Public School Enrollment Research Articles

English Only? Exploring the Challenges Native Spanish-Speaking English Learners Face

ABSTRACT Active Bilingual Learners/Users of English (ABLE) represent a student population underserved by research even when ABLEs currently represent 10% of public-school enrollments, 78% of which speak Spanish as their native language. In Texas, the overall representation of ABLE Latinx students is 17%, and is expected to grow considerably over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, there is limited research that explores the experiences of Latinx ABLE college students (Núñez, et al., 2016) and the role that Spanish language plays in the creation of identity-affirming institutional practices. Thus, the proliferation of Latinx students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) that are now Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) as well, for example, requires a deeper interrogation of institutional practices and student experiences. As a result, this study explores the experiences of 15 Spanish Native-Speaking ABLEs at an HSI in the south, called Southwestern University. We use the Nuñez’ conceptual framework of intersectionality work, to better understand the contextual influences that impact Spanish Native-Speaking ABLE’s academic experiences. We also apply a case-study methodology approach to examine Latinx student experiences at an HSI.

Caries trajectories from childhood to adolescence: Analysis of data from a nationwide school dental service.

The aim of the study was to assess patterns of longitudinal changes in caries status among school-going children in Singapore. Dental records for a single cohort of students who received dental examinations in six standard examination years between 2009 and 2017 were analysed (n = 24 699). Group-based trajectory modelling with a zero-inflated Poisson distribution was carried out to determine dental caries trajectories in the permanent dentition. Associations between sociodemographic factors and trajectory group membership were assessed using multinomial logistic regression. The predicted population distribution across the four caries trajectory groups identified was 65.0% ('none'), 16.8% ('low'), 14.8% ('medium') and 3.4% ('high'). The 'none' trajectory group had a decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score of 0 throughout the 8 years. Higher baseline DMFT counts and nonlinear increases in DMFT scores were noted for the 'low', 'medium' and 'high' trajectory groups. The correlation coefficient between DMFT counts in years 6 and 8 was 0.91, as compared to 0.77 between baseline and year 1. Factors associated with the 'high' caries trajectory include lower socio-economic status, female gender, Chinese race (compared to the Indian race), enrolment in primary schools in the Eastern and Western regions of Singapore, and enrolment in public secondary schools. Under a nationwide school dental service, four trajectory patterns of caries counts in the permanent dentition were identified over 8 years. Among students in the 'low', 'medium' and 'high' trajectory groups, greater caries increment was noted during the transition from primary to secondary school. The correlation between DMFT counts in successive examinations was stronger in older than younger ages.

INTERROGATING THE RIGHT TO BASIC EDUCATION OF UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CALL FOR THEIR EXCLUSION FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The right to basic education is recognised as a fundamental human right that is guaranteed to everyone, including undocumented children under international and domestic law. However, the question needs to be asked whether this right extends to undocumented children living in South Africa when, at the start of every academic calendar, tales of children being denied enrolment in public schools owing to a lack of required identification or birth certificates dominate the media space. Apparent legal contradictions, a lack of proper understanding of extant laws protecting the right to basic education, and a lack of effective cooperation among stakeholders in the education section have continued to affect access to basic education for undocumented children in South Africa. This article reflects on the right to basic education of undocumented children in the context of the legality of the lingering call for the exclusion of undocumented children from public schools in South Africa.

A Quiet Revolution: Putting Parental Choice to Work for Social Justice

ABSTRACT AI offer first-hand account of a key stage in the development of parental choice in American public schooling, when Massachusetts state officials, concerned not to repeat the trauma and disruption resulting from mandatory reassignment of students to achieve desegregation in Boston, persuaded and helped more than a dozen other cities to adopt plans based upon guided parental choice. By 1993 over 200,000 students (25% of the state’s public school enrollment) were attending schools in communities relying on parental choice to address the isolation of minority students; most of these had abandoned residence-based assignments altogether. This account describes the means by which this was achieved. This essay does not discuss charter schools, vouchers, tuition tax credits, faith-based schools or educational savings accounts; those came in the future. It is reasonable to believe, however, that the widespread and successful adoption of parental choice of local public schools in Massachusetts helped to prepare the way for such further developments nationwide.

