Identifying Causes of Student End of Year Transfers as Experienced at Private All-Male Military Boarding Schools: A Multiple Case Study

Author(s)

Frank MartinFollow

Date

12-2012

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Ellen L. Black

Primary Subject Area

Gender Studies; Education, General; Education, Educational Psychology; Military Studies

Keywords

All-Male, Enrollment Management, Military private schools, Private schools, Retention, Single-Gender

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Psychology | Military and Veterans Studies

Recommended Citation

Martin, Frank, "Identifying Causes of Student End of Year Transfers as Experienced at Private All-Male Military Boarding Schools: A Multiple Case Study" (2012). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 628.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/628

Abstract

This study examined and helped identify causes for end-of-year transfers from private all-male military boarding schools to a non-military school. The purposes of this study were twofold. The first purpose was to identify the reasons why parents chose to transfer their sons from the all-male military private boarding school of their choice to another school from the 2009-2010 school year to the 2010-2011 school year. A secondary purpose was to identify any commonalities amongst the military schools involved in the study regarding why students returned to either their previous school or chose another school, whether public or private. The researcher used a researcher-developed, peer-evaluated exit survey with primarily Likert scale items and the option for open-ended written response. It was provided to those parents (N = 230) of students of four different all-male military boarding schools around the country who were eligible to return to their respective private all-male military boarding schools but chose not to return. Effective enrollment management is of paramount importance to private independent school success. There must be a clear understanding as to why parents have their sons attend a military school. It is just as important to understand why some parents choose not to return their sons to a military school. This multiple case study found that although finances did play a role in students not returning to their respective schools, the key factor or influencer was that the residential/barracks life did not meet expectations.