While testing and accountability were the focal points of both the Obama and Bush administrations, the Trump administration, with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos at the helm, wishes to make school choice the centerpiece of its national education policy. Most school choice research focuses on parents as the choosers. What about teachers? What do they have to say? And what about rural areas, which are often swept aside in school choice debates and policies? This case study of a rural area in Texas focuses on the ways in which teachers experience and perceive school choice.
Heather Olson Beal is an Associate Professor of Secondary Education at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she teaches courses in educational foundations, classroom management, action research, and contemporary issues in education. Her scholarship examines the issues of school choice, second language education, and the educational experiences of underrepresented students.