Moving with the times and meeting the educational standards of developed countries is possible only by means of modern, high-quality, and effective education. Today, increasing importance is attached to the necessity of top-notch education, and thus to the necessity of training better equipped teachers.

 

1) What criteria do parents use for school selection?

2) What is the effect of the following on parents’ school selection criteria?

a) Their education level

b) Their income

3) What criteria do parents use for teacher selection?

4) What is the effect of the following on parents’ teacher selection criteria?

a) Their education level

b) Their income

The study, which aims to determine the school and teacher selection criteria used by parents, adopted descriptive scanning model.

 

Participants

As for state elementary schools, students must by law enroll in the school nearest to their addresses registered in the national address database; thus, parents are not entitled to prefer schools or teachers. Therefore, the study focused on parents whose children attend private schools. Of the 507 parents whose children are 1^st, 2nd, and 3^rd graders at three private schools in Bal?kesir, a total of 202 volunteered to participate in the study; quantitative data was collected from these parents by using the scales developed as part of this study. The demographic information about these participants is displayed in Table 1.

 

 

As can be seen in Table 1, the majority (79.2%) of the parents that participated in the study are university graduates, and more than half (62.4%) have incomes equivalent of their expenses.

Qualitative data were collected from 12 parents by using an interview form. These parents participated in the study on voluntary basis. A total of 12 parents were interviewed, 4 from each school.

 

Data collection

Quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments were used together to obtain data pertaining to the sub-questions of the research both holistically and in a detailed way. Two scales, namely “Parents’ Criteria for School Selection” (PCSS) and “Parents’ Criteria for Teacher Selection” (PCTS), and an interview form were utilized as the data collection instruments in the study.  The scales have 21 items and were developed by the researcher. Each item in the tool used a 5–point Likert scale with response categories of ‘unimportant’, ‘partially important’, ‘important’, ‘fairly important’, and ‘absolutely important’, allowing the participants to indicate their opinions about school and teacher selection. The scale items were constructed based on the literature focusing on ideal school and teacher properties (Abdulkadiroglu and Sonmez, 2003; Cullen et al., 2006; Elacqua et al., 2006; Hesapç?o?lu and Nohutçu, 1999; Hoxby, 2003; Keskin and Turna, 2010; Topaç et al., 2012).

The construct validity of instruments was ensured by the help of 12 expert views. To identify the factorial structure of the scales, Kasier-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Barlett test results were evaluated to find out whether the data at the onset of factor analysis is suitable for factor analysis or not, and the results have proven statistically significant according to PCSS (KMO=0.79; Barlett test=1.1933; df=210; p<.000) and PCTS (KMO=0.80; Barlett test=1.1463; df=210; p<.000). So as to test the structure validity of the scales, factor analysis was performed with data belonging to 202 participants through principal component analysis by using varimax rotation. Factor loadings of the 22 items in PCSS vary between the given values: .40 and .82 in the first matrix (5 items), .45 and .79 in the second matrix (6 items), .63 and .77 in the third matrix (3 items), .69 and .73 in the fourth matrix (2 items), .51 and .80 in the fifth matrix (3 items), and.54 and .59 in the sixth matrix (2 items). The PCSS scale scores had an adequate internal consistency (α=0.84). Factor loadings of the 22 items in PCTS vary between the following values: .57 ad .75 in the first matrix (4 items), .43 and .6 in the second matrix (5 items), .44 and .72 in the third matrix (5 items), .69 and .70 in the fourth matrix (2 items), .46 and .67 in the fifth matrix (3 items), and .42 and .80 in the sixth matrix (2 items). The PCTS scale scores also had an adequate internal consistency (α=0,. 3). That all the items in both scales have factor loadings higher than .30 may indicate that the items of the scale effectively measure what they are meant to measure. According to Tav?anc?l (2002), between .30 and .40 can be taken as the factor loadings intersection value. The analysis revealed that they are both six-matrix scales. PCSS explains a total variance of 58.316%. The first factor explains a variance of 14.227%; second factor, 13.397%; third factor, 8.926%; forth factor, 7.999%; fifth factor, 7.589% and sixth factor, 6.179%. PCTS explain 58.860% of the total variance. The first factor explains 12.324%; the second factor, 11.949%; the third factor, 10.986%; the forth factor, 9.342%; the fifth factor, 7.891%, and the sixth factor, 6.329%. Büyüköztürk (2005) stated that the total variance explained should be 30% and higher in single-factor scales, and it should be higher in multi-factor scales.

There are 6 items on school selection and 5 items on teacher selection on the research-prepared design to probe the criteria used by parents for school and teacher selection. While preparing the items, the researcher paid attention to consistency with the items in the interview form, school and teacher qualities, and principles of developing interview forms (Yildirim, 2013). The interview form was finalized based on the experts’ view.

