Desegregation in American Schools: Comparative Intervention Strategies

This study examines the question of which type of desegregation plan most effectively reduces segregation in American public schools. It departs from previous research in that the author does not categorize desegregation plans simply as "mandatory" or "voluntary"; rather, he creates a choice-coercion continuum to account for more of the variation between diverse desegregation orders that have been implemented in urban America. The issue of measuring segregation is also addressed in a new way by Fife, and he concludes that mandated desegregation techniques reduce the level of segregation to a greater degree than less coercive plans.