NAVIGATING INEQUITABLE SCHOOL ACCESS: PARENT-NGO COLLABORATION IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE PROSPECTS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE ASSISTANCE
| dc.contributor.advisor | Scribner, Campbell F | en_US |
| dc.contributor.author | Saltmarsh, Jason | en_US |
| dc.contributor.department | Education Policy, and Leadership | en_US |
| dc.contributor.publisher | Digital Repository at the University of Maryland | en_US |
| dc.contributor.publisher | University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-10-07T05:35:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-10-07T05:35:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023 | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This study aims to clarify the kinds of information and assistance parents seek and NGO advisors, or “Navigators,” provide in relationships designed to offer school selection support to low-income families in large urban districts. I seek to understand whether NGOs may be able to offer an important bridge between two kinds of social capital: the informal forms of trust and legitimacy that families rely on and the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to access higher-quality schools in choice policy contexts. This analysis used an exploratory case study, including 13 in-depth interviews with Navigators and parents and informal conversations with others who are familiar with the NGO. This particular NGO operates in New Orleans, LA and primarily serves Black and Latinx and low-income families who, studies report, may face additional time, labor, and resource-related barriers in navigating PK-12 school decisions compared to their White and middle-class counterparts. These data were complemented by documentary analysis, including internal reports, IRS filings, and employee blog and social media posts. Study findings provide empirical insights about the perceptions and agency of Navigators and this NGO’s unique insider-outsider status. Analysis indicates that effective Navigators “see” schools differently than most parents and district personnel – namely through a lens that combines professional and personal experience, school inspections, organizational network ties, and cultural similarities with the families they serve. As an “ally and advocate” for families, Navigators attempt to share their judgment about schools, personalize information, and provide 1:1 assistance in ways that offset parents’ time constraints. Due to limited access to parent perspectives, these findings may lack analytic generalizability. Accordingly, researchers are invited to examine these propositions further. Still, this study holds implications for future research on the value of personalized information, the development of NGO school choice counseling, and the potential outcomes of NGO navigator services on school access and student performance. Overall, this dissertation deepens our understanding of the judgment and interpersonal qualities of NGO Navigators as agents of school selection assistance and explains the benefits and shortcomings of NGO information support in choice policy contexts. | en_US |
| dc.identifier | https://doi.org/10.13016/dspace/inib-xrn7 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1903/30832 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject.pqcontrolled | Education policy | en_US |
| dc.title | NAVIGATING INEQUITABLE SCHOOL ACCESS: PARENT-NGO COLLABORATION IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE PROSPECTS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE ASSISTANCE | en_US |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_US |
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