Saporito, Salvatore, & Lareau, Annette
Researchers: Annette LareauSalvatore Saporito
University Affiliation: College of William and Mary; Temple University
Email: sjsapo@wm.edu
Research Question:
Families choices within school choice programs.
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Social Problems
Journal Entry: Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 418-439
Year: 1999
Findings:
- White applicants avoid “Black” schools.
- School racial mix is a factor which families and students consider when selecting a school.
- White applicants’ choices were powerfully and negatively linked to the presence of Black students and to a lesser extent, Asian and Latino students. Race overwhelmed other factors.
- There is no relationship between race and school preferences among African American families.
- Poverty is the only factor which varied with school selection among African American, albeit the strength of the relationship was modest.
- A different pattern in which families make school choices in a series of steps: 1st-order decision where parents exclude some schools from consideration. 2nd order decision where parents consider a variety of factors and select a school.
- No school choice and voucher programs would lead to great reductions in racial segregation in urban schools. Instead, such programs have the potential to make worse the very problem they seek to ameliorate.