Examining School Sector and Mission in a Landscape of Parental Choice

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

Explores how school choice policies shape school organization through changes in school mission statements. Using a state representative sample from Indiana at two time points—before enactment of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program and six years into the policy—and structural topic modeling, the study tests shifts in mission-statement topics. Results show significant topic differences across sectors with few overall changes, and a notable clarification of religious aspects among Catholic and other private religious schools under robust choice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Article Overview

Research Focus and Data

Methods: Structural Topic Modeling

Findings: Sector Differences and Limited Change

Key Shift: Clarified Religious Missions

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 32 Number 7 February 13 , 2024 ISSN 1068-2341 | | Examining School Sector and Mission in a Landscape of Parental Choice1 Julie W. Dallavis University of Notre Dame United States Citation: Dallavis, J. W. (2024). Examining school sector and mission in a landscape of parental choice. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32(7). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8331](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8331) [Abstract:](Abstract: Researchers have considered how school choice policies affect student)[ Researchers have considered how school choice policies affect student](Abstract: Researchers have considered how school choice policies affect student)[ ](Abstract: Researchers have considered how school choice policies affect student)achievement, but less inquiry explores how the organization of schools may change in the presence of choice. This descriptive and exploratory paper analyzes a state representative sample of school mission statements at two time points: before the enactment of choice policies in Indiana, namely the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, and again six years into the policy. Using structural topic modeling, this paper examines whether and how school mission statements topics have changed over this period. Descriptive findings suggest mission statement topics differ significantly between sectors but show few changes over time. The most striking shift is that Catholic and other private religious schools appear to be clarifying the religious aspects of their mission in the presence of robust choice policies. Keywords: school choice; school sector; mission statements; elementary schools; topic modeling 1 This paper was supported by Notre Dame's Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO), Institute for Educational Initiatives, and the Spencer Foundation through the Lyle Spencer Research Award program (Award Number 201600089). The author is grateful to the Indiana Department of Education for providing publicly available background information on schools. Examinar el sector escolar y la misión en un panorama de elección de los padres Resumen: Los investigadores han considerado cómo las políticas de elección de escuela afectan el rendimiento de los estudiantes, pero menos investigaciones exploran cómo la organización de las escuelas puede cambiar en presencia de elección. Este artículodescriptivo y exploratorio analiza una muestra representativa del estado de declaraciones de misión escolar en dos momentos: antes de la promulgación de políticas de elección en Indiana, a saber, el Programa de Becas de Elección de Indiana, y nuevamente seis años después de la política. Utilizando modelos de temas estructurales, este artículo examina silos temas de las declaraciones de misión de la escuela han cambiado durante este período y cómo. Los hallazgos descriptivos sugieren que los temas de la declaración de misióndifieren significativamente entre sectores, pero muestran pocos cambios a lo largo del tiempo. El cambio más sorprendente es que las escuelas católicas y otras escuelas religiosasprivadas parecen estar aclarando los aspectos religiosos de su misión en presencia de políticas de elección sólidas. Palabras-clave: elección de escuela; sector escolar; declaraciones de misión; escuelasprimarias; modelado de temas Examinando o setor escolar e a missão num cenário de escolha dos pais Resumo: Os investigadores têm considerado a forma como as políticas de escolha escolarafetam o desempenho dos alunos, mas menos investigação explora como a organização das escolas pode mudar na presença de escolha. Este artigo descritivo e exploratório analisa uma amostra representativa do estado de declarações de missão escolar em dois momentos: antes da promulgação de políticas de escolha em Indiana, nomeadamente o Programa de Bolsas de Estudo de India

FAQs

What is the paper’s main question about parental school choice?

It examines whether school choice policies lead to changes in school organization, specifically through shifts in school mission statement topics, rather than focusing only on student achievement.

How does the study measure changes in mission statements over time?

It analyzes a state representative sample of mission statements at two time points in Indiana and applies structural topic modeling to identify topic changes.

What do the descriptive findings show about mission statements?

Mission statement topics differ significantly between school sectors, while few changes are observed over time overall.

What is the most striking change reported in the study?

Catholic and other private religious schools appear to clarify the religious aspects of their mission when robust choice policies are in place.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda