As part of the education reforms of the 1990s, charter schools were proposed as a
private alternative to public education, offering parents and their children greater choices.
Publicly financed but privately operated, charter schools have now grown in numbers and
influence. While there are many studies of student outcomes in charter schools
demonstrating mixed results, one negative outcome of charter schools has been less
examined. Since inception, 23% of charter schools nationally have closed and these
closures are disruptive to parents, children, and their school districts. This paper
addresses charter school closures from an organizational perspective. Applying theory
from population ecology and resource dependency theory, the population of nonprofit
charter schools is examined. What are the primary determinants of charter school success
and failure?
Florida, with the third highest number of charter schools nationally and, at the
same time, the highest number of charter school closures in the United States, is a paradox. This study identifies the significant variables that are related to school survival
and failure in the state of Florida over the years 2015-16 through 2015-16.
Variables tested in this study, using Survival Analysis (SA), include age,
management structure, size, school performance, grants, and density. All variables except
density at founding were significant in explaining the unique variance in survival rates
among charters. Charter schools sub-contracted by for-profit educational management
organizations (EMOs) were larger, achieved higher grades, secured more grants and
achieved higher survival rates than their counterpart nonprofit, independent, and charter
management organization (CMO) led schools. These results contribute to our
understanding of charter school survival and failure, thereby informing public policy
options to strengthen the charter school population and the nation’s public education
system overall. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_39764 |
| Contributors | Jameson, Jorene (author), Nyhan, Ronald C. (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 153 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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