1991 - Desegregation and the Stability of White Enrollments: A School-Level Analysis, 1968-84

Attribution: Smock, Pamela J., & Wilson, Franklin D.
Researchers: Franklin D. WilsonPamela J. Smock
University Affiliation: University of Michigan
Email: pjsmock@umich.edu
Research Question:
  1. Is the alteration of a school's racial composition during desegregation associated with the subsequent withdrawal of White pupils?
  2. In relation to long-term effects, are the school-enrollment patterns of White pupils in the post-desegregation period distinct from those prior to desegregation?
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Sociology of Education
Journal Entry: Vol. 64, No. 4, Pp. 278-292
Year: 1991
Findings:
  1. The proportion of Black students in a district, the implementation of minor desegregation plans and the substantial proportions of Hispanic pupils in a district are each associated with reduced enrollments of White pupils in school.
  2. The enrollment of White students is sensitive to district-level factors. Parents may withdraw students from a school even if it is not currently involved in desegregation.
  3. The authors find little support for the idea that desegregation prompts resegregation.
Keywords: DesegregationRacial CompositionSegregationWhite FlightMethodologies: QuantitativeAnalysis Methods: Regression Sampling Frame:Nine school districts in the US
Sampling Types: PopulationAnalysis Units: SchoolSchool DistrictData Types: Quantitative-Longitudinal
Data Description:
  • The authors use Office of Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Education and data on school and district enrollments and the grade structure for a sample of the nation’s public schools.
  • The nine districts used in this analysis are Little Rock, Arkansas; Pasadena, California; Denver, Colorado; Dougherty County, Georgia; Wichita, Kansas; Dayton, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; and Norfolk and Roanoke, Virginia.
  • IV:
    • White enrollment (log of the current white enrollment in public school)
  • DV:
    • Percent Back (percent Black in the district), change in index of dissimilarity from two years before desegregation to the current year, implementation of minor desegregation plan, Log size log of total enrollment of the district, region (1= located in the South), previous year’s Black percentage, previous years’ other minority percentage, school variables (if the school opened after the year of desegregation, school closed after the year of desegregation, the percent Black in the school decreased/increased by at lest 5 percent during the year of desegregation, the percent Black changed by less that 5 percent after desegregation)
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts