Conference Program

Educational institutions are not only spaces for academic instruction but also critical arenas of socialisation where young people develop perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs about society. Among the many attitudes shaped during childhood and adolescence, views on socioeconomic inequality are of particular importance, as they may symbolically legitimise or challenge the existing social order and contribute to either the reproduction or the transformation of persistent social disparities. This paper draws on a three-year study in Chile that examines how schools shape students’ attitudes towards socioeconomic inequality. Situated in one of the world’s most unequal societies —where the top 1% of households capture 27% of national income— the project seeks to understand how students make sense of inequality and how schools can contribute to social cohesion.

Building on sociological and educational research, the project advances two main premises. First, attitudes toward inequality are not only structured by class position but also by inter-class relationships. Encounters with peers from different social backgrounds can expand social comparisons, stimulate reflexivity, and undermine stereotypes (De Schaepmeester et al., 2021). Evidence from Chile and elsewhere suggests that socially diverse networks increase awareness of inequality, reduce belief in meritocracy, and foster support for redistribution (Otero & Mendoza, 2024). Second, schools constitute privileged micro public spaces (Amin, 2002) for such inter-class encounters. Compared to families or neighbourhoods, schools provide broader and sustained opportunities for interaction across class lines. In contexts of diversity, schools can foster citizenship attitudes such as empathy, solidarity, and tolerance, aligning with Allport’s (1979) intergroup contact hypothesis. However, diversity does not automatically translate into egalitarian learning: it may also generate conflict, micro-aggressions, or internal segregation (Blalock, 1967; Garces & Jayakumar, 2014). Consequently, the project examines not only the structural composition of schools but also their pedagogical, organisational, and community practices that mediate inter-class relationships.

Using a mixed-methods design, the research combines a national quantitative analysis of schools’ internal socioeconomic diversity with ethnographic fieldwork in socioeconomically mixed schools. At the conference, preliminary findings will be presented, including: (a) ethnographic evidence on inter-class relationships among students; (b) the schools’ responses to socioeconomic heterogeneity; and (c) the schools’ pedagogical strategies to promote democratic competence and attitudes towards inequality. The findings aim to inform international debates on how diversifying schools can promote more egalitarian social attitudes. Ultimately, the project will provide critical evidence for public policy to promote schools that foster the development of egalitarian attitudes and potentially help reduce social inequalities.