Choice of school in poor neighborhoods: Results from a qualitative study

One of the assumptions on which our system of subsidy per student is based is that families choose school according to their quality. To study how this assumption works in poor neighborhoods, we conducted twenty-six group interviews with mothers that send their children to municipal and private subs...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Claudia Córdoba; Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Otros Autores: Este trabajo forma parte de la Tesis de Doctorado de la autora, llevada a cabo gracias al apoyo del Programa de Becas de Gestión Propia de CONICYT (Concurso 2008)
Formato:
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://www.psicoperspectivas.cl/index.php/psicoperspectivas/article/view/301
http://biblioteca-repositorio.clacso.edu.ar/handle/CLACSO/80547
Descripción
Sumario:One of the assumptions on which our system of subsidy per student is based is that families choose school according to their quality. To study how this assumption works in poor neighborhoods, we conducted twenty-six group interviews with mothers that send their children to municipal and private subsidized schools within a working-class urban commune of the Metropolitan Region in Chile. We focus the presentation of results on the criteria and sources of information people use when choosing a school. We  conclude that: i) family preferences are limited by financial resources; ii) nearness and quality of education drive choice in a complex process where the SIMCE test has no relevant role; and iii) the type of student attending a particular school is strongly associated with the quality that the family attaches to that school. We argue that families from poor neighborhoods do play an active role in school choice.