Exceptional and Decent People: Mothering and School Choice in the Reproduction of Social Inequality
Saved in:
| Title: | Exceptional and Decent People: Mothering and School Choice in the Reproduction of Social Inequality |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hana Hašková (ORCID |
| Source: | British Journal of Sociology of Education. 2026 47(2):269-288. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, School Choice, Mothers, Mother Attitudes, Elementary Schools, Middle Class, Working Class, Parenting Styles, Social Differences, Cultural Differences, Social Mobility, Parent Aspiration |
| Geographic Terms: | Czech Republic |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01425692.2025.2590631 |
| ISSN: | 0142-5692 1465-3346 |
| Abstract: | This article explores how primary school choice varies for differently situated mothers through an analysis of interviews with Czech middle- and working-class mothers. Combining Bourdieu's theory of habitus, Foucault's technologies of the self, and the concept of intensive parenting, we examine how school choice is becoming parents' identity work in a diversified primary school system, guided by intensive parenting norms. We argue that school choice reinforces parental guidance of children towards a particular type of subjectivity (assertive and competitive, self-confident, or polite and fitting in) and contributes to the intergenerational reproduction of inequalities. We show how habitus rooted in social class influences primary school choice and explain major class-cultural differences associated with choices made by middle-class mothers. We also show how intergenerational transmission is disrupted, leaving room for mobility. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1500712 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This article explores how primary school choice varies for differently situated mothers through an analysis of interviews with Czech middle- and working-class mothers. Combining Bourdieu's theory of habitus, Foucault's technologies of the self, and the concept of intensive parenting, we examine how school choice is becoming parents' identity work in a diversified primary school system, guided by intensive parenting norms. We argue that school choice reinforces parental guidance of children towards a particular type of subjectivity (assertive and competitive, self-confident, or polite and fitting in) and contributes to the intergenerational reproduction of inequalities. We show how habitus rooted in social class influences primary school choice and explain major class-cultural differences associated with choices made by middle-class mothers. We also show how intergenerational transmission is disrupted, leaving room for mobility. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0142-5692 1465-3346 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01425692.2025.2590631 |