The stickiness of pandemic-driven disenrollment from public schools

The extent to which pandemic-induced public school enrollment declines will persist is unclear. Student-level data from Michigan through fall 2021 yields three relevant findings. First, relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2021 enrollment had partially recovered for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students, but had declined further for non-low-income, White, and Asian students. Second, annual public school exit rates remained elevated for elementary students and accelerated further for middle school students. Third, public school exit is sticky and varies by chosen alternative. Only 21 percent of those who left for private schools in fall 2020 had returned by fall 2021, while 50 percent of those who left for homeschooling had returned. These findings suggest that pandemic-driven public school enrollment declines may persist, and more so among higher income families.

Quality Education for Sustainable Development: A Comparative Study of Public and Private Schools of Pokhara

This paper aims to explore the performance of two distinctly established education institutions, private and public schools and compare the quality of educational services provided by them in the perception of parents. The study has been carried out using the qualitative research design. With the use of relevant secondary data sourced from relevant literature reviews and official reports, the informants like parents, teachers and school administrators from the purposively sampled schools of Pokhara Metropolitan City Ward no. 13 were taken as the sources of primary data. The analysis of the data followed a dual approach. Initially, responses from the participants were systematically organized and quantitatively summarized. Subsequently, thematic analysis was employed to identify recurring themes and patterns within the qualitative data. This comprehensive analysis aimed to derive meaningful insights and an understanding of the research questions. The study has tried to investigate the reasons behind school’s selection by the parents and to assess whether the deviation in enrollment in private and public schools is due to differences in quality between them. Although, Nepal is among the leading countries in South Asia in term of accessibility to education, there are numerous challenges when it comes to quality. It concludes that private and public schools should not be seen as competitors of each other, rather they should be regarded as the supplements as both of provide equal contribution in education sector of the country.

An appraisal of the impact of school feeding program on retention of primary school pupils in Katsina state, Nigeria

The study investigated the impact of school feeding programme on primary school pupils’ enrolment, retention and motivation. The study was guided by three objectives from which three research questions converted to three null hypotheses were generated and analyzed. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 333 participants (313 teachers, 10 Head teachers and 10 parents) from the total population of 2,582. A four-point Likert scaled Impact of School feeding on enrolment, motivation and retention of Pupils Questionnaire (ISFEMRPQ). Split-half method was used to establish the reliability of the instrument which yielded reliability co-efficient of section A (r = 0.809), section B (r =0.703) and Section C (r = 0.810) for the three (3) sections of the questionnaire. The research questions were answered using frequency count and percentage while the hypotheses were tested using Mann-Whitney u-test and chi-square test at 0.05level of significance. Results of the study revealed that, , there is significant impact of the School Feeding Programme and Retention of Primary School Pupils in Katsina Local Education Authority with p-value of 0.000. Based on these findings, it was concluded that, pupils’ retention significantly improve due to the impact of school feeding programme in Katsina Local Education Authority Katsina State Nigeria. Based on the findings it was recommended among others that, School feeding programme should be sustained in all the public primary schools in Katsina Local Education Authority. The study also recommended that efforts should also be intensified in the continuation of the school feeding programme to motivate pupil’s participation and facilitate pupils’ enrolment in public primary schools in Katsina State, Nigeria.

Relationship between selected economic factors and enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya

The gist of this study was to examine the relationship between selected economic factors and the enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya. Persistent low enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County has been conspicuous despite efforts by the government, as addressed in the Kenyan Constitution and Basic Education Act, 2013. For this reason, the objectives of this study were to establish the relationship between household wealth, rural infrastructure, child labour, family residence, as well as school facilities and meals at school and enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya. It employed a descriptive correlation survey design and was guided by Social Conflict Theory by Oberschall. The target population of the research was 136 female teachers and 135 headteachers from rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The sample size for the study was 136 female teachers and 27 headteachers. The census method for female teachers who responded to the questionnaires was used, while a purposive sampling technique was applied for head teachers whose data was obtained using interview schedules. Result analysis by Pearson Correlation Coefficient yielded a significant negative correlation of -0.348 and a low p-value (Sig.) of 0.005, signifying significance at the 5 per cent level, indicating a significant relationship between economic factors and girls' enrolment in rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The study recommended infrastructure improvements, transportation and resolving water scarcity issues in Samburu County as means for enhancing girls' enrolment in rural primary schools.

