Current policies in education that support school choice can be a threat but also an opportunity for rural schools that are often at risk of closure or amalgamation/consolidation. Studies from Western Europe found two types of schools using the 'capitals' of the rural environment in different ways: 'community' and 'magnet' schools. Our…

Prior research suggests that parents of Hispanics, English learners, and students living in poverty exercise school choice less frequently than other parents, which may be a factor in the resegregation of public schools. This quasi-experimental, causal-comparative design tests whether ethnicity, language dominance, or socioeconomic status of the…

This article compares Reagan's and Thatcher's redirection in school policy. Devices of "privatization" include the effective schools movement, devolution of authority, and magnet schools, and the new buzz words are "choice" and "competition." The challenge in school reform is to decentralize, deregulate, and even…

This research explored the politics of educational choice through a case study of one public school testing the limits of difference in the British Columbia (Canada) school system in the 1990s. The Fine Arts elementary school was created by the school board based on pedagogical ideas from teachers. This fine arts magnet offered teachers a great…

Canada's public schools may be neglecting average students by failing to give them the structure and care their parents think desirable. A "soft" form of school choice, such as British Columbia's traditional schools option, allows greater parental influence. As parents gain more influence in schools, they must take more responsibility…

The myths, politics, and realities of public school choice in Canada are explored. With the crisis of confidence in the public education system that has been documented in recent years, parents are seeking to ensure academic success for their children through choice of schools, under the theory that there is no universal best school model. Public…

Includes "The Choice Movement" (Brogan); "Choice in American Education" (Witte); "Role of Parents in Education" (Mawdsley); "As Arrows in the Hand" (Coons); "Vouchers in Wisconsin" (Underwood); "Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP)" (Grover); "Civil Liberties and the MPCP"…

This annotated bibliography of articles and books related to school choice contains 94 annotations. Included are research reviews, case studies, analyses of policy and practice, collections of studies and articles, reports on research conducted in particular school districts, and arguments in support of and against school choice. Various forms of…

Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)