection process for their own future? and (2) How, if at all, does the outcome of the selection process influence students' subsequent academic outlook. The study uses qualitative methods, including observation and interviewing. The rejection experience has been largely absent from research on educational inequality. However, preliminary research suggests that rejected students interpret the negative outcome of the selection/rejection process as a marker of their diminished educational opportunity. Moreover, tentative evidence indicates that students who fail to access their preferred school become pessimistic about their educational future. Broader ImpactsIncreasingly, American public school students have the option to apply to schools other than their assigned neighborhood school. However, it is not simply that families choose schools. Schools also choose students. Thus, with increased options comes the possibility of rejection. This study offers the rejection experience as an important variable of interest in sociological studies of education. The significance of rejection for young students also has policy implications. This research could help focus attention on how and when selection should occur in U.S. public schools. By drawing attention to the effects of selection and school choice for those who do not attend their preferred schools, this study invites policy makers to take a closer look at the design and implementation of selection and school choice policies.