Relationship between selected economic factors and enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya

The gist of this study was to examine the relationship between selected economic factors and the enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya. Persistent low enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County has been conspicuous despite efforts by the government, as addressed in the Kenyan Constitution and Basic Education Act, 2013. For this reason, the objectives of this study were to establish the relationship between household wealth, rural infrastructure, child labour, family residence, as well as school facilities and meals at school and enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya. It employed a descriptive correlation survey design and was guided by Social Conflict Theory by Oberschall. The target population of the research was 136 female teachers and 135 headteachers from rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The sample size for the study was 136 female teachers and 27 headteachers. The census method for female teachers who responded to the questionnaires was used, while a purposive sampling technique was applied for head teachers whose data was obtained using interview schedules. Result analysis by Pearson Correlation Coefficient yielded a significant negative correlation of -0.348 and a low p-value (Sig.) of 0.005, signifying significance at the 5 per cent level, indicating a significant relationship between economic factors and girls' enrolment in rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The study recommended infrastructure improvements, transportation and resolving water scarcity issues in Samburu County as means for enhancing girls' enrolment in rural primary schools.

Relationship between selected ecological factors and enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya

This study sought to examine the relationship between ecological factors and the enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya. Enrolment of girls in rural primary schools in the County has remained persistently low over the years despite the government’s efforts to promote it. The study employed a descriptive correlation survey design guided by the Social Conflict Theory by Oberschall. The target population of the research was 136 female teachers and 135 headteachers from rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The sample size for the study was 136 female teachers and 27 headteachers. The census method for female teachers who responded to the questionnaires was used, while the purposive sampling technique was applied for head teachers whose data was obtained using interview schedules. Result analysis by Pearson Correlation Coefficient revealed a statistically significant negative correlation of -0.429 with a p-value (Sig.) of 0.025. The significance level of 5 per cent indicates that higher ecological factors are associated with a decrease in girls' enrolment in rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The study recommended the enhancement of safety measures along with resolving water scarcity issues as well as expanding access to education in rural areas in Samburu County as a means for enhancing girls' enrolment in rural primary schools.

Post-Pandemic Onset Public School Enrollment and Mobility: Evidence From Virginia

Public school enrollment dramatically decreased during the pandemic, but the patterns of decline and student movement across schools are not yet well understood. Using statewide student-level data from Virginia, we find pre-K–12 enrollment dropped by 4% between fall 2019 and the first post-pandemic fall of 2020. The changes were the largest in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and explained mostly by decreases in new enrollees, though exits also increased. K–12 enrollment declines were the largest among White and economically-advantaged students (but largest for Black and economically-disadvantaged pre-kindergartners). We also observe a decline in school transfers (both within and between districts), concentrated among Black and economically-disadvantaged students and students with disabilities. Findings have implications for equity, school funding, and student well-being.

Where the Kids Went: Nonpublic Schooling and Demographic Change during the Pandemic Exodus from Public Schools

Over the first two full school years under the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 enrollment in public schools fell dramatically (i.e., by more than 1.2 million students) with losses concentrated among the youngest students. Currently, little is known about where these students went and what learning environments they are experiencing. In this research note, I present leading descriptive evidence on this question by combining public-school enrollment data with newly collected state-level data on private-school and homeschool enrollment and Census-based estimates of the changed size of the school-age population resident in each state. These data indicate that, between the 2019-20 and the 2021-22 school years, homeschool and private-school enrollment grew by 30 and 4 percent, respectively. Across the states with available data, increased homeschool enrollment and population loss each explain 26 percent of the public-school enrollment decline while the more modest increase in private-school enrollment explains 14 percent. Over a third of public-school enrollment loss cannot be explained by observed changes in nonpublic-school enrollment and the school-age population. This large residual indicates the pandemic may have shaped learning opportunities, particularly for the youngest children, in additional ways (e.g., skipping kindergarten, unregistered homeschooling, truancy) that merit further scrutiny.

Understanding the Societal Impact of Government Programs on Public School Enrollment in District Karak

This study assessed the impact of a Government Initiative on primary school enrollment in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Stratified-random sampling assessed how the initiative affected public school enrolment for boys and girls. The data for this study came from Students Enrollment Proforma (SEP) and structured interviews with school administrators from a random sample of 12 principals (6 boys and 6 girls, representing the full gender distribution of the schools involved in the study). The findings indicated that providing complimentary textbooks significantly increased attendance for male and female students in the first and fifth grades. School administrators observed a positive effect on students’ enrollment and enhanced engagement in the educational process. The study recommends continuing the provision of complimentary textbooks and expanding the initiative to include free uniforms, notebooks, and stipends for students. Additionally, conducting similar studies at the provincial level is suggested to assess the overall impact of these incentives.

