Catchment Area Evasion: Why Do Parents Fear the “Regular” Czech Primary School?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14712/23362189.2021.980Keywords:
school choice, primary school, selective classes, educational inequity, grounded theoryAbstract
Specialised classes of various types have recently emerged in some Czech primary schools, allowing for pupil selection based on cognitive skills or socioeconomic status at an early age. Since these classes may pose a risk to educational equity, it is crucial to understand parents’ motivations for selecting them. The study explores what concerns associated with a “regular” public school contribute to the parents’ choice of a specialised class in the first grade in the context of urban Czechia. Guided by the research design of grounded theory, the study draws on 21 interviews with middle-class parents considering a specialised class in an urban setting. The results revealed six categories of concerns pertaining to the parents’ notion of a “regular” public school: the study environment, pace of classroom learning, parents’ educational vision, pupil composition, school-family value mismatch, and the lack of opportunity for systemic change. These concerns, based on “hot” knowledge rather than facts about specific schools, play a crucial role in the parents’ decision to avoid the catchment area school. Reacting to these concerns, suggestions for the public schools are discussed that would benefit all pupils, unlike tracking through specialised classes.
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