Date
1-2022
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Mary Lowe
Keywords
millennial, Facebook, school choice, social network, social contagion
Disciplines
Education | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Farien, Laura Alysson, "Social Contagion's Impact on Decision-Making Among Millennial Parents Seeking a Christian School" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3353.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3353
Abstract
Connections in a social network influence people in both positive and negative ways (Christakis & Fowler, 2009), and this study describes how connections in a virtual network affect school choice decision-making in a market heavily saturated with school choice options. This is a qualitative ethnographic study of millennial parents who experience social contagion across online platforms. Participants have at least one child enrolled in a private school in Shelby County, Tennessee. Social contagion is what flows between participants in a social network and influences decision-making (Christakis & Fowler). This study examined influence as the specific social contagion impacting school choice decision making among millennials in Shelby County, Tennessee.
