International Journal of Educational Reform

School choice in the United States can be traced back to the start of civil society when wealthy families selected a school based on educational philosophy, location, or religious tradition. As common schools emerged, larger portions of the population were able to gain access to education. However, many discovered that quality public schools were not a reality for all students. In response, some looked to school choices within and outside of the public school sector. This literature review chronicles school choice efforts to emerge following the 1954 Brown decision and highlights liberal and conservative political heritages of school choice in the United States.

This qualitative case study focuses on the evolution of inclusive school reform in two elementary schools in a large metropolitan district. Four central themes that emerged during data analysis are highlighted: (1) Unifying a vision: Reframing special education; (2) Developing collaborative structures for inclusion; (3) Increasing confidence and capacity: The importance of data-informed practice; and (4) Negotiating district and state constraints on inclusive practice. This article concludes with a discussion of the study's implications for inclusive school reform as well as directions for future research.

This study aimed to investigate the performance of a charter school network, Harmony Public Schools (HPS), in a 3-year longitudinal student-level research study of high school mathematics, reading, and science performance using 2009–2011 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skill student data. Propensity-score-matched public (N = 19) and Harmony (N = 11) schools' performances were compared. We conducted a two-level multivariate analysis of covariance on binary outcomes (pass–no pass) for grades 9–11. HPS performed significantly better at grade 9 and worse at grade 11, with no statistical differences at grade 10 in mathematics. Type of school was not significant at either grade 9 or 10 for reading. For science performances, Harmony charter schools performed better at 10th grade and significantly better at 11th grade. Implications of the findings were discussed as to whether charter schools keep their promises of providing quality education.

This qualitative study explores the ways in which lesbian and gay educators negotiate their sexual identities in their school settings. Ten gay and lesbian public and Catholic school educators from rural, suburban, and urban schools were interviewed. Each of these educators negotiated their sexual identities differently within their school communities; however, descriptors such as age, experience level, and school setting did not affect their identity negotiation. Most of these educators were unable to integrate their sexual identity with their teacher identity due to various types of fear: fear of being fired, fear of entering the teaching profession, fear of being outed and facing harassment and isolation, and fear of undermining authenticity.

Between 1981 and 1990, Chile began to implement an education reform based on school choice and a financing system through vouchers. In theory, the system ensures complete freedom of choice of school by families. This article attempts to identify the existence of factors that conditioned the enrollment process in different types of schools existing nowadays in the Chilean educational system, the largest quasi-market of Latin America. Results show a social stratification and separation by schools and indicate how geographical distance and social composition are the most critical factors for families when choosing a school.