 

 

The researcher enclosed the questionnaires in envelopes and had the students take them home to their parents, and the parents sent them back in the same way. A total of 12 parents, who were selected according to convenience principle, were interviewed face-to-face, and the interviews were tape-recorded.

 

Data analysis

The quantitative data collected to seek an answer to the subquestions of the research were analyzed by SPSS. The values indicating parents’ opinion about school and teacher selection criteria were analyzed with reference to the set intervals. The scales used had 5 Likert options and 4 intervals (4:5=0.8), so the intervals were evaluated within the 0.8 range, starting from 1 and extending to 5 (1-1.80 “Unimportant”, 1.81-2.60 “Partially Important”, 2.61-3.40 “Important”, 3.41-4.20 “Fairly important” and 4.21-5.0 “Absolutely important ”. When the responses were analyzed, the data that fall right between two response categories were considered to belong to the higher category. To test whether parents’ opinion about school and teacher selection criteria vary according to their education level, ANOVA was run because the variances were homogeneous; and to test whether it varies according to parents’ income level, t-test was used. The significance level of the difference between results was accepted to be .05, and only the significant differences were included in the tables.

The data obtained by interviews were interpreted by content analysis. The data collected were categorized into the pre-determined themes and analyzed accordingly. This type of data analysis presents the organized and analyzed data to the reader (Y?ld?r?m and ?im?ek, 2013). The data thus collected from the interviews were described around the themes determined according to the sub-questions of the research, and  these  descriptions  were supported by verbatim quotes taken from the interviews. The parents interviewed were numbered from 1 to 12, and when the quotes were presented to the reader, a “P” code accompanied by a number was used. To triangulate data, qualitative results, tables displaying descriptive statistics pertaining to parents’ views on schools and teacher selection, and quantitative results are presented together.

This subsection includes visual representations of results derived from the scales. It also presents direct quotations taken from interview forms to validate the consistency of results obtained from different data sources. Table 2 presents the results pertaining to parents’ school selection.

An analysis of parents’ opinion on school selection criteria in Table 2 indicates that five criteria are rated as “definitely important”: “Physical conditions of the school”, “Qualified teachers”, “Attitude of school administration and staff to parents”, “Sanitary conditions and order-liness”, and “Adequate safety and security regulation at school”. “A family member or a close acquaintance being the alumni of the school”and “presence of relatives or acquaintances among the school staff”criteria were rated as unimportant by the parents. The results obtained show that parents take into account such scientific and current criteria as institutional structure, and teacher qualities. 

The interview results revealed that half of the parents find extra-curricular activities (e.g. trips, sports, drama) an important criterion because they believe these activities assist the development of children in all aspects, while for the other half find it insignificant.  For example, a parent (P-12) stated the following: “…It is definitely an important factor. Extra-curricular activities are essential for children’s physical and social development, and the presence of these activities influences our decision about a school …” On the other hand, another parent (P-4) expressed disagreement: “It is not a determinant factor. I discovered this aspect of the school much later, so I can tell it is not an influential factor”.

The interview results pointed to an overwhelming agree-ment among parents about the importance of how well the school is physically equipped (playground, library, laboratories, sports hall, the class sizes, etc.). However, parents attach varying degrees of importance to these factors. Indeed, a parent (P-8) stated the following “…These are very important properties influencing school choice. Is there a playground? Is it sufficient for children? And is there a sports hall? I took all these into consideration. In addition, the classroom environment is very important. I think this is the very reason why private schoolsare preferred to state schools. I’d like my child to be educated in a reasonably sized class rather than in a crowded class.”On the other hand, another parent (P-6) stated his opinion as follows: “…It is important that children have the space where they can play. The existence of utilities such as sports hall and laboratories appeals to me just as it does other parents. The conditions in the classroom are of secondary importance to me. My priority is the conditions of the school in general …”

As for the item which probes the effect of whether a relative or an acquaintance received education at that institution, a parent (P-8), like the big majority, stated that it “…did not have any effect because no relative or acquaintance had gone to the school we preferred,”while few said it had an effect. For example, (P-4) said the following: “A close relative’s child was at the same school. Their experiences were important to us. For example; we saw a dramatic increase in the child’s performance, which influenced our decision”.

