Even in preschools: analysing the preschool and neighbourhood segregation gap in Swedish municipalities
Open Access
- 15 February 2023
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in European Sociological Review
- Vol. 39 (5), 677-691
- https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad004
Abstract
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. Studies on school level show segregation by foreign background and income to be most prominent, whilst preschool segregation mostly concerns parents’ educational attainment. Furthermore, 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.Funding Information
- Swedish Research Council (2017–03542.)
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Travel-to-school distances in Sweden 2000–2006: changing school geography with equality implicationsJournal of Transport Geography, 2012
- Young children's racial awareness and affect and their perceptions about mothers’ racial affect in a multiracial contextBritish Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2010
- School Choice and Segregation: Evidence from an Admission ReformThe Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 2010
- Racial Perceptions of Young Children: A Review of Literature Post-1999Early Childhood Education Journal, 2008
- Tipping and the Dynamics of Segregation*The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2008
- Social segregation in secondary schools: how does England compare with other countries?Oxford Review of Education, 2008
- Preliminary evidence for the impact of mixed-income preschools on low-income children's language growthEarly Childhood Research Quarterly, 2007
- Ethnic segregation in England's schoolsTransactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2005
- School Choice and Ethnic SegregationEducational Policy, 2003
- Spatial Assimilation as a Socioeconomic OutcomeAmerican Sociological Review, 1985