School choice is an intriguing issue, getting to the very heart, of the American ideals of freedom, self-direction, equity, and diversity. While school choice is touted by some as a solution to the problems of American education, it is questioned more critically or even cynically by others. What cannot be denied is the fact that school choice exists on an increasingly widespread basis in America. The purposes of this study were to provide an up-to-date review of the status of the school choice movement on the national level, to identify key issues of the movement, and to describe choice options and programs. Having a description of its nature will offer assistance to those decision makers such as school boards, superintendents, administrators, and teachers, who will need to sort the rhetoric from the truth in analyzing the role of school choice in shaping schools in their communities. School choice is replete with contradictory and often unanswered questions. A review of the literature on school choice has revealed a range of issues: school choice as a reform movement, as a diversionary tactic to use public funds for private education, as a solution to integration, as a guise for increased segregation and elitism, as a basic parental right, or as a detriment to the greater needs of a society, among others. One of the strongest observations to be made as a result of this review of school choice is that it is an issue for which the evidence is inconclusive. Another important observation is that school choice has survived head-on attacks on the pclitical battlefields from the White House to state capitols to school board meeting rooms. It has woven itself into the school restructuring movement, and new options such as charter schools continue to emerge in the school choice movement. It is a significant educational issue for the future. / Ed. D.

Zhang, Xiaoyu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-47). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

The purpose of this study was to examine a school district's responses to charter schools operating within its boundaries. The selected district was the only one in the state with two large academically competitive charter schools for at least two years. Four questions guided the research: In terms of instruction, finance, communication, and leadership, how has the traditional district been impacted due to charter school existence? The exploratory research was timely since charter schools are proliferating as tax-supported public choice schools. While many have speculated about free-market effects of charter school competition on systemic educational reform, the debate has been chiefly along ideological lines; therefore, little empirical research addresses this issue. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to present a comprehensive case study. Twenty-six school officials and teachers were interviewed; 159 teachers and 1576 parents were surveyed. District, community, and state education department documents were analyzed. Since charter schools have existed in the district, numerous activities have taken place. Instructional initiatives included a high school academy, expanded technology, gifted and talented, tutoring, and dropout prevention. All elementary and middle schools required uniforms. The district's state accountability rating improved from acceptable to recognized. A leadership void was perceived due to students leaving to attend charter schools initially. The district was perceived as making efforts to improve communication with the community. The financial impact of charter schools was neutralized due to the district's student population increase, property wealth, and state charter funding structure. The data supported all of the hypotheses in terms of the impact of charter schools in the district on these activities: free-market effects of charter school competition were not established as the primary reason for internal organizational changes that occurred in the district. Anecdotal evidence suggested that charter schools may have played some role, but primarily they seemed to reinforce trends already occurring in the district.

The purpose of this study was to examine an intradistrict school choice program in an urban setting through the use of three independent variables regarding school principals' perceptions. The independent variables were gender, years of experience, and the building or grade level assignment of school principals. Another purpose was to examine whether school principals saw positive or negative outcomes in student and teacher performance since the school choice program began. Areas explored included student achievement and behavioral performance, teacher attitude and morale, principal and teacher interaction(to facilitate change), and special education.The study's population consisted of the principals of the Indianapolis Public School Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana. There were 80 eligible principals. A return rate of 72.58 was gained (58 respondents). The study's population was sent a survey instrument consisting of seven demographic items and 25 Likert-type items with five possible responses (strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, and strongly disagree). The items were designed to evaluate principal responses according to the three independent variables mentioned earlier in addition to the other purposes of the study. The instrument was designed by the researcher with the assistance of a jury of veteran principals familiar with intradistrict school choice from Bartholomew Consolidated School District (Columbus, Indiana).A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine any significant relationships between the independent variables and principal perceptions about intradistrict school choice. Further, mean data was examined and compared.The following conclusions were drawn from the study's findings:1. A statistically significant relationship was found with principal perceptions by the independent variable of building or grade level on the special education items of student attendance, less parent complaints, and teacher professional development activities as determined by a MANOVA.2. A statistically significant relationship was found with male principal perceptions about principal/teacher interactions within a change environment by the independent variable of building/grade level.3. A statistically significant relationship was found with male principal perceptions about principal/teacher interactions within a change environment by the independent variable of experience level.4. Mean analysis would suggest that there were no changes in student academic or behavioral performance two years of program implementation.5. Mean analysis would suggest some positive change in teacher attitude after two years of program implementation.6. Mean analysis would suggest some positive change in informal principal and teacher interaction to facilitate program change after two years of program implementation. / Department of Educational Leadership

School choice is a fast growing alternative to traditional public school education across the nation. According to the Florida Department of Education, school choice policies and laws are rapidly moving Florida away from more traditional forms of schooling toward an increasingly evolving school choice state landscape. The purpose of this study was to examine school choice in Florida by investigating the school choice policies enacted by the Florida legislature leading to the school choice environment in Florida today. Specifically, this investigation was limited to legislation in Florida between 1997 and 2014 and further limited to charter schools, home schooling, virtual education, and two choice options specific to Florida in which public dollars follow students to private schools, the Tax Credit and McKay Scholarship programs. These particular school choice options were chosen as the focus of this study because they change the where of education outside of tradit ional public schools. Other choice options such as magnet schools, inter-district choice, and intra-district choice simply move students among traditional public schools but keep them enrolled in traditional public schools. Ultimately the study hoped to provide a possible road map for the future of school choice policies in Florida. This study utilized a qualitative methodology utilizing document reviews and interviews. This study found that school choice policies in Florida have continued to expand and evolve over the years to increase the liberty available to families to choose the education of their children. This study also found that the Florida legislature has laid the groundwork for Florida school districts, through a focus on equality, to take advantage of a portfolio management model to increase student achievement. Although a focus on equality led to the enactment of various school choice options, some of these options have moved away from their original intent to financially benefit specific organizations and groups. Finally, as reported by Holme, Frankenberg, Diem, and Welton (2013), Florida's charter school, virtual education, and home education policies have been enacted as race-neutral policies that have no regard for diversity, which could lead to resegregation. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

School vouchers.