The interview results reveal three main response cate-gories pertaining to the importance of recommendations about the school: “effective”, “ineffective”, and “effective but not determinant”. In the view of one parent (P-3) who thinks this is effective: “The comments and saying about a school is determinant. I have made a mini survey to find out what people in my environment think about the school. My decision became certain in the light of these. ”A parent (P-6) who does not think it is has an effectsays the following: “…it is not a criterion for me becausemy own observation means more to me. Of course you hear some comments, but I never act according to them. My own observation and what I think after I talk to the  school administration is the most important for me…” A parent (P-3) who falls in the third group, i.e. who thinks it is important yet not a determinantfactor stated the following on this issue: “…It had an effect butwas not a sole determinant. That it was an institutionalbrand name appealed to us.Comments about the school did not mean much to us…”

Parallel to the majority of the parents who participated in the study, a parent (P-4) expressed the following:  “…When a person in charge directly contacts you, it makes you feel special. Naturally when you feel you are cared for, it influences your decision.” Thus, he emphasizes the importance of the school administrators’ and staff’s attitude for the school choice. Few parents (e.g., P-8) said it was not important: “…It had no effect whatsoever. I had already made my decision about which school to choose based on the information I had collected. Therefore, I was not impressed by the attitude of the school administration and staff.”

The interview results show that almost all of the parents, especially mothers, find sanitary conditions and orderliness at school a determinant criterion. (P-2)’s opinion is as follows: “…I am a mother, so it is extremely important for me. When I was trying to make a choice, I analyzed as such detail as the toilets of the school. This may be very typical to all the mothers …”Still another parent (P-9) stated this: “…I am a mother, so this is one of the first few things that attract my attention at school. This is the very reason why I prefer private schools to state schools. Thus, when I am to make up my mind about a school, I check out this …”

An analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data together shows, about the school selection criteria, that the physical equipment at school and in classrooms, the public opinion of and recommendations about the school, the administrators’ and staff’s attitude towards parents, and sanitary conditions and orderliness are the major criteria in school selection, whereas whether a relative or family member received education at the same school or not is not that much important.

An analysis of parents’ school preference criteria according to their education level is demonstrated in Table 3.

 

 

Table 3 demonstrates that the school selection criteria as to“a family member or a close acquaintance being the alumni of the school ”, “relatives or acquaintances among the school staff”, “existence of generally qualified teachers ”, “small sized classes at school”, and “whether the school is centrally located or not”significantly vary among parents according to their education level. ‘Whether a family member or a close acquaintance attended that school’ emerged as an important criterion among parents who completed elementary school or secondary school, while it was an insignificant criterion for parents who are university graduates. ‘Relatives or acquaintances among the school staff’  were  a  partially  important  criterion  for parents who completed high school, while the remaining parents found it important. All of the parents rated the criterion ‘Qualified teachers’ as a fairly important or an absolutely important criterion for school selection, which highlights the determinant role of this criterion. It can also be seen that the higher the education level of parents, the greater importance they give to qualifications of the teacher, and the less importance they give to whether the school is centrally located or not.

An analysis of parents’ school preference criteria accor-ding to their income level is demonstrated in Table 4.

 

 

Table 4 displays differences between parents’ school selection criteria by their income. It can be seen that the criterion “the child’s opinion or preference” is rated as “fairly important” by the parents whose income is lower than  or   equal  to  their  expenses.  It  shows  that  these parents take into account their children’s preference in the school selection process. On the other hand, the criterion “qualified teachers” is rated as “definitely important” by the parents whose income is lower than or equal to their expenses. It shows that these parents take into account the teachers’ qualifications in the school selection process.

Table 5 demonstrates parents’ views on teacher selection criteria.

 

 

An analysis of quantitative and qualitative findings about teacher selection together revealed that the professional experience of the teacher, recommendations about the teacher, teacher’s religious and political perspective are important criteria, and the physical appearance of the teacher, whether the teacher is a relative/family member are partially important criteria.

An analysis of parents’ teacherselection criteria accor-ding to their education level is demonstrated in Table 6.

 

 

Table 6 demonstrates that two teacher selection criteria vary significantly according to the education level of parents: “Whether the teacher gives homework or not” and “Teacher’s ethnic identity”. Elementary school or secondary school graduates give greater importance to the criterion of “whether the teacher gives homework or not” than high school and university graduates do. The importance attached to the criterion “teacher’s ethnic identity” does not vary among different parent groups, but they all find it somewhat important. At this point, it is noteworthy that the higher the parents’ education level is, the less importance they attach to ethnic identity.

An analysis of parents’ teacher selection criteria according to their income level is presented in Table 7.

 

 

Table 7 reveals that the parents that participated in  the study give ‘importance’ to other parents’ suggestions about the teacher, yet those parents whose income is greater than their expenses give greater importance to these suggestions. 

Selection of schools and teachers directly and indirectly influences the personality development of individuals and their tendencies in the future, as well as acquisition of certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes set prior to the education. Therefore, it is evident that the choice of school and teacher is important for families. Nevertheless, the optimum features as to the school and teacher may vary from one family to another.

The overall results of the study aiming to identify parents’ criteria for teacher and school selection, or the effect of hidden curriculum on teacher and school selection, reveal that five criteria are significant: ‘presence of qualified teachers working at school’, ‘physical equipment in the classrooms and at school’, ‘the attitude of school administrators and staff towards parents’, ‘sanitary conditions and orderliness’, ‘recommendations about the school’. By contrast, two factors seem to be insignificant selection criteria: the presence of relatives or acquaintances among the school staff. In brief, the parents attach importance to scientific and contemporary assets such as organizational structure and teacher qualities.

