Consumerism and Gender in an Era of School Choice: A look at US Charter Schools

Abstract

This article concerns gendered dimensions of parental involvement in two US charter schools. Drawing on the narratives of parents who have founded charter schools, and on conversations with school administrators and parents in the main public school district, it presents an analysis of the way parent-teacher interactions are being reframed in the context of school choice. The author argues that in a context in which parents are being asked both to produce and consume new educational programs, parents-practically speaking, mothers-who involve themselves in organizing charter schools run the risk of being seen as stepping out of their roles as consumers and caregivers. The implications of mothers' involvement in charter schools for parent-teacher interactions and for the trajectory of school reform are explored.

Charter School Competition, Organization, and Achievement in Traditional Public Schools

“…Charter school advocates also point out that charters provide parents with significantly more opportunities for involvement and parent-teacher interaction, sometimes making it a requirement for enrolling their children in a charter (Becker et al, 1997;Finn et al, 2000;Nathan, 1996). Indeed, many parents elect to send their children to charters because they want more voice in their children's education (Stambach, 2001;Zernicke, 2002). Therefore, traditional public schools facing competition from charter schools might encourage more parental involvement to satiate parents and reduce the likelihood they will exit traditional public schools for a charter.…”

Linking Charter School Emergence to Urban Revitalization and Gentrification: A Socio-Spatial Analysis of Three Cities

“…First, a key assumption undergirding popular ideas about the emergence of charter schools is that they primarily serve middle‐class White people seeking refuge from the blight of urban schools or the clientele served by those schools (Rapp & Eckes, 2007; Renzulli & Evans, 2005; Yancey, 2004). Even though charter schools are attractive to middle‐class White families (Stambach, 2001; Wells et al, 2002; Zernicke, 2002), many charters aim to serve poor, minority students (Buckley & Schneider, 2005; Frankenberg et al, 2011; Lacireno‐Paquet et al, 2002; Miron & Nelson, 2002; RPP International, 2000; Yancey, 2002).…”

Social inequalities, gender and lifelong learning

“…… who have pointed out in different ways the need for feminist research to bridge the epistemological chasm between feminist theory and policy debate, and by Lutz's (1995) observation that macro theories – of which choice in education is one example – are implicitly ascribed a masculine gender. Elsewhere, we have used empirical data from surveys, interviews, and participant observation to discuss the particular social and moral constraints that mothers face as parents and educators (David, 1993, 1997; Stambach, 2001) [Here], we present our argument using historical data and mothers’ narrative accounts of home‐schooling to illustrate women's and men's different – and, as categories, internally variable – perspectives in education … (Stambach and David, 2005, p. 1637).…”