Exploring the teacher-learner ratio and its effect on invitational teaching and learning: A South African study

There has been a rapid growth in learner enrolment in all South African public schools. The increased number of learners per teacher has created many challenges in the quality of teaching and learning. Various authors and educationist have argued and agreed that the teacher-learner ratio has an impact on invitational teaching and learning. Invitational teaching and learning (education) was coined by Purkey and Novak to ensure a conducive learning environment. They proposed the five powerful Ps, namely, people, places, policy, programmes and procedures which, if applied effectively will ensure classroom success. In this paper a quantitative descriptive study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the teacher-learner ratio on invitational teaching and learning using a survey to 150 participants in primary schools. Data was analysed using frequency tables. The findings of this study revealed that the teacher-learner ratio has a negative impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Teachers found it extremely difficult to offer support to learners who experienced barriers to learning. Furthermore, the large class size and overcrowding had an impact on the provisioning of resources to learners. The study recommended that the post-provisioning norms for South African schools should clearly articulate 1:30 so that school principals adhere to the policy. Finally, it is also recommended that all teachers should be capacitated through a formal programme on classroom management, especially large classes.

An appraisal of the implementation of the national school feeding programme and its effect on enrolment and attendance in public primary schools in Southeast, Nigeria: perception of heads of schools

IntroductionThe National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) was re-launched in Nigeria in 2016, eleven years after it was first introduced in the country, with Enugu as one of the beneficiary States. The objectives of the programme are to improve the health of school children and aid in the realization of Universal Basic Education (UBE) goals. This study explored the opinions of heads of public primary schools on the implementation and policy benefits of NHGSFP in Enugu, southeast Nigeria.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted among 24 headmasters and headmistresses purposively selected from public primary schools in the Enugu metropolis. Qualitative data were collected through the use of a pretested Key Informant Interview (KII) guide, and analyzed using a thematic approach.ResultsAll the participants were aware of the NHGSFP, which involved the provision of one mid-day meal per child per school day to the pupils, and all their schools were part of the programme. Most of the participants complained about the nutritional quality and quantity of the school meals which they felt were poor. None of the schools had a kitchen within the school premises, and all the participants admitted that deworming was not regularly carried out, as part of the programme. Most of the participants believed that the objectives of the feeding programme, including, reduced hunger among learners, increased school enrolment, attendance and enhanced participatory learning, were being met.ConclusionAlthough the NHGSFP was implemented in every school in Enugu metropolis, Enugu State, Nigeria, regular deworming of pupils was not carried out, and there were concerns about certain aspects of the implementation, such as inadequate funding and poor quality of school meals. Thus, there is a need for the introduction of deworming and more allocation of funds to the programme to improve the quantity and nutritional quality of school meals.

The forces underlying the public school enrollment drop

Recent headlines describing the national drop in public school enrollment suggest that this is a shocking crisis brought on or worsened by the pandemic. However, Abbie Cohen argues that the current enrollment decline should not be a surprise. The underlying causes have festered for decades. Among these causes is the tension between the different purposes of public schools. Those who see schools primarily as a means of social mobility have promoted a variety of school choice initiatives. These efforts have pulled resources out of traditional public schools, making it more difficult to reduce inequality and prepare all young people for participation in a democratic society. The shortcomings of public schools, particularly in urban communities, have fed a growing mistrust of schools, which leads more families to seek other options. These trends put at risk public schools’ ability to serve the public good.

The Revealed Preferences for School Reopening: Evidence From Public-School Disenrollment

Before the 2020–2021 school year, policymakers and parents confronted the uncertain trade-offs implied by the health, educational, and economic consequences of offering instruction remotely, in person, or through a hybrid of the two. Most public schools in the United States chose remote-only instruction, and enrollment fell dramatically (i.e., a loss 1.1 million K–12 students). We examine the impact of these choices on public-school enrollment using panel data that combine district-level information on enrollment and instructional mode. We find offering remote-only instead of in-person instruction reduced enrollment by 1.1 percentage points (i.e., 42% greater disenrollment). The disenrollment effects of remote instruction are concentrated in kindergarten and, more modestly, elementary schools. We do not find evidence that hybrid instruction had an impact.

