Reflection of my own experience: School choice & My experience

One of the most important decision in a parents life is choosing the most appropriate school for their child. There are many factors that may affect their decision which include cultural identity, religious beliefs, social factors and academic quality of the school. Some parents base their decision on systematic results such as Naplan or compare schools on the My school website. Schneider, Marschall, Teske, and Roch (1998) concluded that parents from similar social, economic, and cultural backgrounds had similar preferences in 
school-choice decisions.
From my experience however my parents main objective as a Muslim family were to put me in a private school which had a well academic standing but also had Islamic teachings to offer. Which is why from my eldest brother and the rest of my siblings were enrolled in Malek Fahd Islamic School. M.F.I.S being a kindergarten to year 12 school was well known for high HSC achievers which is what also encouraged my parents school choice. As an overall experience of the school I felt comfortable and at home as I was surrounded with people who held the same belief as me, as due to wearing the scarf there can be some tension around people with different values. Also although we were all Muslim there were different cultures within the school. Like every other school there is bullying and lack of self esteem due to individuals cultural identities. However there are only a minority of cultures that are present within the school in comparison to a local public school. I seen this as a major setback and disadvantage to me as although I was comfortable within school, it did not provide me with the experience that would be needed when I merged into the real world after school. It was a major setback for me as I did not interact with people of many different cultures and religous backgrounds. Me as an individual I believe it is a great opportunity students should have to be able to gain such an interaction throughout schooling, as not only do they gain knowledge of peoples cultures and beliefs but it also increases the students self esteem to be able to communicate to people with confidence when they get into their field of work and study after school. 

However as the article 'School choice is not just keeping the faith' Josephine Tovey, Georgina Mitchell, pinpoints the idea that parents do not solely base their decision on religious beliefs but also on the discipline of the school as well as the overall academic achievement. Parents have a growing concern of sending their children to public schools as they believe some public schools have a low discipline rate. In the article John (not his real name) a Sydney father and a lapsed catholic says he would not send his son to the local public boys' high school, which he believes has a poor reputation, particularly where discipline is concerned. He feels his son will perform better academically at a private school.' 

Parents have many concerns in relation to school choice, however I believe it is dependent on the families capabilities and strong connections to their religion that has a major impact to where they chose to send their children.

For more insight on parents from different religious beliefs,
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/school-choice-is-not-just-keeping-the-faith-20130217-2el4a.html#ixzz2h8BUeJcH
References:
Jacobs, N. 2011. Understanding School Choice: Location as a Determinant of Charter School Racial, Economic, and Linguistic Segregation. Education and urban society, volume 45(4), 459 -482