PARENTAL SCHOOL CHOICE MISERY: MIDDLE CLASS PARENTS’ DILEMMA IN CHOOSING A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN BERLIN’S MULTI-ETHNIC NEIGHBOURHOODS

• Authors: Mayer Tanja , Geist Viktor , Pohl Vera S. , Schwarz Judith , Koinzer Thomas
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

To follow up on research conducted in several countries, in this paper, we look at the dilemmas middle-class parents face of being “good parents” by choosing the “best” school with a milieu-related environment for their child versus being “good citizens” by choosing a “local” public school with a large proportion of students from a working-class or migrant background. Analysing semi-structured interviews with parents, the paper explores whether and how parents in Germany’s capital city of Berlin refer to this dilemma concerning primary school choice and how they resolve it and justify their decision. The parents interviewed applied strategies in deciding to be “good parents” or “good citizens” or at least to make it easier to solve the dilemma. All the strategies presented in other studies can be found in our sample as well. In addition, we identified two more parental strategies: the strategy of downward comparison and the strategy of choosing a private school. It is notable that the perceived proportion of children with a migrant background in the neighbourhood played a major role in relation to the dilemma and the strategies chosen.

Keywords

EN

SEGREGATION; PRIVATE SCHOOL; SPATIAL INEQUALITIES; BERLIN; GERMANY

• Publisher: Faculty of Education, Trnava University
• Journal: Pedagogický časopis (Journal of Pedagogy)
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 35 – 57

Contributors

author

Mayer Tanja

• Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany

author

Geist Viktor

author

Pohl Vera S.

author

Schwarz Judith

author

Koinzer Thomas

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/jped-2020-0003