“I do not want to poach pupils from other schools” – German primary schools and their role in educational choice processes

Within the German education system, primary schools underlie the ideal of a comprehensive and local school. However, this perception is changing: Increasingly, parents are carefully selecting the “right” primary schools for their children, and in some federal states, school catchment areas have been...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Isabel Ramos Lobato
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société Royale Belge de Géographie and the Belgian National Committee of Geography 2016-12-01
Series:Belgeo
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/19131
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Within the German education system, primary schools underlie the ideal of a comprehensive and local school. However, this perception is changing: Increasingly, parents are carefully selecting the “right” primary schools for their children, and in some federal states, school catchment areas have been abolished to encourage “responsible competition” among schools. Whereas most studies on school choice focus on parents’ educational strategies, this paper analyses the role of primary schools within this choice process. It notes the divergent ways in which primary schools – depending on the social geography of the city and their position within the educational market – respond to these policy changes and the changing parental demands confronting them.
ISSN:1377-2368
2294-9135