Ethnic school segregation in Copenhagen: A step in the right direction?

The Danish school system is based on a general belief in the quality and merits of public schooling. Until 20 years ago, more than 90% of all children attended public school. However, this trend has recently seen a decline because of rising spatial inequalities; nowhere is this more visible than in the major cities, particularly Copenhagen. One visible change has been the rise in the number of children with non-Danish backgrounds in public schools in major cities. Previous studies of Copenhagen showed that, while the level of ethnic residential segregation was moderate, the level of school segregation was remarkably high. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the case of Copenhagen through: (a) quantitatively identifying the level of ethnic school segregation in Copenhagen and the change over the last decade, and (b) qualitatively analysing the considerations regarding the school choice of parents in an ethnically diverse district. The paper identifies decreasing levels of ethnic school segregation in public schools but a markedly higher and increasing level in private schools. The qualitative material points to still-existing concerns regarding specific public schools with high proportions of pupils of non-Danish backgrounds as well as to parents who choose to overlook such concerns and opt for the local public school. 丹麦学校系统基于对公立学校质量和优点的普遍信念。直到20年前，90%以上的儿童都在公立学校上学。然而，由于空间不平等的加剧，这一趋势最近有所下降；这一点在大城市最为明显，尤其是哥本哈根。一个明显的变化是，大城市公立学校中非丹麦背景的儿童人数增加。以前对哥本哈根的研究表明，虽然少数民族居住隔离的程度不高，但学校隔离的程度却非常高。本文的目的是通过以下方式重新审视哥本哈根这一案例：(1) 定量确定哥本哈根学校种族隔离的程度和过去十年的变化；(2) 定性分析在一个种族多样化的地区家长选择学校的考虑因素。本文确认：公立学校种族隔离程度在下降，但私立学校种族隔离程度则明显上升。定性材料指出对于非丹麦背景学生比例较高的特定公立学校仍然存在关切，以及家长选择忽视这些问题并选择当地公立学校。