• DOI:10.1086/599783
• Corpus ID: 145098388

Mapping Educational Opportunity: Spatial Analysis and School Choices

@article{Lubienski2009MappingEO,
  title={Mapping Educational Opportunity: Spatial Analysis and School Choices},
  author={Christopher Lubienski and Jack Dougherty},
  journal={American Journal of Education},
  year={2009},
  volume={115},
  pages={485 - 491}
}

• C. Lubienski, J. Dougherty
• Published 1 August 2009
• Education
• American Journal of Education

School choice is one of the most popular and yet controversial approaches to school reform in play today. While voucher programs and charter schools garner much attention, many families have the option of selecting from among different educational alternatives due to the preponderance of in-district or interdistrict choice programs, tuition tax credits, the choice provisions of No Child Left Behind, or the possibility of purchasing a residence in another district (Henig 1999). Yet, despite the growing track record of these programs, the research on school choice processes and outcomes has been mixed and often hotly contested—reflecting the controversial nature of the issue. While researchers have created volumes on the topic, it is still difficult to find a consensus on many of the crucial issues surrounding school choice (Lubienski et al. 2009). There are a number of crucial questions around school choice that have yet to be answered in any compelling way. Does the introduction of choice for families lead to greater integration, or do families (and schools) make decisions that may lead to further segregation based on race, social class, or academic ability? Do the competitive forces generated by consumer-style choice cause schools to become more effective in order to attract and satisfy students, or do they instead focus on marketing and targeted appeals to specific families? Does choice in fact create new options for students, particularly students in failing schools, or do we see more of the same? And perhaps the most prominent question: Do choice and the consequent competition lead to better outcomes for the students choosing schools, as well as for the other students, due to the benefits of competition between schools? Researchers have been attacking these questions for more than two decades