Conference Program

Urban gentrification is a global phenomenon that has physically and socially transformed 21^st century cities. Although in recent years, several studies have addressed the relationship between gentrification and school segregation (e.g., Boterman, 2020), academic outcomes (e.g., Pearman and Steyer, 2023), and family participation (e.g., Posey-Maddox, 2014), the academic literature has tended to focus on Anglo-Saxon and Northern European environments, overlooking the specific characteristics of Southern European settings. Precisely, this presentation analyses school gentrification processes in Barcelona as an exploratory case study.

The presentation is based on the GENTRED project, “The effects of gentrification on educational inequality” (Ref: PID2022-137183NB-I00), led by Dr. Xavier Bonal.

Methodologically, the project is based on a mixed methodology, although this presentation will focus on the qualitative dimension of the analysis and fieldwork. This analysis is interpreted as a critical case study, to test theories and hypotheses in situations where they are more likely to be true (Yin, 2018).

Based on this approach, different sources have been triangulated: documentary analysis (e.g., websites, school educational projects, promotional materials), interviews, and observations at open house events. The sample stratification followed complementary strategies: two Barcelona neighbourhoods have been identified with high rates of urban gentrification (López-Gay et al., 2021); in these neighbourhoods, six schools have been selected with changes in their composition similar to those observed in their neighbourhoods. The fieldwork included 52 interviews, with families (n=17), teachers (n=16), principals (n=15) and key informants from the administration (n=4); in addition, we conducted six observations in open days.

The analysis describes the specific characteristics of urban gentrification in the city, especially transnational migrations and intensive touristification (Arbaci, 2019; Cocola-Gant and Lopez-Gay, 2020; Janoschka et al., 2014). These characteristics are shared with other urban areas in the Mediterranean.

The analysis highlights that the specific characteristics of urban gentrification in the city strongly condition the dynamics of school gentrification. Furthermore, the article inductively identifies seven mechanisms that explain how school gentrification occurs:

(1) the second-order competition strategies of schools in the process of gentrification;

(2) school legitimation through a pro-diversity discourse;

(3) the pedagogical legitimation of school change;

(4) the work of delimitation and symbolic signaling;

(5) social homophily as a mediator of school decisions and relationships;

(6) pro-equity axiological dispositions; and

(7) the moral rationalization and reconfiguration of the social identity of gentrifiers.

We suggest that school gentrification has a primarily material basis, while cautioning to conceive school gentrification as a mere passive by-product of urban gentrification and segregation. On the contrary: school gentrification is actively (re)produced through the actions of various actors (schools, families and administrations), with an important degree of agency and reflexivity – especially on the part of those with greater cultural capital.

The presentation concludes with a series of recommendations for public, urban, and educational policies to mitigate the adverse effects of school gentrification. Those recommendations are particularly applicable to similar urban contexts, i.e., Southern European cities affected by transnational migrations and intense touristification.