Setting Boundaries: Monitoring the Effects of Closer-to-Home School Rezoning on Student Participation & Engagement in School
Rowley, Kristie J.
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2005-12-19
Abstract
This study examines the social contexts of school zones over time and their influence on student participation and engagement in schools. As one Southeastern school district transitioned from court-ordered busing to unitary status, schools were rezoned with an emphasis on sending children to schools that were closer to their homes. As a result, many schools became more racially and socioeconomically homogeneous than they were during the desegregation era. In this dissertation I explore the impacts of these ever-changing social contexts on student outcomes. I find that the social contexts of school attendance zones are influential in predicting student participation and engagement in schools. I also find that these effects are mediated by full service schools designed to assist students living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods.