Primary schools in Oslo are relatively highly segregated socially, ethnically and economically compared to other cities in Europe. Scientists and authorities are working together to do something about it.
School segregation is a growing problem in all major European cities. Children are increasingly separated from children of a different socio-economic and ethnic background. There are many different forms and causes of school segregation. What they have in common is that they have a negative impact on children's social and educational opportunities, as well as on social equalization.
Segregation in schools in Oslo
Researchers and local authorities studied segregation in schools in Oslo, Barcelona and Milan. A study conducted in Oslo looked at the socio-economic and ethnic background of primary school students (grades 1-7). They found that segregation in schools in the city is largely consistent with the pattern of settlement in the city. In Oslo, it is the child's address that determines which primary school they will go to. Admission to secondary school is distributed according to the primary school the child attended. As the vast majority of students in Oslo attend public schools, some areas of the city are increasingly characterized by a homogeneous school composition. By comparison, 94% of children attend public schools in Oslo compared to 65% in Milan. It is therefore very likely that children in Oslo will live close to and go to school with children from a similar socio-economic background.
Choosing a school reinforces segregation
In Milan and Barcelona, families have more freedom in choosing a school for their children than in Oslo. School districts in Milan are in fact only used to secure a child's right to a place in a local school. Parents of children in Barcelona can choose from 5 different schools (public or private) located near their child's home. In Oslo, it is possible to apply to a school other than the one where your child has been placed, but this is not common and there is no guarantee that your application will be successful.
“In Milan and Barcelona, school segregation is driven more by parental school choice, and segregation is more common in schools than in residential areas. This suggests that the school choice principle tends to reinforce the segregation process,” explains Roberta Cucca, who is an urban sociologist at the Norwegian University of Environmental and Biological Sciences (NMBU) and helped lead the work together with the Municipality of Oslo.
Good compensatory measures, but poor organization of meals at the Oslo school
However, there are areas in central Oslo where the population increasingly has a diverse social background. This is due to the increasing gentrification in areas such as Grünerløkka and the creation of new residential areas, for example in Løren and Ensjø.
“In some such central areas, some families are more likely to choose a school outside the school district. As a result, some public schools in these areas are becoming more mixed – although other schools still have high levels of segregation,” says Cucca.
But it's not just bad news for Oslo. Compared to other cities surveyed, Oslo stood out in several compensatory measures for schools in less affluent areas. These measures provide significantly more resources to schools in areas with a high concentration of disadvantaged households.
An example of such a measure is that for some time teachers received higher salaries in sensitive areas. To avoid high teacher turnover, Oslo is focusing on recruiting and retaining qualified teachers and school leaders in these areas.
In several districts of Oslo, recreational activities and activities for children are organized during the summer holidays, in some districts also during the Christmas period. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the students themselves ask for the school to remain open during the holidays. In addition, several districts offer a free after-school program (Aktivitetsskolen - AKS).
Compared to Barcelona and Milan, Oslo is in a bad position when it comes to providing food to disadvantaged children. In Barcelona and Milan, this group of children is offered free hot meals at school. Researchers believe that better organization of school meals in Oslo could improve the health and development of a large proportion of children in the city.
Strategies for dealing with segregation in schools
According to the researchers, urban planning, housing and education policies should be better coordinated. Tackling school segregation requires concerted efforts. All policies affecting school segregation must be coordinated. This is especially important in Oslo, where school segregation depends mainly on where children live.
“Access to affordable family homes in Oslo's more affluent neighborhoods needs to be improved. There is a need to give low-income or middle-class families more choice when it comes to where they live,” says Cucca. “In other cities, densification strategies are seen as an opportunity to provide affordable housing solutions for families and create more diverse neighbourhoods. This could also be an opportunity for Oslo,” says Cucca.
The type of public information shared is also important in dealing with segregation in schools. Researchers noted that information about schools' performance on national tests and their socio-demographic composition says nothing about the quality of schools. This is conducive to strengthening the processes leading to school segregation. Researchers believe we need to reconsider this information policy. The public needs to receive more documentation on the benefits of growing up in more mixed school environments – including for children from more privileged backgrounds.
School segregation makes children less prepared for life in our multicultural world
“Mixed school environments can have a positive impact on both academic and social skills. School segregation makes children less prepared for life in our multicultural world. This also applies to children from majority groups,” says Cucca. “Majority students who had an intercultural school environment are expected to discriminate less than students who did not have a mixed school environment, which will have a de-stigmatizing effect.”
There are several examples of successful mixed schools in Oslo. For example, in the district of Grünerløkka, where schools with a mixed socio-economic and ethnic profile also achieve good academic results and high student and parent satisfaction scores. "It's time to focus on these good practices in the public school debate," says Cucca.
New European guidelines
This project has provided both researchers and local authorities with important knowledge about the processes and policies of school segregation in European cities. On the project website you can read about both successful and failed strategies and policies as well as case studies.
These findings come from the project European Cities Against School Segregation (ECASS) . The group that studied Oslo consisted of researchers from the NMBU's Department of Urban and Regional Planning (Roberta Cucca, Rebecca Cavicchia and Kostas Mouratidis) and a representative of the municipality of Oslo (Øyvind Bjerkestrand).
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Source: NMBU
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