The enrolment reform of schools and housing price: Empirical evidence from Shanghai, China

Based on the housing transaction data from Shanghai of China, the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model is taken to evaluate the synchronous enrolment policy which aim to equalize access to public and private schools. The results indicate that the policy increased the housing prices of high-quality public primary school districts by an average of 1.6%. Moreover, the policy has different impacts on housing premium in elite school districts at different levels. The estimated values of the housing premium in top-, second- and third-class key primary schools district were 6.7%, 2.5% and −1.2%, respectively. The policy impacted mainly significantly on small-sized houses. For the houses smaller than 40m2 and 40–60m2, the housing premiums were 2.1% and 1.8% respectively. To eliminate the uncertainty of participating in public school enrolment after the failure of enrolment in private schools, many families gave up the rights to choose private schools and bought houses in high-quality public-school districts with lower enrolment risk. The policy inhibited the families’ zeal for choosing high-quality private schools, but intensified the competition of “school selection by housing” for high-quality public schools. In order to bridge the gap between public schools and private schools, systematic policy adjustments are suggested including “double reduction policy”, “muti-schools district policy”, etc.

A Collaborative Analysis of Trends in Referrals to the Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program from 2013 to 2018.

The Student Assistance Program (SAP) is mandated kindergarten to 12th grade in Pennsylvania schools to address barriers to student academic success. Following student referral, SAP teams use a systematic process to inform recommendations for school or community-based services. To evaluate program outcomes, a review of student SAP referral trends over a 5-year period was undertaken. The Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services (PNSAS), the state leadership providing oversight of SAP, partnered with Penn State College of Medicine in a retrospective analysis of student referral data from 2013 to 2018. Public school enrollment demographics were used for comparison. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Referrals (total n=352,640) increased by 24% over the 5 years; demographics 55% male, 69% non-Hispanic white, 16% non-Hispanic black, and 10% Hispanic. Referrals were most commonly for behavioral concerns (31%). Discontinued referrals (39%) were primarily for parent refusal/no permission. Trends included rising minority and elementary referrals over the study period. SAP referral demographics were consistent with state public school enrollment race/ethnicity breakdown suggesting lack of systematic bias. The proportion of behavioral referrals was consistent with rising youth behavioral health needs. PNSAS must consider strategies to support rising referral numbers and trends.

Automated, Systematized, Enrolment Program (A.S.E.P): An Efficient Way of data Gathering for Enrolment

Automated, Systematized, Enrolment Program (A.S.E.P.) is an electronic enrolment system program designed by the researchers for schools for schools: Raja Soliman Science and Technology High School and Antonio A. Maceda Integrated School (JHS). The data gathering in A.S.E.P. is automatic. The acquisition of needed information about the enrolment status is done in real time. The main goal of A.S.E.P. is to address the problems encountered in pre-data collection, data collection, learner information system (LIS) encoding, and data retrieval. The tool used to assess the usefulness of A.S.E.P. was validated by the SRCs of RSSTHS and AAMIS and the PSDS of SDO-Manila. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the participants for the survey questionnaire. There were 26 female and 18 male respondents. Twenty (20) of the respondents were in the age range of 24-35 years old twelve (12) were in the 36–46-year-old range and twelve (12) were in the 47–59-year-old range. Thirty-six (36) of the participants were regular teachers (TI-TIII), four (4) master teachers, three (3) head teachers, and one (1) guidance counsellor. The results of the survey questionnaire revealed that respondents agree to statements 1, 2, and 6. They strongly agree to statements 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10. They disagree in statement 5. Similarly, based on the evaluation in the use of ASEP, it exceeded the standards with an overall mean of 3.18 and a standard deviation of 0.05. A.S.E.P. can be utilized to collect enrolment data efficiently. User-friendly, editable, sustainable, rapid, efficient, and real-time capabilities increased enrolment data gathering. Valid and accurate data were collected. It addressed enrolment concerns by conforming to the enrolment method and procedure, reduced duplicated data, automatically generated school form 1, categorized learners by gender, and captured real-time data on 4ps, vaccination status, SPED, assistive devices, and indigenous. This studys conclusions can be utilized to adjust and improve public school enrolment, creating a modified A.S.E.P.