Show simple item record

Choosing a School, Imagining a Childhood. Emotional, Moral, and Social Dimensions of School Choice in Denmark

dc.contributor.authorGulløv, Eva
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-27T07:18:13Z
dc.date.available2026-05-27T07:18:13Z
dc.date.issued2026-05-26
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11089/58381
dc.description.abstractInternational studies have shown that concerns about children’s academic outcomes and future educational opportunities shape parents’ choice of primary school. In Denmark, such concerns are manifested differently due to a less competitive educational system that generally offers broad, flexible pathways. Even so, many Danish parents carefully consider which school will best support their child. Based on ethnographic observations and interviews with 38 parents, this article examines parents’ reflections and concerns regarding school choice. A cultural analytical approach that focuses on understanding how parents make choices and set priorities is used to show that, regardless of social class, their primary concern is ensuring their children’s well-being and psychological development rather than academic outcomes. However, this emphasis implies awareness of other parents’ parenting practices, subtly reflecting but also helping to construct and maintain social distinctions and moral boundaries despite egalitarian ideals and efforts prevalent in Danish society.en
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiegopl
dc.relation.ispartofseriesQualitative Sociology Review;2en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
dc.subjectSchool Choiceen
dc.subjectConcerned Parenthooden
dc.subjectChildren’s Well- Beingen
dc.subjectSocial Distinctionsen
dc.subjectMoral Boundariesen
dc.titleChoosing a School, Imagining a Childhood. Emotional, Moral, and Social Dimensions of School Choice in Denmarken
dc.typeArticle
dc.page.number26-46
dc.contributor.authorAffiliationAarhus University, Denmarken
dc.identifier.eissn1733-8077
dc.referencesAarseth, Helene. 2016. “A Sound Foundation? Financial Elite Families and Egalitarian Schooling in Norway.” Pp. 79-91 in Elite Education. International Perspectives, edited by C. Maxwell and P. Aggleton. London, New York: Routledge.en
dc.referencesAkselvoll, Maria Ørskov. 2022. Det grænseløse forældreskab [The Boundless Parenthood]. Copenhagen: Dansk Psykologisk Forlag.en
dc.referencesAndersen, Ida Gran et al. 2019. Forældres skolevalg: En analyse af rationaler og strategier for forældres valg af skole i Danmark [Parents’ School Choice: An Analysis of Rationales and Strategies for Parents’ Choice of School in Denmark]. Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag.en
dc.referencesBall, Stephen J. 2003. Class Strategies and the Education Market: The Middle Classes and Social Advantage. London: Routledge/Falmer.en
dc.referencesBarth, Erling, Kalle Moene, and Michael Wallerstein. 2003. Likhet under press: utfordringer for den skandinaviske fordelingsmodellen [Equality Under Pressure: Challenges for the Scandinavian Distribution Model]. Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS.en
dc.referencesBoholm, Åsa, Annette Henning, and Amanda Krzyworzeka. 2013. “Anthropology and Decision Making.” Focaal 2013(65):97-113.en
dc.referencesBomholt, Anna and Palle Rasmussen. 2019. ”Det frie skolevalg og forældrenes motiver [Free School Choice and Parents’ Motives].” Paideia (17):25-36.en
dc.referencesBorn, Victoria de Leon and Kristin Beate Vasbø. 2025. “’Doing Authority’: Stories of Parental Authority Across Three Generations.” Journal of Marriage and Family 87(1):114-133.en
dc.referencesBourdieu, Pierre. 1989. “Social Space and Symbolic Power.” Sociological Theory 7(1):14-25.en
dc.referencesBourdieu, Pierre and Jean-Claude Passeron. 1970. La reproduction: éléments pour une théorie du système d’enseignement [Reproduction: Elements for a Theory of the Educational System]. Paris: Minuit.en
dc.referencesBunar, Nihad. 2010. “Choosing for Quality or Inequality: Current Perspectives on the Implementation of School Choice Policy in Sweden.” Journal of Education Policy 25(1):1-18.en
dc.referencesByrne, Bridget. 2009. “Not Just Class: Towards an Understanding of the Whiteness of Middle-Class Schooling Choice.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 32(3):424-441.en
dc.referencesCucchiara, Maia. 2013. “’Are We Doing Damage?’ Choosing an Urban Public School in an Era of Parental Anxiety.” Anthropology & Education Quarterly 44(1):75-93.en
dc.referencesElias, Norbert. 2012. “The Civilizing of Parents.” Sociedade e Estado 27(3):469-493.en
dc.referencesFuredi, Frank. 2001. Paranoid Parenting: Abandon Your Anxieties and Be a Good Parent. London: Allen Lane.en
dc.referencesGabay-Egozi, Limor. 2016. “School Choice in a Stratified Geography: Class, Geography, Otherness, and Moral Boundaries.” Journal of Education Policy 31(1):1-27.en
dc.referencesGewirtz, Sharon, Stephen J. Ball, and Richard Bowe. 1995. Markets, Choice, and Equity in Education. Buckingham: Open University Press.en
dc.referencesGilliam, Laura and Eva Gulløv. 2017. Children of the Welfare State: Civilising Practices in Schools, Childcare and Families. London: Pluto Press.en
