A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
School Choice to Lower Secondary Schools and Mechanisms of Segregation in Urban Finland
Authors: Kosunen Sonja, Bernelius Venla, Seppänen Piia, Porkka Miina
Publisher: Sage Publications
Publication year: 2020
Journal: Urban Education
Volume: 55
Issue: 10
First page : 1461
Last page: 1488
eISSN: 1552-8340
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916666933
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916666933
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/18637283
We explore the interconnections of pupil admission and school choice with the socioeconomic composition of schools in the city of Espoo, Finland. We analyze pupil enrollment from residential areas, and compare the schools’ expected and actual socioeconomic profiles using GIS software (MapInfo). Social-diversification mechanisms within urban comprehensive schooling emerged: Distinctive choices of language and selective classes are made predominantly by pupils from residential blocks with higher socioeconomic profiles. The role of urban segregation in school choice seems to be stronger than predicted. As mechanisms of educational distinction accompanied with grouping policies, choice leads to socioeconomic segregation across and within schools.
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