Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Dr. Jeongeun Rhee

Second Advisor

Dr. Katwona Warren

Third Advisor

Dr. Akua-Kisiwaa Adefope

Abstract

This study explored how the cultural context of school choice in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, intersects with race, migration, identity, and the ongoing impact of gentrification. Through a combination of narrative interviews and autoethnographic reflection, the research examined how parents, particularly those from middle-class backgrounds, make educational decisions within a rapidly changing urban landscape. Findings revealed that while many families value racial and economic diversity in theory, decisions are often shaped by fears of academic underperformance, social exclusion, and neighborhood displacement. Some participants reflected an immigrant lens rooted in survival, stability, and cultural preservation, while others articulated tensions between ideals of integration and the realities of systemic inequity in schools. Gentrification further complicates these decisions, transforming neighborhood spaces without necessarily integrating schools. Drawing on the frameworks of Cucchiara and Horvat (2009), Nikole Hannah-Jones (2016), and related scholarship, this study illustrated the moral ambivalence, institutional mistrust, and cultural negotiation embedded in school choice. It calls for more inclusive and equity-driven policy approaches that reckon with the lived experiences of families navigating stratified educational systems in gentrifying communities

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