dc.referencesGoyette, Kimberly A. and Annette Lareau. 2014. Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools. Residential Segregation and the Search for a Good School. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.en
dc.referencesGullestad, Marianne. 1992. The Art of Social Relations: Essays on Culture, Social Action, and Everyday Life in Modern Norway. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press.en
dc.referencesGullestad, Marianne. 2002. “Invisible Fences: Egalitarianism, Nationalism and Racism.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 8(1):45-63.en
dc.referencesHaandrikman, Karen et al. 2023. “Socio-Economic Segregation in European Cities. A Comparative Study of Brussels, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Oslo and Stockholm.” Urban Geography 44(1):1-36.en
dc.referencesHays, Sharon. 1996. The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.en
dc.referencesJames, David et al. 2010. “Neoliberal Policy and the Meaning of Counterintuitive Middle-Class School Choices.” Current Sociology 58(4):623-641.en
dc.referencesKarlson, Kristian B. and Rasmus Landersø. 2025. “The Making and Unmaking of Opportunity: Educational Mobility in 20th‐Century Denmark.” The Scandinavian Journal of Economics 127(1):178-212.en
dc.referencesKarsten, Sjoerd et al. 2003. “School Choice and Ethnic Segregation.” Educational Policy 17(4):452-477.en
dc.referencesLamont, Michèle, Sabrina Pendergrass, and Mark Pachucki. 2015. “Symbolic Boundaries.” Pp. 850-855 in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, edited by J. D. Wright. Oxford: Elsevier.en
dc.referencesLee, Ellie et al. 2014. Parenting Culture Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.en
dc.referencesMayer, Tanja et al. 2020. “A Parental School Choice Misery: Middle Class Parents’ Dilemma in Choosing a Primary School in Berlin’s Multi-Ethnic Neighborhoods.” Journal of Pedagogy 11(1):35-57.en
dc.referencesRangvid, Beatrice Schindler. 2007. “Living and Learning Separately? Ethnic Segregation of School Children in Copenhagen.” Urban Studies 44(7):1329-1354.en
dc.referencesRaveaud, Maroussia and Agnès Van Zanten. 2007. “Choosing the Local School: Middle Class Parents’ Values and Social and Ethnic Mix in London and Paris.” Journal of Education Policy 22(1):107-124.en
dc.referencesReay, Diane. 1996. “Contextualising Choice: Social Power and Parental Involvement.” British Educational Research Journal 22(5):581-596.en
dc.referencesReay, Diane and Stephen J. Ball. 1997. “’Spoilt for Choice’: The Working Classes and Educational Markets.” Oxford Review of Education 23(1):89-101.en
dc.referencesReay, Diane and Helen Lucey. 2003. “The Limits of ‘Choice’: Children and Inner City Schooling.” Sociology 37(1):121-142.en
dc.referencesReay, Diane et al. 2007. “’A Darker Shade of Pale?’ Whiteness, the Middle Classes and Multi-Ethnic Inner City Schooling.” Sociology 41(6):1041-1060.en
dc.referencesSaporito, Salvatore and Annette Lareau. 1999. “School Selection as a Process: The Multiple Dimensions of Race in Framing Educational Choice.” Social Problems 46(3):418-439.en
dc.referencesSayer, Andrew. 2005. “Class, Moral Worth and Recognition: Class, Culture and Identity.” Sociology 39(5):947-963.en
dc.referencesSchwarz, Ori. 2018. “Cultures of Choice: Towards a Sociology of Choice as a Cultural Phenomenon.” The British Journal of Sociology 69(3):845-864.en
dc.referencesSkarpenes, Ove and Rune Sakslind. 2010. “Education and Egalitarianism: The Culture of the Norwegian Middle Class.” The Sociological Review 58(2):219-243.en
dc.referencesSøndergaard, Jeppe Kirkelund et al. 2021. Socialt og etnisk opdelte skoler: om skoler for børn fra udsatte boligområder [Socially and Ethnically Divided Schools: About Schools for Children From Disadvantaged Residential Areas]. Copenhagen: Institut for Menneskerettigheder.en
dc.referencesSparrman, Anna et al. 2017. Doing Good Parenthood: Ideals and Practices of Parental Involvement. Cham: Springer International Publishing.en
dc.referencesStefansen, Kari and Helene Aarseth. 2011. “Enriching Intimacy: The Role of the Emotional in the ‘Resourcing’ of Middle-Class Children.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 32(3):389-405.en
dc.referencesTaylor, Charles. 2002. “Modern Social Imaginaries.” Public Culture 14(1):91-124.en
dc.referencesUndervisningsministeriet and Epinion [Ministry of Education and Epinion]. 2017. Frit skolevalg: hovedrapport [Free School Choice: Main Report]. Copenhagen. Retrieved April 28, 2026 (https://uvm.dk/media/s3klyoec/170810-epinion-rapport.pdf ).en
dc.referencesvan Zanten, Agnès. 2010. “Le choix des autres. Jugements, stratégies et ségrégations scolaires [The Choices of Others: Judgments, Strategies, and School Segregation].” Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales 180:25-34.en
dc.referencesVigh, Henrik. 2006. “The Colour of Destruction: On Racialization, Geno-Globality and the Social Imaginary in Bissau.” Anthropological Theory 6(4):481-500.en
dc.referencesVincent, Carol, Annette Braun, and Stephen Ball. 2010. “Local Links, Local Knowledge: Choosing Care Settings and Schools.” British Educational Research Journal 36(2):279-298.en
dc.contributor.authorEmailevag@edu.au.dk
dc.identifier.doi10.18778/1733-8077.22.2.02
dc.relation.volume22


Files in this item

Thumbnail
Name:
26-46_Gullov.pdf
Size:
536.3Kb
Format:
PDF
View/Open

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0