Designing school contexts for success: paternalism or libertarianism?

– The purpose of this paper is to develop, illustrate, and apply the concept of choice architecture to schools.

– The analysis is a synthesis of concepts from the social science research that nudge people toward positive actions.

– A dozen concepts are identified, defined, and illustrated as a set of principles and guidelines that are elaborated to guide school leaders in the science and art of choice architecture.

– The principles of choice architecture are demonstrated to be of practical utility for school leaders in designing educational contexts for school achievement.

– A mental toolbox of concepts and principles that are highlighted for use by school leaders to benefit students and teachers.