Patterns of School Choice: Two Districts in St. Petersburg

Daniel Alexandrov - Candidate of Sciences in Biology; Head of the Laboratory of Sociology in Education and Science, National Research University Higher School of Economics (Saint Petersburg). Address: 16 Soyusa Pechatnikov Str., 190008, St.Petersburg, Russian Federation. E-mail: dalexandrov@hse.ruKsenia Tenisheva - Senior Lecturer, National Research University Higher School of Economics (St. Petersburg). Address: 55 Sedova Str., 190008, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. E-mail: tenishewa. soc@gmail.comSvetlana Savelyeva - Deputy Head, Sociology of Education and Science Laboratory, National Research University Higher School of Economics (St.Petersburg). Address: 55 Sedova Str., 190008, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. E-mail: ssavelieva@ hse.ruParental choice of primary school is analyzed using the example of local education systems in two districts of Saint Petersburg. The empirical basis of the research is provided by the results of a survey of parents conducted in 34 schools (1,055 respondents). The following data is described and compared successively: whether parents make educational choices at all, whether they consider alternative options, what school characteristics they believe to be important, what sources of information they use, and what actions they take. The study explores how characteristics of choice are related to parental education and socioeconomic status as well as to the fact of selecting a school of a specific status. Insight is provided not only into how the desire of parents to analyze all possible school options and sources of information correlates with their educational and socioeconomic backgrounds in general but also how parental choice is affected by neighborhood structural characteristics (school diversity, proportion of higher-status schools). Districts with broader structural opportunities and a larger middle class demographic feature a variety of choice strategies, which is not observed in districts with limited structural opportunities even if they are socioeconomically heterogeneous.