Rice University researcher: 'Parents focus on sending their child to the same type of school they attended'

Researchers at Rice University published a study that reveals the influence parents’ school experiences have on where they place their children, according to an institution-issued press release.

Per the findings, nearly 33% of parents enroll their offspring in the same kind of school they attended.

The release said the report, which is called “‘I Went There’: How Parent Experience Shapes School Decisions,” was authored by Rice assistant sociology professor Dr. Anna Rhodes, Rice sociology graduate student Julia Szabo and RTI International researcher Dr. Siri Warkentien and is slated to appear in an upcoming issue of "Social Currents," the official journal of the Southern Sociological Society.

A key takeaway from the research was the parents who had positive schooling experiences tend to search for schools that provide the same for their children, while parents with negative experiences in the classroom steer clear of making educational decisions for their kids.

According to the study, parents of different races and economic classes support the idea of having their children share the same positive experiences they had, but it’s most common among white parents.

Rhodes claimed that such behavior contributes to the continuation of “white flight.”

“Parents focus on sending their child to the same type of school they attended, but this results in decisions that perpetuate patterns of segregation in schooling,” Rhodes said in the release.

School choice is among the hot button topics during the ongoing 88th regular session of the Texas Legislature. 

Among the staunchest proponents for parents’ right to enroll their children wherever they see fit is Gov. Greg Abbott, who hosted a “Parent Empowerment” event at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday. 

Abbott, a Republican, said he himself is a product of public schooling and “would not have had it any other way,” but added he shares parents’ concerns about what’s taught in classrooms statewide. 

“Our schools are for education, not indoctrination,” the governor said, according to a press release issued by his office. “The solution to this problem is empowering parents to choose the school that's right for their child, and that's what we will pass this legislative session in Austin.”