A Correlational Study of Factors That Contribute to Private School Enrollment: School Culture and Physical Facilities

Private schools all over the country are declining and closing whereas many schools are growing and flourishing (Gilmore & Rush, 2013). Since competition is so strong, it is important to understand the key factors that contribute to enrollment (Frost, 2014). This study explored two factors in particular: the condition of the physical facilities and the culture and climate of the school. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine what type of relationship, if any, exists between the dependent variable of change in private school enrollment and each of the two independent variables: the rating of condition of facilities and the rating of school culture and climate. The researcher surveyed 245 private, elementary school administrators in California using the online distribution program Qualtrics. Data gathered from the participants were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, no statistically significant relationship was found between enrollment and physical facilities, r(1, 245) = -1.00, p\u3e0.05). However, a mild statistically significant relationship was found between enrollment and school culture, r(2, 245) = 0.175, p\u3c0.05. Limitations include possible bias of the participants, accuracy of the participants’ knowledge, and the inability of the researcher to control who participated in the study. However, these limitations likely did not affect the outcome of the study. Results of this study could foreseeably benefit school decision-makers when deciding on how to best allocate limited resources and maximize growth potential