The heterogeneity of the contemporary Indian middle-class has been discussed widely. However, the effect of its internal differences on the distribution of educational resources needs to be examined systematically. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with parents in 53 middle-class families in Dehradun, India, this paper explores three aspects of the…

This paper analyzes the impact of voucher design on student sorting in the application and enrollment phases of parental choice. More specifically, it investigates whether there are feasible ways of designing vouchers that can reduce or eliminate student sorting in these phases. Much of the existing literature investigates the question of…

Provides a feminist critique of the literature on parental involvement and school choice. Two research studies demonstrate mothers' critical importance in their children's education at home and at school. Mothers normally invest more time and energy than fathers in child-rearing and school associations. Working-class boys' underachievement may…

Investigated gendered dimensions of parental involvement in charter schools, analyzing how parent-teacher interactions were reframed in the context of school choice. Overall, in a context where parents must both produce and consume new educational programs, parents involved in ongoing charter schools may be seen as stepping out of their roles as…

This study draws on in-depth interview data to discuss the school choices and educational advocacy roles of 14 African-American mothers. The narratives of the study's participants, who have low-income or working-class status, show how race, class and gender factors influence their school choice-making and their value of education. The author…

This article presents research on the school choice processes and practices in a large urban district on the West Coast. It shares the stories of three mothers' experiences with public school choice and tells how, through the process of choosing schools for their children, they became participants in the inequities and inequalities of the…

Studies conducted in the US consistently demonstrate that parenting self-efficacy and construction of the parent role are critical elements associated with parents' involvement in their children's elementary school education. Less is known about the dynamics of parent involvement during the preschool period, or in nations outside the US. This…

These five issues provide news and support to parents who home school their children. Each issue contains news items and a substantial resource section which provides book evaluations, directory additions, resource lists, resource persons in the fields of law, psychology, and school districts, pen-pals, and advertisements. The February/March 1996…

This paper investigates the phenomenon of mothers' emotional labour in relation to children's transfer from first- to second-level schooling: a time that has been shown to pose significant challenges for students and their families. It seeks to break the silence that surrounds the recognition and production of emotional labour in general, and…

This interview recounts one parent's school choice in a controlled choice system that is designed to bring about racial balance. The African-American mother interviewed chose to return her children to a city school because she felt that the suburban school they had been attending was racially biased. (SLD)