Safety in numbers? Middle-class parents and social mix in London primary schools

Research into parents’ secondary-school choices suggests that many middle-class parents are keen to secure a middle-class peer group for their children. This article reports the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study into whether a similar phenomenon exists at primary-school level and, if so, why. In-depth interviews were conducted with 56 middle-class parents of pre-school children in inner London. Respondents often had contradictory impulses. Nearly all liked the idea of a socially mixed school but many associated the ‘wrong’ mix with various risks. Some of these perceived risks are familiar from previous studies. Others are less familiar, such as the fear among respondents that they themselves might not ‘fit in’ at their children’s school. The types of intake which respondents preferred fell into three overlapping categories: children from ‘pro-school’ families, children at a similar level of achievement to respondents’ own children and ‘people like us’. Respondents’ judgements about whether children and families fell into these categories were based in part on ideas about class, ethnicity and language. Respondents gravitated toward schools where most children were perceived to come from middle-class, white, English-speaking backgrounds. The article argues that attitudes towards children learning English as an additional language need to receive greater attention in future research.     

Middle-class parents’ educational work in an academically selective public high school

This article reports the findings of a study on the nature of parent–school engagement at an academically selective public high school in New South Wales, Australia. Such research is pertinent given recent policies of ‘choice’ and decentralization, making a study of local stakeholders timely. The research comprised a set of interviews with parents and teachers (n = 15), through which parents – all members of the school’s Parents’ and Citizens’ group – theorized and explained their involvement with the school, and teachers spoke about their views on this involvement. Results are organized around three themes: ‘how parents worked to nurture their children’s schooling’, ‘reasons behind parents’ involvement with the school’, and ‘communication and use of parental resources by the school’. Overall it was found that while parents were making significant efforts to involve themselves in the education of their children and with the school more broadly, the reasons for their involvement were not always consistent, but instead revealed a range of motivations for and conceptions of parents’ roles within schools, which at times were at odds with the teachers’. Through this, the study contributes to our understanding of middle-class parent engagement at an unusual and particular type of school.     

Choosing selves: the salience of parental identity in the school choice process

With the proliferation of choice policies in education, parents are increasingly positioned as ‘consumers’ tasked with choosing the ‘best’ school for their children. Yet a large body of research has shown that the process of selecting a school is far more complicated than policy-makers and researchers often predict. This article uses ethnographic data on middle-class parents in a large city who are considering sending their children to a diverse neighborhood public school to further develop our understanding of school choice. Drawing from sociological research on consumption as a social and cultural process, we examine the intersections between parents’ choice of a particular school (i.e. consumption) and their own identity construction. Our data show that the act of choosing a school can become, for parents, a means of expressing and enacting a particular identity. In this case, the intersections between identity and choice pushed many parents – invested in seeing themselves as liberal urbanites – towards an urban public school. We suggest that similar dynamics could have different outcomes for other groups of parents and that the symbolic nature of the school choice decision has broader relevance and merits further study.     

Languages,cultural capital and school choice: distinction and second-language immersion programmes

This paper argues that languages, increasingly marginalised in schools in English-speaking countries, are gaining ‘elitist’ ground as part of the ‘value-added’ marketisation of schools and parents’ desire for their children to gain ‘positional goods’ through schooling. In arguing our case, the paper draws on survey and other data derived from second-language immersion programmes in two Queensland secondary schools, where key learning areas such as mathematics and science are taught through the medium of another language. As a corollary, we also argue that some schools – in our case, government schools – are using their immersion programmes as markers of distinction in a period of post-comprehensive schooling and emerging school markets, which includes both government and non-government schools. There is also a global policy context to such programmes in respect of countries such as Spain, China and Germany supporting the teaching of their respective languages in nations around the world.     

Making it work for their children: white middle-class parents and working-class schools

The white middle-class parents who chose to send their children to urban comprehensives largely rejected engaging in the usual competitiveness for educational success. Nevertheless the parents in our study still found themselves wittingly or otherwise captured by that same discourse. Their children are high achievers and are regarded as a valuable resource for their comprehensive schools generating high volume capital. However, in spite of this, the parents do not leave such success to chance. Drawing on an ESRC-funded research project (Educational Choices and the White Urban Middle-Classes RES-148-25-0023) we analyse how middle-class parental involvement is part of the age old process of social reproduction and the transmission of parents’ middle-class privilege to their children, almost regardless of their intentions. Not only are the parents interventionist in their children’s schooling, they draw on and dispose their own privileged capitals to prepare and position their children for educational success.     

