Middle‐Class Parents and Urban Public Schools: Current Research and Future Directions

Abstract

Middle-class flight from urban public schools to suburban districts or private schools is a key source of educational inequality. Recently, however, a number of studies have focused on middle-class and upper-middle-class families who have made a different choice, opting to remain in the city and send their children to neighborhood public schools. While the movement of advantaged families into urban public schools has received positive attention in the media, this growing body of research tells a more complicated story. Middle-class families -with their economic, cultural, and social capital -can bring important resources to schools, resulting in widespread benefits. However, their engagement in urban public schools can also lead to marginalization and exclusion. We review the emergent literature on this topic, highlighting four themes: (i) parent preferences, identities, and values; (ii) the role of marketing campaigns and informal networks in attracting the middle class; (iii) the nature and consequences of middle-class parent engagement in urban schooling; and (iv) the relationship between neighborhood change and school change. We conclude by outlining a research agenda aimed at deepening our understanding of the mechanisms by which middle-class parent engagement in urban schooling may serve to mitigate, reproduce, or exacerbate educational inequalities.Sociological scholarship on urban education frequently focuses on the inequities experienced by low-income students in large city school districts. Recently, however, a growing body of American and European literature has called attention to the decisions of middle-class and upper-middle-class parents, 1 particularly Whites, to consider and/or enroll their children in socioeconomically mixed or predominantly low-income urban public schools (Billingham and

Talk on the Playground: The Neighborhood Context of School Choice

“…The increasing number of White middle‐class families living in central cities has led, however, to studies of school choice among middle‐class Whites in central city neighborhoods (Billingham and Kimelberg ; Petrilli ; see Posey‐Maddox et al. for review). Although our sample is small, we focus on using the data to improve our conceptual understanding of social processes, as Burawoy () has argued qualitative data can do.…”

“…A separate line of research investigates the collective consequences of middle‐class parents’ efforts to improve their children's life chances after deciding to send their children to under‐resourced urban schools (see Cucchiara ; Cucchiara and Horvat ; Petrilli ; Posey‐Maddox ) or attracting middle‐class residents to attend local schools (see Posey‐Maddox, Kimelberg, and Cucchiara for a review). Less attention focuses on how parents form choice sets from which they decide where to send their children to school (but see Bell ).…”

Credentialing heritage: The role of community heritage language schools in implementing the Seal of Biliteracy

“…These findings echo Davin and Heineke (2017), who demonstrated that issues of access for HLLs to the SoBL often involve difficulties in finding accepted assessments in LCTLs and in finding qualified raters to score them. Findings also mirror issues in K-12 parental advocacy research, which show that active parental involvement in schools can expand educational opportunities for children, though it is often highly educated, White, middle-class parents who have more success with negotiating for their needs in K-12 schools (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2013;Flores & Chaparro, 2018;Posey-Maddox, Kimelberg, & Cucchiara, 2014). While engaged, educated, middle-class parents from the Lithuanian community had some success in convincing local high schools to accept scores on their children's Lithuanian proficiency exams toward fulfilling SoBL requirements, others from this HL community did not, while many of Marie's French students did not have parents living in the United States who could advocate for their needs.…”

The Perceptions of Private and Suburban Public Schools among Middle Class Urban Parents: Evidence from Albany, New York<br /> &nbsp;

“…Researchers have begun to examine these types of families and their motivations for remaining in city centers and city public schools (Billingham, 2017;Billingham & Kimelberg, 2013;Cucchiara, 2013a;Cucchiara & Horvat, 2014;Posey, 2012;Posey-Maddox et al, 2014;Reay et al, 2011;Stillman, 2012). These parents typically see themselves as liberal urbanites who value diversity and "real world" school experiences and settings for their children.…”