There Goes the School: The Politics of Class, Race, and Space in School Redistricting

• In Event: Race, Family, and Politics of Educational Opportunity: (Re)Conceptualizing Space

Abstract

In this study, I examine parental attitudes toward the social composition of schools by analyzing data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with parents (N=25) facing a school reassignment process with the potential to racially and socioeconomically diversify schools. I explore three major questions: (1) are schooling preferences color and class-blind (e.g., are they influenced by the racial and socioeconomic composition of schools or other “objective” characteristics such as academic achievement and location)? (2) To what extent do choices reflect in-group preferences versus out-group bias? (3) How do parents frame their support or opposition to integrative redistricting? Findings support previous research indicating that self-interest, symbolic attitudes, and status concerns frame white parents’ opposition to integrative efforts and policies.

Author

• Daphne M. Penn, Harvard University