School Choice and the Politics of Parenthood: Exploring Parent Mobilization As a Catalyst for the Common Good

A substantial body of research has shown how white, middle-class parents in urban school districts use school choice as a tool to pursue educational advantages for their children. The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine the debate over neighborhood schools and school choice among a diverse group of parents in a gentrifying, yet highly diverse New York City neighborhood that I call “Prospect Point.” My central focus was studying a parent advocacy group that supports neighborhood schools. Findings show that about one third of families living in Prospect Point choose to send their children to charter or gifted and talented (G&T) schools located outside of the neighborhood. Given this outflow of parents and resources via school choice, most of the gentrifier parents in the sample who opted in to the local schools viewed their choice as a politically charged decision, and they credited the parent advocacy group as having influenced it. As a group, they rejected the consumer model of school choice, which they believed put the local schools at a disadvantage and was the norm for their racial/ethnic and socioeconomic demographic. Opt-in parents in this context recognized their privilege, and their children’s privilege, in the school-choice process and actively sought to diminish it through their choice to opt in. This research has important implications for the transformative role that parent mobilization can play in the future of diverse, high-quality public education and our democratic society.     

Parent preferences and parent choices: the public–private decision about school choice

School choice survey data from the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, a large county‐wide school district, is analysed to examine the characteristics of parents who consider choosing private schools for their children and those who do not. We examine differences in background, including race, educational attainment and socioeconomic status, as well as differences in parent satisfaction with their child’s previous school, parent involvement in school, parents’ priorities in school choice, as well as parents’ social networks. After controlling for background characteristics, we find that parent satisfaction with their child’s previous school was not a predictor of considering a private school. Rather, parent involvement seems to be a more important indicator of whether or not a parent would consider sending their child to a private school. In this case, parents are not ‘pushed’ away from public schools, contrary to much public rhetoric that suggests private schools are somehow inherently ‘better’ than public schools and parents who are dissatisfied with their public schools will opt for private schools. Instead, these findings suggest a ‘pull’ towards private schools. Parents may perceive that parent involvement and parent communication are more easily facilitated and valued in private schools.     

Tools for talking: the purposeful and inventive use of languages by bilingual children in primary classrooms

This article is based on a number of observations of bilingual children in an East London primary school, and some work carried out for a doctoral study. The article explores children’s views and perspectives on their use of first and second languages at home and at school. The kernel of the investigation is that language use is dependent on purpose. Bilingual children’s use of their first and second language depends on which language best serves a particular function. Often children who speak two or more languages on a regular basis combine these to create a new language. Schools therefore need to review their language policies and practices in relation to their pupil intake, taking into account the contribution of bilingual experience to children’s overall linguistic development. Teachers also need to understand parents’ views on their children’s language and literacy education. These issues are of vital importance if schools are to provide an inclusive curriculum.     

Tilting the playing field: ‘Redshirting’ kindergarten boys in the US and the competition for hegemonic masculinity

This study examines patterns in the kinds of discourses parents use to think about when to start their children in kindergarten in the US. Parents of three- to six-year olds were interviewed to gain an understanding of how parents make the ‘redshirting’ decision and the extent to which parental concern for sons’ achievement of successful masculinity plays into that choice. Focusing on the parents of male children, this analysis reveals parents employ two gender-related discourses: (1) the ‘failing boys’ backlash debate, surrounding the notion that schools are assumed to favour girls and how girls learn, and (2) a discourse involving the importance of hegemonic masculinity in competition with other boys.     

The struggle for legitimacy: language provision in two ‘residual’ comprehensive high schools in Australia

Despite the contemporary policy rhetoric of global citizenry and the importance of languages and intercultural capabilities, language learning in Australian schools struggles for recognition and support. The curriculum marginalisation of languages, however, is uneven, affecting some school sectors more than others. In this article, we examine the provision of languages in two government comprehensive high schools, both low socio-economic status, located in urban areas in New South Wales, Australia’s largest state. They are termed ‘residual’ high schools because they cater for the students remaining in the local schools while others attend either private or selective government high schools. We provide a qualitative picture of language provision in these two schools from the perspectives of key stakeholders – school principals, teachers, students and parents. We also draw on observational data of language classes. The aim is to provide, within a largely social class framework, an understanding of the state of language provision in these schools. We argue that currently students in these schools are experiencing unequal access to the linguistic and cultural capital associated with language learning relative to students in more privileged communities and schools.     

Exploring the views of parents of high ability children living in relative poverty

Background: This study is located in the general context of recent research on family life in England, ‘gifted and talented’ education policy and the significance of parental engagement. There is strong evidence that parental involvement has a significant and positive effect on children’s development and achievement. Although a great deal of work has been done on identifying general patterns of good practice, there is a gap in the literature regarding the support needs of parents of gifted and talented children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Purpose: The aim of this UK-based study was to explore what support such parents had received and what support they felt they needed to better promote their children’s development and achievement.

