Educational decision-making is a complex process where individual factors such as how adolescents think about and evaluate themselves could play an important role. In this study, (N = 84), we combined behavioral and neural correlates of self-concept and self-esteem to examine what characterizes adolescents who struggle with educational…

Despite several charter schools specifically targeting improving students' noncognitive skills, the majority of charter school literature focuses on cognitive learning outcomes. Using behavioral measures as proxies for noncognitive outcomes, I find that North Carolina charter schools have no effect on tardiness or unexcused absences but are…

This study offers a better understanding of the reasons why parents from six different countries across the Western hemisphere chose private, non-denominational schools for their children's education. The findings deepen the knowledge in what is currently an underdeveloped field of research in education. The overarching research question was: What…

School choice has received national attention in the United States from policymakers and professionals as a way to improve parents' social capital and subsequent academic outcomes for adolescents. However, limited work has empirically tested the links among school choice, social capital, and academic outcomes, particularly for high school…

Since the Ronald Reagan era, the conservative K-12 education agenda has centered on two ideas: choice and accountability. The time has come for conservatives to rethink how to put these principles into practice. Initially, "choice" meant school vouchers, and "accountability" meant standards and high-stakes testing. Rather than…

Tax-credit scholarships (TCS) are among the fastest growing education choice programs. These programs incentivize individuals and businesses to donate to nonprofit organizations that provide tuition scholarships to eligible students. In exchange for their donations, donors receive a tax credit from the state--ideally a 100 percent,…

We examine the literature linking private and charter schooling to perceptions of student safety in United States schools. The results are generally null to positive for student, parent, and principal reports of school safety for the eight studies on safety in public charter schools and the eleven studies on safety in private schools. None of the…

Market-based policies, especially school vouchers, are expanding rapidly and shifting students out of traditional public schools. This article broadens, deepens, and updates prior critiques of the free market logic in five ways. First, although prior articles have pointed to some of the conditions necessary for efficient market functioning, I…

Hybrid school enrollments are trending up and many parents express a diverse range of reasons for enrolling their children in hybrid schools. Yet little is known about the pedagogical goals pursued by hybrid schools. We aim to help close this gap in the literature with a stated preferences experiment of hybrid school leaders' perceptions of…

China has witnessed significant growth in the number of children affected by internal rural-urban migration. These children predominantly suffer from educational inequalities. Most relevant studies have primarily attributed such inequalities to "hukou"-based exclusion. However, the active agency of rural migrant parents in their…

Privatization of education has become a prevalent global trend, representing a significant shift from viewing education as a public good to considering it as a private commodity. This transformation is closely tied to the modernization of the state under the principles of neoliberalism. A comprehensive analysis, as presented in this book using…

This dissertation consists of three chapters that examine topics in the economics of education. Chapter 1 tests the impact of holding student loan debt on borrowers' post-schooling decisions, with a focus on how it changes the way they evaluate risks when choosing between jobs. Chapter 2 analyzes the impact of an expansion of public-school choice…

Dual language education is an innovative educational model available for families selecting schools through school choice. While extensive research supports the academic benefits of dual language programs (DLPs) for non-English native speakers and communities of color in the United States, enrollment often does not reflect these populations. This…

Over the past 20 years, international student mobility has experienced a three-fold increase, as planned and emerging education hubs have attracted increasing numbers of students. The appeal of alternative destinations is strengthened by their cultural, linguistic, and geographic proximity, as well as a growing number of internationally ranked…

The American educational policy agenda has been fraught with neoliberal laws that center educational improvement and innovation (Barros, 2012). Neoliberalism operates on the premise that market competition will spur excellence in educational opportunities and decrease the education debt in marginalized communities (Fejes & Salling Olesen,…