Influence of religious philosophy on parental school choice: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

In this paper, attention is paid to the extent to which religious philosophy
can determine parental choice of a school for their children. It has become
common in families to look for an institution that shares their beliefs, thus
it is worth knowing the reasons behind such choices. The goal of this study
is to understand the key objectives of parents who put such priorities above
other factors when choosing a school. More specifically, library research and
a phenomenological approach formed the qualitative research design data
sources which were various articles and books. The results show that parents
consider the focus on the religious education of their children, the similarity of
beliefs in the family and the school, and the possibility of belonging to a faith
community in a school as the main criteria for the selection of schools. These
are important areas in the nurturing of children’s morals and ethics. From the
findings of the study, it can also be stated that such parents conform to the
school’s existing philosophy which appeals to them. There has been an attempt
in this research paper that suggests that these schools should develop programs
that will cultivate their students’ religious beliefs holistically. This program will
also be useful to families whose philosophical views have been extended to
educational institutions that are highly confessional.