Not just class: towards an understanding of the whiteness of middle class schooling choice

Abstract

There is an increased attention to questions of class in studies of education, particularly among those who adopt a Bourdieuian perspective. This paper uses the example of the burgeoning literature on school choice and class (and in particular middle 'classness') to argue that there are serious analytical and sociological costs to a singular focus on class without due attention to race. Using qualitative interview material, it will show instances where the racialised nature of schooling choice has been ignored or overlooked. It argues that examining the literature through the lens of race and class is imperative for an understanding of the complexities of class and white middle classness in particular.