This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.School choice policy in [study city], New Zealand has created an unintended consequence: the adolescent uptake of school choice increases travel distances and decreases opportunities for physical activity through active transport to school, creating a wicked problem. Wicked problems present as solution resistant due to their complex nature involving multiple stakeholders. In this article, we report parental perspectives on school choice decision-making to support the development of resolutions to address tensions created when school choice policies decrease opportunities for adolescent physical activity. We analysed questionnaire responses from 352 parents in [study city] using descriptive statistics, χ2-test, t-test for independent samples and open coding to analyse open-ended responses, differentiating results for enrolment in the closest vs. non-closest school. We found most school choice decisions were made by parents jointly with their adolescent (72.7%). Overall, only 38.9% of adolescents enrolled in their closest school. Parents who enrolled their adolescent in the closest school more frequently reported proximity to home and enrolment of child's friends or siblings as reasons for school choice and less frequently reported negative comments about the closest school compared to their counterparts. The students who enrolled in their closest school more frequently used active transport to school compared to their peers who enrolled in a non-closest school. We argue that understanding the perspectives of parents as important actors in the system that drives school choice decision-making is an important first step in considering ways to leverage change to increase opportunities for physical activity through active transport to school.
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