Current Search: School choice (x) » School management and organization--United States (x)
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Title
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The threat of school choice and changes in public school organizations.
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Creator
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Thompson, Jeanethe D., Florida Atlantic University, Pisapia, John
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Abstract/Description
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This study tested the assumption that faced with the threat of losing students via vouchers public school principals would make changes in their organizational practices to improve their schools and avoid this occurrence. Two variables were investigated: (a) the level of threat and (b) school organizational practices. Data were collected using a 55-item mail survey-questionnaire, structured to assess changes in school organizational practices perceived by teachers at the randomly selected...
Show moreThis study tested the assumption that faced with the threat of losing students via vouchers public school principals would make changes in their organizational practices to improve their schools and avoid this occurrence. Two variables were investigated: (a) the level of threat and (b) school organizational practices. Data were collected using a 55-item mail survey-questionnaire, structured to assess changes in school organizational practices perceived by teachers at the randomly selected schools. The School Organization Teacher Survey was field-tested twice to check reliability and validity. Cronbach alpha values were 0.88 and 0.93 for the pilots. The unit of analysis for this study was the school. Eight hundred (800) surveys were sent to 160 schools; 331 representing 112 schools were completed and returned for a response rate of 71.3%. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and analysis of variance techniques were utilized to determine whether and to what degree relationships existed between the independent variable of grade and threat and the dependent variable of change in the organizational practices by the principals. The results of this study are consistent with the literature on public school choice or market theory. First, a strong relationship was found between school choice and changes in school organizational practices. Faced with the voucher threat, Florida public school principals made changes in teaching conditions, enhancing opportunities for student learning, and encouraging parental involvement. Second, the level of threat felt dictated the level of response by principals. Principals at low performing schools felt a greater sense of urgency and responded more quickly and to a greater degree. Principals at high performing schools, on the other hand, did not feel this threat and did not make changes in their organizational practices. The results from this provide support for the use of choice as a mechanism for school reform, since, as the results indicate, principals made changes in their practices to improve the performance of their students when faced with the threat of losing students to other schools through vouchers or opportunity scholarships.
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Date Issued
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2004
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12107
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Subject Headings
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School choice--United States, School management and organization--United States, Educational equalization--United States, Charter schools--United States, Privatization in education--United States
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Format
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Document (PDF)
