Skip to main content

Pulling Back the Curtain: A Student Collaborative Case Study of Equity Issues in Colorado’s School Finance System

Item

Title
Pulling Back the Curtain: A Student Collaborative Case Study of Equity Issues in Colorado’s School Finance System
Abstract/Description
After the Great Recession, a seven percent decrease in funding ended decades of academic growth and further widened the achievement gap between White and Black students (Jackson et al., 2020). Colorado’s school-finance system is particularly distorted and inequitable because of a series of tax-limiting policies which, combined, have led Colorado to become one of the lowest-funded per pupil states in the country (Resnick et al., 2015). The purpose of this study is to describe the policymaking context, as it relates to equity within Colorado’s school-finance system and explore policy alternatives to improve equity within the system. The study was designed as a qualitative case study, conducted in partnership with three youth co-researchers in a modified youth participatory action research methodology. Data analysis was informed by critical policy analysis and critical theory. Study findings were visualized in a policy roadmap, designed for wide distribution across various state stakeholders and decisionmakers. This collaborative study contributes to the nationally emerging youth-led movement that interrupts dominant relationships, repositions power, and charts new territory in youth advocacy (Apple, 2019; Mansfield et al., 2012; Young & Diem, 2017).
Author/creator
Schwartz, Amy Jo
Date
2021
Institution
University of Denver
Committee
Hesbol, Kristina
Resnick, Phyllis
Anderson, Erin
Richardson, Jayson W.
Resource type
en Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form
en Thesis/Dissertation
Scholarship genre
en Empirical
Keywords
education finance policy
student voice
IRE Approach/Concept
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
Language
English
Open access/full-text available
en Yes
Peer reviewed
en No
ISBN
9798480644708
URL
Official Dissertation Webpage (via ProQuest Dissertations)
Open Access Dissertation (Digital Commons at the University of Denver)
Citation
Schwartz, A. J. (2021). Pulling Back the Curtain: A Student Collaborative Case Study of Equity Issues in Colorado’s School Finance System [Ed.D., University of Denver]. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/2587976565/abstract/B8F006AC8B446CBPQ/20
Place
United States -- Colorado
Rights
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Type
Ed.D.
Item sets
IRE Theses and Dissertations
Dissertation
20220707 IRE Dissertations

Export

Comments

No comment yet! Be the first to add one!

I agree with terms of use and I accept to free my contribution under the licence CC BY-SA.

New Tags

I agree with terms of use and I accept to free my contribution under the licence CC BY-SA.