Preschool inequalities – analyses of recruitment and segregation patterns in Swedish preschools

The following presentation builds on two papers in which we explore how class inequalities are related to segregation in the housing market and in preschools.

Commuting patterns of preschool children in metropolitan Stockholm

This full population study of travel-to-preschool patterns of the youngest children (< 6 years old) in metropolitan Stockholm analyses how school markets, even at an early stage, reproduce inequalities related to social and geographical distances. Our findings show that families with foreign backgrounds tend to convert educational capital into social capital by sending their children to preschools in more socio-economically favourable neighbourhoods. Furthermore, we detect avoidance behaviour among the majority population in ethnically mixed neighbourhoods, which indicate that some native families are inclined to avoid preschools with high shares of non-native peers.

(Full text: https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/rsp3.12401)

Even in preschools – analysing the preschool and neighbourhood segregation gap in Swedish municipalities

Preschool segregation has not been the focus of research efforts to the same extent as compulsory school segregation. This is at least in part a consequence of the lack of large-scale, registry-based data sources on where children live and where they attend preschool. This paper presents a full-population account of discrepancies between preschool segregation and neighbourhood segregation covering the Swedish population. Data includes preschool children as well as their parents’ income, education, ethnic background and place of residence. Findings indicate that while preschool segregation does not differ from neighbourhood segregation to the same extent as previous research has shown for school segregation, there are systematic differences affecting the level of segregation across Sweden and in various types of municipalities. The findings show that the geographical distribution of private and public preschools affects levels of segregation. This conclusion supports the general argument that the free-choice reform in the Swedish school system tends to raise levels of school segregation above the levels of residential segregation – even in preschools.

(The paper is under review)

The seminar will be held in English.

Länken till zoom:

https://gu-se.zoom.us/j/61237581760?pwd=UWliUkxOKzN0V05abkhyYnJGZ1hsQT09

Meeting ID: 612 3758 1760

Passcode: 197592

Vid frågor kontakta:

Joanna Giota, ordförande: joanna.giota@ped.gu.se

Yi Ding, sekreterare: yi.ding@gu.se