Socio-Spatial Conditions of Educational Participation: A Typology of Municipalities in the Canton of Zurich

Abstract

The Canton of Zurich is characterized by strong socio-spatial polarization typical for large and dynamic metropolitan areas. A helpful way to depict spatial dimensions is spatial typologies. Existing spatial categorizations of the Canton of Zurich are limited for education because they focus primarily on economic factors, which are not the only predictors of educational behavior and success. In this paper, we develop a typology of municipalities in the Canton of Zurich that is useful for educational analyses and administrative activity. Theoretically, we consider socio-spatial structures as opportunities and constraints of the spatial and social contexts related to educational participation. We differentiate between two levels: socioeconomic composition and regional structures. The socioeconomic composition of a neighborhood is assumed to influence the way residents think and act through social interactions. Regional structures refer to the variation in the specificity and accessibility of institutional settings of the labor market, the education system, and extracurricular stimulation. The analyses are based on official statistics. We use factor analysis to identify the main components within the two levels. Their combination results in a spatial typology consisting of five types. They show significant differences in indicators of educational participation, which illustrates the relevance of the typology for the education sector.

Access to Baccalaureate School in Switzerland: Regional Variance of Institutional Conditions and Its Consequences for Educational Inequalities

“…We can assume that in municipalities where many pupils have an academic background, teachers' expectations of pupils' performances are high [57,58], and the transition to baccalaureate school becomes the norm. Moreover, the socioeconomic composition of their neighborhood influences the way residents think and act through social interaction [59]. Even for the less privileged families, this path becomes a realistic option, as the social distance to the baccalaureate school decreases, which results in greater familiarity and calculation of costs, risks, and failure that are more in favor of the baccalaureate school: Hypothesis H5.…”

Regional Disparities in National Education: Origins, Governance, and Consequences (Special Issue)

“…The contribution, "Socio-Spatial Conditions of Educational Participation: A Typology of Municipalities in the Canton of Zurich" [17], by Sybille Bayard, Flavian Imlig, and Simona Schmid, takes a descriptive macro-approach by developing and testing empirically a typology of municipalities in the largest Swiss canton of Zurich. Based on a large set of indicators at the municipal level, tapping the socio-economic composition of the population and the economic and educational structure, they distinguish six types of districts.…”

Cultures of economic education: Grammar school curricula in a multilingual comparison

“…Demographic and economic characteristics stem from the concept of cleavages (Rokkan et al, 1967), used in political science and the history of education. Additionally, regional language (Giudici, 2018), graduation rates and access to a (cantonal) university (Bayard et al, 2022; Criblez, 2014; Glauser and Becker, 2016) are considered relevant for development of educational systems from the perspective of history and the sociology of education, especially in decentralized states like Switzerland. In this comprehensive, explorative curriculum study of federal, multilingual Switzerland, we sought to contribute to both understanding of different cultures of economic education and understanding of different cultures of curriculum design.…”