Sample: An opportunity sample of 21 parents with youngsters aged 14–16 identified as ‘gifted and talented’ by their schools, as part of UK government policy, took part in the study. The students attended a university-based intervention programme, which was designed to raise the students’ aspirations and achievement. The students were from schools within areas of relative social deprivation and, most qualified for free school meals.

Design and Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out to capture the authentic voice of the parents. Data was analysed using both pre-determined and emerging codes.

Results: Sixteen of 21 of the parents had good, supportive relationships with their children and 15 of 21 had high aspirations for them. However, 18 of 21 of the parents felt unable to engage with their child’s learning in the home. They also felt inadequate in their knowledge and experience to help their children with subject choices and advise on matters relating to Higher Education. Parents did not perceive their wider family or the wider community as supportive, nor did they expect them to be. Peer groups were seen as threats to their children’s well-being and advancement. Schools were highly rated for relationships but offered no specific support to these parents.

Conclusions: We conclude that although parental involvement is acknowledged in defining children’s life chances, parents in our sample, nonetheless, seemed to be being forced to ‘go it alone’. Within the limitations imposed by our small sample, we raise questions about the implications of the study.     

Shopping for schools or shopping for peers: public schools and catchment area segregation

Market theory positions the consumer as a rational choice actor, making informed schooling choices on the basis of ‘hard’ evidence of relative school effectiveness. Yet there are concerns that parents simply choose schools based on socio-demographic characteristics, thus leading to greater social segregation and undercutting the potential of choice to drive quality improvements. In this paper, we explore segregation by examining catchment areas for a range of public high schools in a specific middle-class urban area. We focus on socio-demographic characteristics, including levels of income, country of birth and religion affiliation, in order to explore residential segregation according to public high school catchment areas. Our data suggest distinct residential segregation between catchment areas for each public school within our data-set, particularly for the schools deemed to be popular and rejected, that may pose risks for broader equity concerns. We argue that, in contrast to market theory, even more affluent and active choosers are not equipped with information on the programmatic quality of their different school options, but instead may be relying on socio-demographic characteristics of schools – through surrogate information about the urban spaces that the schools occupy – in order to choose peer groups, if not programmes, for their children.     

Parent involvement: perceptions of recent immigrant parents in a suburban school district,Minnesota

The study aimed to examine the perceptions of immigrant parents regarding their school’s efforts to encourage three types of parent involvement: Parenting, Communicating, and Learning at Home. The sample includes 106 immigrant parents with children who were enrolled in English Language Learners programmes at 10 schools in a suburban school district in Minnesota, USA. The results showed that depending on their ethnicities, the children’s school levels and the father’s educational level, the perceptions of the parents were significantly different in terms of the “Parenting” and “Learning at Home” involvement types. Mother’s educational level was significantly correlated to the languages used at home and to their children’s academic achievement in English. Results indicated that schools should consider ethnic backgrounds and educational levels of parents, and languages used at home to instil as collaborations between immigrant parents and schools.     

Seeking a ‘critical mass’: middle-class parents’ collective engagement in city public schooling

A growing body of literature has begun to explore the individual identities, motivations, and school choices of middle-class, typically white, parents who choose to reside in socioeconomically and racially mixed central city neighborhoods. Drawing on qualitative research in three US cities, we argue that a focus on middle-class parents’ collective engagement in schooling is particularly important in under-resourced urban contexts. In these environments, we show, middle-class parents’ use of social networks often extends beyond basic information-sharing about school quality to encompass a range of activities undertaken with other families ‘like them’ who have also chosen to enroll their children in an urban public school. We find that, in some instances, middle-class parents’ collective actions can benefit an entire class or school. Yet in other instances, their activation of social capital can contribute to processes of social reproduction in urban schooling by excluding or marginalizing low-income students and their families.     

Social topography of children’s play: focusing on the middle-class parenting practices in South Korea

Abstract

This study aims to understand the ways in which children’s play is situated in and shaped by middle-class parenting practices in South Korea. Drawing on a set of data collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 parents having children aged 6–11?years, I observe that despite the widespread rhetoric of the significance of play, parents’ scheduling of their children’s daily routine centres around ‘study’, while play, especially free play, is left for in between times and limited spaces. Play is prominently associated with and instrumental in developing children’s social skills and ensuring their emotional state. In line with the trend in the Global North where a broader concept of play is being institutionalised and incorporated into organised enrichment activities, play spaces are increasingly becoming a site of strategic family consumption. The changing geographies of play strongly reflect the neoliberal climate which generates anxiety and exhaustion related to parenting practices.     

