Understanding the Decision-Making Process of Minority Mothers Choosing to Enroll or not Enroll Their Child(ren) in Catholic High Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the decision-making process of minority parents in an urban area as they chose to enroll or not enroll their child(ren) in Catholic high schools. The number of Catholic schools and the number of students attending Catholic schools has declined over the years, especially in urban areas. Research also shows that Catholic schools are especially successful with minority students in urban areas. This study looked at what factors and from where parents gather information as they make a decision. A qualitative approach was used. Eleven interviews were conducted to collect data. All the parents interviewed were mothers of eighth grades students graduating from one of five Catholic grade schools in Kansas City, Kansas. Ten of the eleven participants were Latina. Six of the parents chose Catholic high schools, while five chose public high schools. To frame this study, literature on the college-choice model was utilized. The first major theme to emerge from the data was that the Latina mothers mostly gathered information about the schools from personal interactions with family and friends, not published marketing materials. A second finding was that for all the families the most important factor considered when choosing to enroll or not enroll in a Catholic high school were financial considerations. A third finding was that the other two most important factors considered were the academics of the Catholic high schools and faith formation, in that order. A fourth finding was that Catholic schools were perceived as having strong academic programming, although this study did not account for self-selection. The last major finding was that the mothers were the driving force behind the decision-making process. This study unintentionally focused on Latina mothers. However, the findings here cannot be generalized to any one racial or ethnic group. They can, however, inform the marketing and recruitment practices of Catholic high schools in urban areas because they help explain the decision-making process of minority mothers, especially Latinas, as they choose to enroll or not enroll in Catholic high schools.