Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether factors of social comparison theory influence public school choice in Indiana. There were two arms in the study. One arm used three district-level variables (parent Education level, socioeconomic status, and homogeneity of race) associated with social comparison theory (SCT) and five district-level variables (prevalence of advanced courses, rate of perceived safety, graduation rate, passing rate on the state achievement test, and athletic success) associated with traditional measures of school quality (SQ) to address three research questions. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict district transfer-out rates (TOR) and transfer-in rates (TIR). Both SCT and SQ models were significant in predicting TOR. Both SCT and SQ models were significant in predicting TIR. When combined, SCT variables had greater influence in predicting TOR, and SQ variables had greater influence in the prediction of TIR. The second arm of the study used seven variables (math achievement, language arts achievement, race, socioeconomic status, special Education status, high ability status, and language minority status) to determine how the transfer students districts of residence compared to their districts of enrollment in their similarity to the student. Paired sample t -tests were significant for all variables. The conclusion was that factors of SCT influence school choice. Implications for district leaders include the importance of targeted marketing to minimize TOR and maximize TIR. Further research opportunities include replication of findings, identification of alternative variables, and application of SCT to related topics such as teachers choosing jobs and districts hiring teachers. Data were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics, Indiana High School Athletic Association, and Indiana Department of Education. De-identified student-level data were provided per a data share agreement with the Indiana Department of Education.

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