| Abstract: | Recent discussions of school choice have revived arguments thatthe decentralization of governing institutions can enhance thequality of public services by increasing the participation ofintended beneficiaries in the production of those services.We use data from the Schools and Staffing Survey to examinethe extent to which the decentralization of authority to charterschools induces parents to become more involved in their children'sschools. We find that parents are indeed more involved in charterschools than in observationally similar public schools, especiallyin urban elementary and middle schools. Although we find thatthis difference is partly attributable to measurable institutionaland organizational factors, we also find that charter schoolstend to be established in areas with above-average proportionsof involved parents, and we find suggestive evidence that, withinthose areas, it is the more involved parents who tend to selectinto charter schools. Thus, while the institutional characteristicsof charter schools do appear to induce parents to become moreinvolved in their children's schools, such characteristics areonly part of the explanation for the greater parental involvementin charter schools than in traditional public schools. |
