School choice within the upper class: Community, identity and social closure

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.3884

Keywords:

school choice, privatization in education, qualitative research, school segregation, meaning of social action, high social class

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study about the reasons, motives and meanings associated with school choice among Chilean upper-class families. School choice has become a relevant issue in educational policy debates about marketization and privatization because it is linked to social segregation dynamics. The Chilean upper social class is an appropriate social space to study these issues since this group educates their children in a hyper-segregated set of very expensive private schools. The study followed a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews and focus groups in a prototypical zone of the upper social class in Santiago, Chile. Our main findings show the enormous relevance of communitarian, social and cultural concerns when choosing schools, seeking an identification between family and school community based on shared worldviews and social relationships. If we consider this social space as an educational market with prices, competition and school choice, this would be a market heavily embedded in a dense social world that supports it and ultimately subordinates it. We also found some diversity within the upper social class, which is currently stressed by some processes of socio-cultural diversification.

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Author Biographies

Cristián Bellei, Universidad de Chile

Cristián Bellei es Doctor en Educación por la Universidad de Harvard. Actualmente es investigador asociado del Centro de Investigación Avanzada en Educación y profesor del Departamento de Sociología, ambos de la Universidad de Chile. Sus áreas principales de investigación son las políticas educacionales, los efectos del mercado en educación, la equidad y el cambio en educación.

Victor Orellana, Universidad de Chile

Víctor Orellana es Máster en Ciencias Sociales por la Universidad de Chile. Actualmente es investigador asistente del Centro de Investigación Avanzada en Educación de la Universidad de Chile. Sus áreas principales de investigación son la sociología de la educación, la calidad educacional, la educación superior y la estratificación social.

 

Manuel Canales, Universidad de Chile

Manuel Canales es Doctor en Sociología por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Actualmente es profesor del Departamento de Sociología de la Universidad de Chile. Sus áreas principales de investigación son los métodos cualitativos en ciencias sociales y aspectos críticos de la sociedad chilena.

 

Published

2020-01-13

How to Cite

Bellei, C., Orellana, V., & Canales, M. (2020). School choice within the upper class: Community, identity and social closure. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28, 5. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.3884

Issue

Section

Articles