PARENTAL ATTITUDES AND SCHOOL CHOICE: THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE DISTINCTION Lara Peters Honours Bachelor of Arts, McGill University, 2005 PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY In the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences O Lara Peters, 2007 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring, 2007 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Approval Name: Lara Peters Degree: Master of Public Policy Title of Project: Parental Attitudes and School Choice: The Public/Private Distinction Supervisory Committee: Chair: Nancy Olewiler Director, Public Policy Program, SFU Jon Kesselman Senior Supervisor Professor, Public Policy Program, SFU Dominique M. 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Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC: Canada Abstract This study examines the decline in public school enrolment in Vancouver. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, the study examines differences between parents who choose public school and those who choose private school. The primary source of information is a survey examining differences between public and private school parents' educational priorities for their children. This is supplemented with a literature review and key informant interviews. The data reveal that public school parents have low levels of satisfaction with respect to both academic and non-academic characteristics of their child's school. The study assesses policies for reform of the public system. It recommends that Vancouver's public schools introduce a widcr range of specialized academic and non-academic programs, expand the function of the community schools network and engage in a stakeholder discussion regarding the division of public school spending responsibiIities between the Vancouver School Board and individual schools. Executive Summary This study uses a policy analysis approach to explore options for public school reform in Vancouver. Specifically, the study proposes alternatives designed to address the policy problem of declining levcls of public school enrolment relative to private schools and low levels of parental satisfaction with thc public school system. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative data in examining the policy issue. Data from a survey instrument of over 200 parents with children attending both public and private elementary schools in Vancouver is used to reveal the factors that influence school choice. Both regression analysis arid descriptive survey analysis are used to analyze data. The key findings of survey analysis include: Public school parents value the ability to send their child to a school close to their home Private school parent rcspondcnts prioritizc academic characteristics of schools more highly than public school parents Private school parents are more satisfied nilh academic characleristics of their child's school than public school parents Public and privatc school parents are roughly equally satisfied with non-academic characteristics of their child's school Both public arid private school parcnts have low levels of satisfaction with respect to the type and amount of extracurricular activities provided at their child's school Forty four per cent of public school parent respondents would consider sending their child to a privatc school if it were financially feasible ti combination of survey findings, key informant intet-vicws and research literature are used to identify alternatives to address low levels of public school parcnt satisfaction and declining levcls of private school enrolment. The following alternatives are identified as potential reforms to the public school system in Vancouver: Designing and implementing a greater number of S~nrfegicC'ho~ce Progrcrn2s that cater to specialized student interests Engaging in F~t~~l'ingDecct71rolizulron designed to allow principals with greater financial autonomy over their schools and the ability to respond more effectively to studcnt needs Exponditig Exlr~rcurricul~rrAcfivilies as a means of addressing the low lcvels of satisfaction observed in public school parent respondents Expoiding the. Fzmction ofCotnniu~ii/ySchoo1.r in order to providc low-cost extraci~rricularprogramming to students and maximize the use of schools as public resources The proposed policy alternatives are not mutually exclusive. In order to assess the appropriateness of the proposed alternatives, each is evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: financial sustainab~lity,cffectivencss, cquity. Vancouver School Board political feasibility and other stakeholder feasibility. As a result of multi-criteria analysis. the following rccon~menclntionsare proposcd: Expand the function of community schools in order to provide extracurricular programming to students at a low cost Conduct a study of demand for specialized academic and non-academic strategic choice (magnet) programs in Vanco~ivcr'spi~blic schools Design and implement programs in rtsponse to demand in ordcr to ensure long- term financial sustainability strategic choice programming Engage in discussioli of funding decentralization in order to determine if a division in the distribution of funding responsibilities between schools and the Vancouver School Board is desirable Dedication lomy parents, who instilidin me theirpnssionfor education Acknowledgements I would first like to express my gratitude to Dr. Jon Kesselman, for his ongoing g~~idanceand support throughout the research and writing process. A sincere thank you to Dr. Jane Friesen, whose comments during the defence challenged me and allowed me to strengthen my research. I also offer my appreciation to Dr. Nancy Olewiler and Dr. Kennedy Stewart for their assistance in drafting my survey. I am grateful to both Dr. James McConnell and Mr. Bill Barrie for allowing me to administer surveys in their schools and for lending me their expertise as school administrators. I am also thankf~~lto each of the parents at Stratford Hall and Qucen Mary Elementary who took the time to respond to my survey; your responses wcre astute and nllowecl me to glean insight into thc comples and Fascinating topic of school choice. I would like to exprcss my appreciation to Dan Marriott for providing insight and to Gary Little Cor hclping to keep this projcct afloat. To those in my capstone group: Kristy Feres, Jcssica Ellison, Michael Barnes, Sonya Konzak and Shclagh Hayes. thank you for your help in developing my topic in its preliminary stages and for your ongoing feedback and suggestions. Your insights and perspective challenged mc and strengthcnecl my research, and