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Columbia Dissertations and Theses > Doctoral Dissertations
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| Author(s): | Visconti, Louisa Marie |
| Title: | Charter schools and the common good: A qualitative study of accountability, association, and cooperation. |
| Advisor(s): | Steiner-Khamsi, Gita |
| Physical Description: | 276 p. |
| Issue Date: | 2003 |
| Description: | Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-09, Section: A, page: 3242. Adviser: Gita Steiner-Khamsi. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Columbia University, 2003. |
| Bookmark as: | http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:7279 |
| Full Text (ProQuest): | /ac/proxit.jsp?url=http://gateway.proquest.com/ope... |
| Abstract: | This study explores the relationship between charter schools and the common good of public schooling. The themes of accountability, association, and cooperation structure the questions of the study: What are the mechanisms by which charter schools are held accountable to the public for their processes and outcomes? To what extent do charter schools promote open association by binding diverse groups of people together for the purpose of obtaining social cohesion and reducing class and racial tensions? How does cooperation fostered in charter schools affect student learning and achievement? The unit of analysis is the charter school and the methodology of study is qualitative, though analysis of considerable quantitative data at the school and district level is included. Four of nine charter schools in operation during the 2001--2002 school year are sampled from one school district in New Jersey, thus the findings are not generalizable to all charter schools of the city of study or the state. Regarding accountability, the study found that the state has not provided promised relief from rules and regulations to charter schools, thus undermining autonomy. Evidence of this study suggests that oversight by the charter authorizer is based primarily on compliance rather than performance, where lack of explicit performance benchmarks makes charter schools largely unaccountable for achievement outcomes. Regarding association, the study found no evidence the sample schools creamed for the brightest students in the district, nor did charter schools further segregate students by race/ethnicity in their communities; insufficient data on charter students made it difficult to discern whether segregation was occurring by socioeconomic status. In developing tight-knit communities, individual charter school practices revealed potential problems with regard to levels of parent participation, race/ethnicity-based schooling, and opportunity to learn for special needs learners. The charter schools sampled varied with regard to continuity and clarity of school mission; development of curriculum; quality of teaching and learning; and effectiveness of school administration, which could explain variance in achievement outcomes as understood by "effective schools" research. The study fills a gap in charter school literature as little research has been conducted on the daily processes of charter schools; nor have charter studies explicitly examined the extent to which charter schools reflect key ideals of public schooling. The dissertation builds on our concept of the common good, as the charter movement lays claim to a new understanding of the common good, namely a separate good, which contains the seeds for rethinking the current debate and research on charter schools. |
| Collection(s): | Doctoral Dissertations |
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