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

thomas CookLori Delale-O？目前，西北大学的学校选择在实证和理论文献中都是一个争论的话题。家庭会做出明智选择的假设强调了所有择校理论。然而，信息的获取和传播是各种形式的择校障碍。因为选择将信息收集和质量控制的责任放在家长和/或学生身上，家庭如何选择是学校选择的一个重要方面，它对个人选择系统的设计和结果以及更大的教育改革都有影响。本论文项目考察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。推动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群体中有何不同？，以及？default的作用是什么？在一个选择系统中？这项研究以芝加哥公立学校系统为背景，该系统的公开招生政策允许家长和学生从多种选择中选择他们要上的高中，包括留在指定的社区学校。为了研究在这种情况下选择是如何发生的，本研究采用了三种方法：调查、深度访谈和民族志。该调查包括人口统计信息和关于信息来源、内容和实施的一般问题，用于做出高中决定。深度访谈要求家长们阐述他们对选择过程的想法和了解。最后，民族志将择校置于更大的背景中。更广泛的影响。该项目将有助于更好地理解推动择校的机制，以及围绕择校的教育政策的成功与失败。这种见解在经验和理论上都很重要。因为择校越来越成为美国教育格局的一部分，了解它是如何运作的，反过来，如何改进它是解决系统问题的关键。除了政策影响之外，该研究还为更多关于选择、决策、社会文化边界和新自由主义的社会科学文献做出了贡献，这些都是社会学和更广泛的社会科学感兴趣的主题。此外，该项目提供了对实际过程的洞察，而不是仅仅依赖结果作为过程的指示。通过这种方式，它可以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.