Parenting priorities and pressures: furthering understanding of ‘concerted cultivation’

This paper re-examines the purposes of a planned and intentional parenting style – ‘concerted cultivation’ – for different middle-class groups, highlighting that social class fraction, ethnicity, and also individual family disposition, guides understandings of the purposes of enrolling children in particular enrichment activities. We examine how parents and their children engage in extra-curricular activities for instrumental reasons with a view to securing skills, qualities and distinction for the future. Additionally, however, enrichment activities are understood as offering present-day values such as enjoyment, social bonding and purposeful activity. The paper also highlights that current policy and broader commercial discourses call for the increased responsibilisation and intensification of parenting, which means that ‘good’ parents are required to ‘buy into’ extra-curricular activities for their children, with concomitant implications for those whose access to activities is limited by economic circumstance.     

Determinants of Primary School Choice in Malaysia: School Proximity and Ethnicity-Related Reasons

The study examined determinants of primary school choice among parents in Malaysia, and the decision maker and social influences in the school choice. It draws on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 43 middle-class parents from three ethnic groups (Chinese, Malay, and Indigenous). Results showed that school proximity and ethnicity-related reasons are leading factors influencing parental school choice. Medium of instruction, school academic reputation, and feeder to a preferred secondary school appear to be separate reasons but act as a proxy to ethnicity as the primary factor determining the choice of Chinese- or Malay-medium primary school by parents. The results also showed that mothers are more likely to make school choice decisions than fathers, but the reasons for school choice are similar. The primary social influences on their school choice come from friends and education personnel in preschools and schools. The Indigenous parents tend to be more subject to social pressure in making school choices than the Chinese and Malay parents, who mostly enroll their children in Chinese- and Malay-medium primary schools, respectively. However, these findings on school choice and ethnic segregation are limited to this sample and constrained by the socio-political context of the education system.     

Carrying the beacon of excellence: social class differentiation and anxiety at a time of transition

In the current performance and ‘excellence’ culture that has so bewitched politicians and beset educators, there are no discourses available to voice and to make sense of the anxieties that consistently arise for children who are pushed towards ever-higher performance. Drawing on the findings from a study of children's transitions from primary to secondary school, this paper examines some of the structural and emotional consequences of current school-choice policy in the UK. Deep-seated fears of downward mobility held by some sections of the middle classes are potently mobilized when faced with the constraints of local secondary schools markets. Children from professional middle-class families are pushed towards high performance as a response to these fears with parents using a range of strategies to place their child in a high performing school, including entering them for selective schools' entrance examinations. In the pursuit of the kind of attainment seen to be necessary in order to ensure the successful reproduction of professional middle-class status, we argue that difficult emotions have to be suppressed or split off. For middle-class girls in particular, the constant striving for and achievement of high attainment, rather than unproblematically engendering a sense of confidence in their abilities, can produce a sense of never being good enough. Nor is it only the middle classes who are implicated in these processes. There are serious consequences for working-class children and we discuss how they are positioned in relation to UK policy initiatives that prioritize ‘excellence’.     

Where words collide: social class,schools and linguistic discontinuity

The prestige accorded to standard language varieties, particularly within the field of education, together with language management role of schools with respect to the variety and the extent to which linguistic differences construct discontinuous relationships between the school and specific social groups provide the rationale for this paper. This qualitative study, based on a friendship focus group design, was conducted with two groups of 12-year-old children from contrasting ‘ideal type’, socio-economic groups over the period of one school year. Findings outline specific practices where the linguistic expectations and demands within school-space create different implications and outcomes for middle-class and working-class children as a result of their linguistic experiences in non-school space. The implications of these linguistic interactions on patterns of engagement with the school among the children in the sample are also considered.     

‘Parents don’t want their children to speak their home language’: how do educators negotiate partnerships with Chinese parents regarding their children’s use of home language and English in early childhood settings?

This study investigated five Australian early childhood educators’ negotiation of the complex terrain of working in partnership with Chinese parents regarding their children’s language usage in early childhood settings. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore educators’ views on children’s language usage in early childhood settings, their perception of Chinese parents’ language expectations and their strategies in resolving the tension between parental expectation and educator views on children’s language usage under the current regulatory frameworks. Educators reported that many Chinese parents expected their children to use only English in early childhood settings. Such a practice would not align with educators’ views of permitting children to use languages freely. The educators developed different strategies to address the tension between their desire to achieve positive outcomes for children and their need to work in partnership with families. Implications for the further preparation of educators are discussed.