Why People Choose Schools

Abstract

The 1988 Education Reform Act increased the right of parents to choose the school of their choice. The attraction and retention of pupils is now directly related to the allocation of school resources, and consequently schools must compete for pupils. The government has argued that the combination of parental choice and competition between schools will make schools more accountable to parents’ wishes, and improve educational standards. However little is known about how parents choose schools. This thesis contains a detailed literature review of there search which has been done into the reasons why parents choose schools. A methodological chapter then explains how two groups of parents were interviewed in depth about the reasons why they chose the school for their child. One of these groups contained a high socio-economic sample from Sutton Coldfield, the other a low socio-economic sample from Castle Vale, both of which lie to the north of the City of Birmingham. This allowed the study to examine whether there were any significant differences in the ways both groups approached choice. The research concluded that parents from high socio-economic groups were more likely to have taken advantage of choice mechanisms than parents of low socio economic status. However the study emphasised the complexity of the choice process which has not always been apparent in previous research. The research stressed that choice should often be seen in the context of the family, with the child often playing an important role in the decision making process. However the study identified a number of significant weaknesses in previous research which have investigated the role of the child and points to a more detailed understanding of this role. The thesis also includes an investigation into the effects and implications that the existence of over subscribed schools in Sutton Coldfield has on the way parents perceive choice, and includes an interview with a parental pressure group (Parents Against No Individual Choice) which has campaigned on these issues.