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Students’ and Parental Perspectives on School Choice: Who Decides and Which Factors
Influence the Decision?Susan Sandretto, Sandra Mandic, Gordon Wilson & Debbie Hopkins
BEATS Symposium 2016
Sunday Star Times
27/03/16
“New figures reveal nearly one in
seven children are snubbing their
local schools to commute across
town, sometimes across the
country.”
Zoning Out
Background
• Neo-liberal reforms (1988-
Tomorrow’s Schools)
• Education Act (1989)
• De-zoning
• School choice
• Where possible, parents “choose
up” (Gordon, 2015, p. 18)
Methods
• 1465 Dunedin Secondary School students
(55.3% girls; ages 13-18)
• 12 Secondary Schools
• Online survey
• Data analysis used descriptive statistics
and mixed models binary logistic
regression analysis
Survey Questions
1. The reasons why this secondary school
was chosen for me/my child is because…
Comments from
students and
parents
Social
connections
Programmes
and
facilities
Co-ed
status
Positive feedback
from school:
Students
Parents
Negative feedback
from closest school:
Students
Parents
Friends
enrolled
Sibling(s) went
or enrolled
Parents
attended
Preferred co-ed
Preferred
single-sex school
Closest school to
home
Facilities
Sports
programmes
Cultural
programmes
n=1,465
(boarders
excluded)
Proximity
School Choice
Items
Other
Other
reasons
Reasons
for school
choice
Survey Questions
2. Who decided which secondary school
you/your child would attend?
3. When you enrolled (your child), was this
the secondary school closest to your
home?
Comments from
students and
parents
Social
connections
Programmes
and
facilities
Co-ed
status
Positive feedback
from school:
51.9% Students
51.3% Parents
Negative feedback
from closest school:
8.0% Students
8.4% Parents
Reasons
for school
choice
50.7% Friends
enrolled
35.1% Sibling(s)
went or enrolled
27.0% Parents
attended
68.6% Preferred co-ed
25.3% Preferred
single-sex school
52.3% Facilities
46.3% Sports
programmes
33.0% Cultural
programmes
n=1,465
(boarders
excluded)
Adolescents
Other
7.3% Other
reasons
Proximity
36.5% Closest
school to home
Comments from
students and
parents
Social
connections
Programmes
and
facilities
Co-ed
status
Positive feedback
from school:
67.2% Students
73.1% Parents
Negative feedback
from closest school:
5.4% Students
7.7% Parents
Reasons
for school
choice
38.9% Friends
enrolled
16.7% Sibling(s)
went or enrolled
13.8% Parents
attended
67.7% Preferred co-ed
47.8% Preferred
single-sex school
77.1% Facilities
43.2% Sports
programmes
50.4% Cultural
programmes
Other
37.9% Other
reasons
Proximity
Parents
n=132
36.7% Closest
school to home
Main Reasons for Choosing
Co-Educational Schools
Main Reasons for Choosing
Single-Sex Schools
Students
n=590
Preferred a co-ed school 68.6%
Friends enrolled 53.9%
Closest school to home 53.1%
Siblings went/enrolled* 46.0%
Positive comments from
parents42.5%
Positive comments from
students40.7%
Facilities 36.8%
Sports programmes 33.7%
Parents attended 32.4%
Cultural programmes 29.0%
Students
n=875
Facilities 62.7%
Positive comments from
students58.4%
Positive comments from
parents58.2%
Sports programmes 54.7%
Friends enrolled 48.6%
Cultural programmes 35.7%
Siblings went/enrolled* 27.6%
Preferred a single-sex
school25.3%
Parents attended 23.3%
Closest school to home 25.4%
Who Chose a Secondary School?
Student34.1%
Parent(s)19.1%
Student & Parent(s)
46.1%
Someone else0.7% n=1,465
Excludes boarders
Student-and-Parent
Decisions
n=675
Preferred a co-ed
school73.6%
Positive comments
from parents57.8%
Facilities 57.6%
Positive comments
from students57.5%
Friends enrolled 50.7%
Sports
programmes47.9%
Closest school to
home36.6%
Cultural
programmes35.9%
Siblings enrolled 31.6%
Parents attended 25.2%
Preferred a single-
sex school23.5%
School Choice by Who Made the Decision
Student-Only
Decisions
n=542
Preferred a co-ed
school76.2%
Friends enrolled 56.8%
Positive comments
from students54.6%
Facilities 52.4%
Sports
programmes51.0%
Positive comments
from parents49.0%
Cultural
programmes31.4%
Closest school to
home30.6%
Siblings enrolled 28.6%
Preferred a single-
sex school25.4%
Parents attended 25.2%
Parent-Only
Decisions
n=266
Siblings
went/enrolled54.8%
Preferred a co-ed
school52.6%
Closest school to
home46.4%
Positive comments
from parents43.2%
Friends enrolled 40.4%
Facilities 40.4%
Parents attended 34.6%
Sports programmes 33.9%
Preferred a single-
sex school32.3%
Positive comments
from students30.7%
Cultural
programmes28.6%
When you enrolled, was this the secondary school closest to your home?
45.3%
92.5%
80.3% 77.7%
49.8% 47.8%
35.0% 33.3%29.7%
22.0% 20.2% 19.3%
5.8%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
ALL 12 1 4 10 7 2 8 6 9 5 3 11
n=1,465
School code
Boarders
excluded
Summary
1. School choice- Adolescents
2. School choice-
Parents/guardians
3. Single Sex vs. Co-Ed
4. Who chooses?
5. Close to home?
2015-2016
Tessa Pocock
Alex Mintoft-Jones
Ashley Mountfort, BSc
Emily Brook, PGDip
Judy Rodda, PhD
Candice Perring, BPhEd
Daria Gibbons, BSc
Hayley Horwood, BPhEd
Claire Hodge, PGDip
Lauren Keaney (Honours student)
Hamish Gould, Nigel Barrett
Volunteers
Schools
Students, parents, teachers and
school principals
Acknowledgments
Sandy Mandic, PhD
John Williams, PhD
Tony Moore, PhD
Charlotte Flaherty, BComm (DCC)
Enrique Garcia Bengoechea, PhD
John Spence, PhD
Debbie Hopkins, PhD (CSAFE)
Gordon Wilson (DSSP)
Tara Duncan, PhD
Susan Sandretto, PhD
Janet Stephenson, PhD (CSAFE)
Ruth Zeinert (GDA)
Andrew Lonie (DCC)
