Even the most effective education reforms and initiatives are unlikely to have a uniform effect on all students. In fact, much like in medicine, some beneficial efforts can have adverse side effects. Yong Zhao takes up this idea as it applies to school choice and voucher programs. When researchers tout the benefits of vouchers, they focus on the…

I employ a year and country-level fixed-effects analytical technique to examine how private schooling could impact national stability using five different measures. I examine 177 different countries across the globe from 1999 to 2014. Most importantly, this technique allows me to conduct a quasi-experimental analysis by controlling for otherwise…

School choice parental practices have been extensively researched worldwide. Recently, an emergent line of studies has focused on the case of mostly white middle-class parents, who, in contrast to the dominant trend identified by sociological research, choose or are willing to choose a socially, racially and/or ethnically diverse school for their…

In the Netherlands, state and religious schools are equally financed by the government. Parents are free to choose a school that optimally fits their moral values as well as their idea of a good education. As a result, there is a huge variety of schools, which include those orthodox Reformed schools that form part of the so-called Bible Belt…

In "Diverse Families, Desirable Schools," Mira Debs offers a richly detailed study of public Montessori schools, which make up the largest group of progressive schools in the public sector. As public Montessori schools expand rapidly as alternatives to traditional public schools, the story of these schools, Debs points out, is a…

Public charter schools are unique public schools that foster innovative approaches to solving some of today's most difficult educational challenges. Free from many of the constraints that traditional schools face, the charter school movement has been a leader in innovation, school choice, and education reform for more than 25 years. At the same…

Dual language immersion programs are growing in popularity across America. This article examines the explanations middle-class parents of various racial/ethnic backgrounds give for enrolling their children in Mandarin Immersion Programs. The author addresses the following questions: Why do American parents enroll their children in Mandarin…

In the last decade, the number of public school students in the United States experiencing homelessness has more than doubled. Research shows that school enrollment processes are particularly onerous for families experiencing homelessness; yet, school choice and enrollment policies are rarely designed with the type of flexibility needed to be…

This comparative analysis aims to capture the complex roles and positionings of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in conjunction with local education systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Our analysis focused on how the IB's institutional legitimacy is presented in the three societies. We conducted a documentary analysis of texts on…

The prevailing argument for school choice in metropolitan cities has been that children from economically disadvantaged communities need opportunities to access better quality schools than the traditional public schools assigned to them based on their address. However, as these cities experience gentrification, more economically advantaged parents…

Each student has unique needs and learns in different ways. By allowing parents to plan for their children's individual needs, education scholarship accounts (ESAs) create a personal approach to education. This report presents: (1) What are education scholarship accounts?; (2) How can parents use ESA funds?; (3) Which states have Educaation…

This poll was conducted between October 7-9, 2022 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) School parents are much more pessimistic about how their friends'…

A common decision parents face is the choice of school for their children. In Ireland, somewhat uniquely in an international context, this choice includes a large number of state-funded single-sex schools, to the point that this can be considered a realistic option for many parents. Focusing on secondary-level education and using the PISA 2018…

This article examines historical context shaping the achievement gap while considering school choice. Students in low performing districts are often labeled as unmotivated or not achievement oriented. These assertions are upheld by citing attendance rates, graduation rates, and achievement data. This research article demonstrates that a sample of…

Historically, debates about educational choice have wrestled with big, unresolved tensions that lie at the heart of American life, having to do with individual rights, community obligations, public and private interests, religious freedoms, and more. But in recent years, school reformers have tended to talk about choice as though it referred only…