Journal of Research in Education Sciences (Jan 2023)
偏遠地區國中小畢業生跨區升學、家長教育 期望、參與學校教育及學校選擇因素之探究 Correlations Between Interdistrict Enrollment, Parental Educational Expectation, Parental Involvement, and School Choice in Rural Areas
Abstract
偏遠地區教育為我國近年教育政策發展之重點，但其中關乎偏遠地區國中小畢業生升學的家長學校選擇因素長期受到忽視，與此相關的家長教育期望、家長參與學校教育亦鮮有深入之研究。因此，本研究乃分析國中小畢業生跨區升學比率，以及家長教育期望、參與學校教育及學校選擇因素的現況與彼此關係，並探討學校層級、偏遠級別、家庭社經所造成的差 異，以及原區升學家長與跨區升學家長在學校選擇因素上的差異。本量化研究以臺灣偏遠地區國中小畢業生家長為研究對象，採用問卷調查法，最後回收有效問卷2,047份。依分析結果歸納結論如下：一、跨區升學比率方面，國中生顯著高於國小生、特偏與極偏國中生顯著高於偏遠、高家庭社經國小生顯著高於低家庭社經；二、家長教育期望方面，國小家長顯著稍 高於國中家長、高家庭社經國小家長顯著高於低家庭社經；三、家長參與學校教育方面，國小家長顯著高於國中家長、愈偏遠的國中小家長有愈高的參與、高家庭社經國中家長顯著高於低家庭社經；四、國中小畢業生家長學校選擇因素中，以「設備環境」最受重視，其次是「教師素質」；五、家長教育期望對參與學校教育具有顯著正向中低度直接影響作用，且對學校選擇因素具有顯著正向直接與間接影響作用；六、原區升學家長相較於跨區升學家長更重視「交通便利」，而跨區升學家長更重視「福利補助」。 Research Motivation and Purpose Rural education has been emphasized during the development of Taiwan’s education-related policies since 2017 recent years. However, the factors influencing parental choices of schools for children graduating from junior high or elementary schools in remote areas remain underexplored. Moreover, in-depth studies on parental educational expectations and involvement in school education are limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the cross-district enrollment rate of junior high and elementary school graduates. Furthermore, the correlations between parental educational expectations, parental involvement in school education, and factors influencing their school choice were investigated. We also assessed the disparities arising from factors such as school tier, remoteness level, and family socioeconomic status and the differences in factors influencing school choice between parents enrolling their children in schools within their original district and those enrolling their children in schools outside their district. Literature Review Students from remote areas often encounter unfavorable conditions during school selection; this often results in their enrollment in schools outside their district (Lin, 2012). Parsons et al. (2000) conducted a case study on the situation of UK students attending schools outside their district and revealed that cross-district enrollment was most pronounced in rural areas, moderately remote suburbs, and nonremote urban areas, with the rural regions experiencing the most substantial impact. This underscores the fact that a considerable number of students from remote areas choose to attend schools outside their district, which potentially leads to the problem of student attrition. Understanding the cross-district transition of students from remote areas and the factors affecting parental school choices can guide future education policies for remote areas. Apart from school choice, parental educational expectations is strongly correlated with children’s learning (Fan & Chen, 2001; Pinquart & Ebeling, 2020). Studies have reported disparities in parental children’s perspectives regarding their children’s educational expectations, particularly among parents with varying socioeconomic backgrounds and remoteness levels (Yulianti et al., 2019). Parents in areas with higher remoteness levels tend to have lower expectations for their children’s education attainment and participation (Byun et al., 2012). The importance of parental involvement in school education is often studied because of its significant effects on student learning (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Keith et al., 1998). These research perspectives (Byun et al., 2012; Fan & Chen, 2001; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Keith et al., 1998; Pinquart & Ebeling, 2020; Yulianti et al., 2019) indicate that studies on parental educational expectations and involvement in school education in remote areas should not be overlooked. Therefore, this study was conducted using parental educational expectations and involvement as related research variables. Studies on the interrelationship between variables have reported a significant correlation between parental educational expectations and parental involvement in school education (Castro et al., 2015; Froiland et al., 2013; Goodall, 2018; Jeynes, 2022). Furthermore, the influence of parental educational expectations on parental involvement was demonstrated to be consistently high across students stratified by such as age, ethnicity, sex, academic achievement, and subject preferences (Jeynes, 2022). Some studies have also suggested that students often consider parental expectations in their decision-making process for school selection (Boerchi, 2020; Martinez et al., 1995). This finding suggests that parental educational expectations influence school selection to some extent. Regarding the effects of parental involvement in school education on school selection, Cox and Witko (2008) and McGinn and Ben-Porath (2014) did not report any correlation between parental involvement and school choice; however, their research samples mainly comprised parents from general or metropolitan areas and might not have represented parents in remote areas. By contrast, Goldring and Phillips (2008) indicated that parental involvement in schools is a key indicator of school choice. Methods We conducted a questionnaire survey among parents whose children had graduated from junior high or elementary schools in remote areas of Taiwan in 2021. A total of 2,047 valid questionnaires were obtained. The collected data were statistically analyzed through one-way analysis of variance and repeated-measures analysis of variance by using IBM SPSS software. Furthermore, structural equation modeling was performed and the multiple indicators multiple causes model was used for data analysis; for this, we used Muthén & Muthén Mplus. Results and Conclusion The study findings were as follows: 1. The cross-district enrollment rate of junior high school graduates (47%) was significantly higher than that of elementary school graduates (28%). The rate was significantly higher for graduates from extremely and moderately remote areas (60% and 58%, respectively) than for those from remote areas (44%). Additionally, the rate was significantly higher for elementary school graduates with a high socioeconomic status (30%) than for those with a low socioeconomic status (19%); this finding indicates that students who opted to stay in their original school district may not do so voluntarily but may be influenced by the limitations arising from their family’s socioeconomic status. 2. Parents of graduates from both elementary and junior high schools in remote areas had high expectations for their children’s education. However, parents of elementary school graduates had significantly higher expectations than did those of junior high school graduates. Moreover, parents of elementary school graduates with a high socioeconomic status had significantly higher education expectations than did those of elementary school graduates with a low socioeconomic status. 3. Parents of primary school graduates in remote areas exhibited significantly higher levels of involvement in school education than did those of junior high school graduates. Additionally, parents of primary school graduates in extremely remote areas exhibited significantly higher levels of involvement than did their counterparts from moderately remote and remote areas. Similarly, parents from extremely remote areas exhibited higher levels of involvement than those in remote areas. This trend suggests that the more remote the school is, the higher is the level of parental involvement in primary education. This trend was also observed for parents of junior high school students. Furthermore, parents of graduates with a high socioeconomic status exhibited significantly higher levels of involvement in school education than did those of graduates with a low socioeconomic status. 4. The most important factor influencing school choice for parents of both junior high school and elementary school graduates was facilities, followed by teacher quality. 5. The educational expectations of the parents of junior high school graduates in remote areas exerted a significant, positive, and moderate direct effect on parental involvement in school education. These expectations exerted a significant indirect effect on various factors influencing school choice; this effect was mediated through parental involvement in school education and varied across factors influencing school choice. Parents of students who remained in their original district placed significantly more importance on the factor convenient transportation than did those of students who attended school in a cross-district. Conversely, parents of students who attended school in a cross-district placed more importance on welfare subsidies than did those of students remained in their original district.
Keywords
