| dc.description.abstract | This doctoral thesis focuses on understanding the evolution, factors, and implications of ethnic school segregation in England's multicultural settings over the past 20 years. It aims to examine the effect of various influences such as residential segregation and school choice on ethnic school segregation patterns. Specifically, the thesis investigates questions around the extent and persistence of ethnic school segregation, its geographical variations, the role of residential segregation, changes in segregation patterns over time, and the influence of school choice and admission patterns.
The study applies a multi-scale perspective from residential segregation literature to school segregation, recognising the strong influence of ethnic settlement patterns on the ethnic composition of schools. The segregation of 18 ethnic groups is explored, offering an extensive analysis of multi-group segregation and revealing trends in ethnic segregation over the past two decades. The thesis employs an innovative approach to understanding school choice and admission patterns, highlighting group differences in relation to distance to school.
The thesis is organised into eight chapters, starting with an overview of ethnic diversity and residential segregation in England, followed by an introduction of the school census data used for the research. The methodology chapter explains the rationale for using entropy-based measures for studying school segregation across multiple groups and scales. Subsequent chapters present empirical findings on regional variations in school segregation, changes in segregation patterns since the 2000s, and school choice and admissions in London. Results of this thesis show that contrary to any assertion of widespread increases in ethnic segregation, the evidence indicates ethnic segregation is in fact decreasing between schools.
This research is significant against the backdrop of increased immigration and ethnic diversity in England, growing concerns about immigrant integration, and the role of schools in promoting social integration. It contributes a comprehensive analysis of multi-group, multi-scale school segregation in England using decomposable entropy-based indices, filling a gap in existing research. | en_GB |
