School and choice

An ethnography of a primary school with bilingual classes
Rajander, Silja
978-952-5401-52-3; 1458-1094
Finnish Educational Research Association / Suomen kasvatustieteellinen seura
Research in educational sciences / Kasvatusalan tutkimuksia (50)
2010

This is a study of the phenomenon of school choice, analysing the thinking that it encourages about teachers, parents, and pupils, and how this influences educational practices. It develops an ethnographic study of a Finnish primary school that has introduced specialised classes in foreign language learning in English, selecting pupils for these classes. It examines discourses of inclusion, and how these are connected to notions of nationed, ethnicised and classed differences in school

The study is informed by feminist poststructural theorisations concerning subject formation and the production of social difference. At a time of mounting neoliberalist discourse and a focus on Europeanisation and internationalisation in education, it will be of interest to those involved in education policy and research. It will also interest teachers and parents, and all those trying to make sense of the complications and contradictions that emerge between emphases placed on inclusion in education, and the consumerist principles that drive the policy of school choice.