| dc.description.abstract | Catholic school enrollment has been declining for decades, and Notre Dame High School – Fairfield is no stranger to this crisis. This project, framed within social identity theory, investigated the perceptions and preferences of local families related to secondary school selection. A survey was administered to local families through a snowball approach and found: (1) Catholic-identified parents are the most fruitful demographic for increasing Notre Dame’s enrollment, (2) families with different identities and secondary school affiliations report having varied prioritizations and perceptions of school-quality factors, (3) knowledge and perception formation occur primarily within social communities or independently, and (4) more non-Catholic school parents report knowing friends, family members or associates who attended their child’s school as compared to Catholic school parents. These findings were utilized to identify recommendations aimed at increasing enrollment. | |
