December
28
Choosing schools – choosing identities in London
Posted by Rona Hart . Published on 28 December 2011, 1 Comment Received
Hart R., (2011) Choosing Schools – Choosing Identities in London: A Study of Parental Choice Among Members of an Immigrant Group in London. UK/USA: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
Dear Friends
I am delighted to announce the publication of my first book (which is my PhD dissertation) by Lambert Academic Publishing.
Here is the abstract:
This ethnographic study delineates the experiences of immigrant families living in London as they engage with local schools. The findings chapters of the study explore issues of access, by following the parents as they enter London’s educational marketplace and as they choose a school for their children. The study portrays the process of educational choice from their perspective as newcomers, highlighting their positioning in the educational marketplace and the significance of their skills and resources as educational consumers.
The findings reveal eight types of capitals that these families draw on as they engage with the education market. These are: cultural properties, social resources, identities, symbolic assets, psychological empowerment, cognitive capacities, economic means and statutory positioning. The analyses highlight the development that occurred in the choosers’ consumerist skills over time, suggesting that there may be a way to empower disadvantaged choosers to obtain improved positions as educational consumers.
A central theme in this study is the occurrence of a communal pattern of schooling among this group of families. Searching for the factors that occasion segregation in education, the focus of the research shifted to explore the role of the choosers’ networks. The findings suggest that by using various control mechanisms, these networks engendered a continual pattern of schooling resulting in segregation and closure.
‘Choosing schools – choosing identities’ stands for the main argument of this study which states that the choice of school, as an act of consumerism, represents the choosers’ collective identities, and at the same time plays a significant role in reinventing these identities.
Enjoy!!
Rona
Dr Rona Hart
Director
Heart Enterprises Ltd
London UK
Tel 020 – 8931-3333
mob 07980-709821
Email: rona@hart2heart.co.uk
www.positivepsychology4u.com
December 29th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Thanks for this. I hope many articles will follow. I will add this blog to my favorites. Kind Regards, Peter