The related literature widely points to the size of classes, classroom activities, technological instruments and equipment, existence of laboratories, and security as the deciding factors in the selection of school (Dimaki et al., 2005; Bernal, 2005; Jacob and Lefgren, 2007; Tamm, 2008; Friedman et al., 2007), which is significant in that it shows the consistency among the results of similar studies. Mcnally (2002) investigated how families decide on which school to send their children to and found out that the most important factors are qualified teachers (quality), the class size, security, and discipline at school. These results are parallel to those found out by Hesapç?o?lu and Nohutçu (1999).

The findings of the current study revealed that, similar to what Woods (1996) reported, parents tend to select schools based on the quality of teachers’ pedagogical skills and feedbacks and rumors they receive from their environment.  Likewise, a study conducted by Friedman et al. (2006) demonstrated that teacher efficiency, security at school and school’s activities are the major factors shaping the school selection. Another study conducted by Topaç et al. (2012) showed that parents, while choosing early education institutions, take into account teacher’s education background and experience, the utilities of the school, class sizes, convenient location of the school, and other parents’ recommendations about the school. The result may indicate that parents use similar criteria when selecting early childhood education and elementary school institutions. That there is a concordance between the results of the present study and those found in the literature can be evidence of the consistency of study results.

To conclude, the results of the present study demon-strate that five of the schools and teacher selection criteria used by parents tend to vary significantly according to parents’ education level: “A family member or a close acquaintance being the alumni of the school”, “Relatives or acquaintances among the school staff”, “qualified teachers”, “Small sized classes at school”, and “Whether the school is centrally located or not”. On the other hand, two of them tend to vary according to parents’ income level: “The child’s opinion or preference” and “presence of qualified teachers”. An overall comparison of the results has interestingly shown that the criterion “qualified teachers” differs significantly according to all the variables. The results about the variables influencing parents’ school and teacher selection criteria seem to be in concordance with those of the studies conducted by Elacqua et al. (2006), Hesapç?o?lu and Nohutçu (1999), and Keskin and Turna (2010).

It was found out that the following criteria are dramatically important in teacher selection: professional experience, recommendations about the teacher, teacher’s religious and political perspective, teacher’s attitude towards the students, teacher’s educational background, teacher’s communicative ability, and whether the student will complete the elementary education with the same teacher or not. ‘The gender of the teacher’ and ‘the teacher’s being a relative or an acquaintance’ did not emerge as a marked criterion for teacher selection. The results indicated that, for the parents, the professional experience is on top of other criteria for teacher preference. Similar findings are obtained in Gençtürk and Memi?’s (2010) study where teachers tend to feel more compotent as they get experienced. Campbell (1996) and Daughtery (2005) also reported similar results. Professional experience appeared to be a major criterion for both parents and the teachers.

The research results demonstrate that there is a significant difference between the degrees of importance given by parents to“whether the teacher gives homework or not” and “teacher’s ethnic identity” according to their education level. Similarly, there is a significant difference between the degrees of importance given by parents to “other parents’ recommendations about the teacher” according to their income level.

Whether the school or parents come first as a school and teacher selection criterion was not one of the subquestions of this study. Still, several themes as a response to this question emerged during the analysis of interview results. Therefore, it is worth sharing these results. Although by nature the two factors interact with each other, it was observed that parents quite explicitly express their opinions about which is more important for them. The majority of the participants who expressed their opinions on this issue stated that they choose the school according to the teacher, while few gave priority to school. This once again confirms the claim that “schools are just as qualified as their teachers”. A noteworthy finding at this point is that parents who express priority of school prefer schools that are aligned with certain religious and political views.

In general terms, the research has revealed three results: the main school and teacher selection criteria comprise components of hidden curriculum related to school and teacher; teacher is given higher priority in this selection process; the qualifications of  the teacher is the most influential factor in school selection.

The results indicate that determining the school and the teacher is a difficult process for families, entailing a diversity of variables. Thus, it should be a multi-dimensional decision based on different perspectives. Improving the quality of teachers working at state schools will not only close the gap between state and private schools but it will also make the selection process easier for the parents. In addition, when trying to select a school or teacher, criteria established by scientific research may help parents in making better decisions. To this end, consultancy centers for parents can be established; they can help parents along the process of school selection, providing them with reliable and objective information. Considering the fact that a teacher qualification is the number-one criterion used by parents, a school’s popularity may increase if it gives enough attention to this issue. Further research can be carried out to identify the priorities related to school and teacher selection, and reasons behind them.

The author has not declared any conflict of interests.