School Choice and the Branding of Catholic Schools
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2011
Department
School of Business
Abstract
How useful are “corporate brands” in markets? In theory, brands convey reliable information, providing consumers with shortcuts to time-consuming provider searches. We examine the usefulness of a corporate brand when parental school choice is expanded through K–12 tuition scholarships. Specifically, we evaluate whether Catholic schools carry an identifiable education brand (1) preferred even by non-Catholics, (2) for reasons connected to the brand, (3) signaling largely accurate information resulting in an enduring “match” of school characteristics to student needs, and (4) leading to exit from the program when a Catholic school fails to meet consumers' brand expectations. We test these hypotheses using attitudinal and behavioral data from a scholarship program in Washington, DC. The results largely confirm our hypotheses about the Catholic school brand being attractive, familiar, generally accurate, and, when not accurate, an instigator of programmatic attrition—results that speak to enduring policy issues involving school choice.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1162/EDFP_a_00032
First Page
202
Last Page
245
Volume
6
Issue
2
ISSN
15573060, 15573079
Recommended Citation
Trivitt, J. R., & Wolf, P. J. (2011). School choice and the branding of Catholic schools. Education Finance and Policy, 6(2), 202-245. https://doi.org/10.1162/EDFP_a_00032