Historically, magnet schools have served predominantly Black and Anglo populations. Consequently, little research exists on Latino parent's engagement in school choice and their patterns of participation. Magnet schools are increasingly part of the landscape for improving school achievement for all students. Yet Latino enrollment rates in magnet…

Surveyed elementary teachers in magnet and non-magnet schools regarding: level of commitment, whether choosing to teach in a school created more commitment than being assigned, and indicators of professionalism related to commitment. Forming a community of learners significantly enhanced teacher commitment. In all situations, teachers who felt a…

Used self-reports from teachers to compare indicators of school community in three whole-school dedicated magnets and four program-within-school magnets (with partial student participation) in the Nashville Metropolitan Public Schools. Whole-school magnets were characterized by higher levels of internal and external community. (Contains 36…

Examines teachers' ratings of effective principal leadership in magnet and nonmagnet schools. Teachers in nonmagnet schools rated principals more effective than did teacher in magnet schools. Principals' efforts to deal with lower student SES, permeable school boundaries, and larger school size may account for their lower rating of leadership…

Magnet schools remain the most widespread form of school choice. This paper explores the relationship between parents' reasons for choice and their level of satisfaction and involvement with their chosen magnet school. The study involved 18 elementary magnet schools in 2 large urban school districts. A survey was sent to all parents with…

Study of five Catholic, four single-focus public, and four multifocus public magnet urban high schools show varying patterns of parental involvement and differing degrees of shared decision making among parents and teachers. Partnership was more evident in the Catholic schools and least apparent in the single-focus schools. (SLD)

The relationship between parent involvement and school choice was studied with 575 parents in urban Catholic, single-focus, and multiple-focus magnet schools. Religion, income, and ethnicity were important in understanding parents' reasons for school choice, and school type was a major factor in parent choice. (SLD)

Despite their common goal, reformers promoting school choice and those seeking ways to improve schools through more effective principal leadership have remained for the most part disconnected. This paper presents findings of a study that examined differences in teachers' ratings of effective principal leadership in magnet and nonmagnet schools in…

Schools of choice are fast becoming part of the national debate on educational reform. This study, part of a larger study of schools and families, examined how the work context of teachers and opportunities for parent involvement differ under different choice arrangements, and investigated aspects of the sociobureaucratic context of teachers' work…

Teacher empowerment and parent participation in school decision making have become dominant themes in the current debate over school restructuring. The literature suggests that as teachers become empowered, they may tend to view parents more as clients of education rather than as partners, thereby introducing a potential conflict into the social…