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Parental Capital and Strategies for School Choice Making: Polish Parents in England and Scotland

Based on a study of Polish migrants living in England and Scotland, this paper explores how Polish 
families who have decided to bring up their children in the UK make initial school choices. The Polish 
parents taking part in our study generally had low levels of social and cultural capital (Bourdieu 
1986) upon arrival in the UK: they had limited networks (predominantly bonding capital) (Putnam 
2000) and a poor command of English, and lacked basic knowledge of the British education system. 
Meanwhile, this is a highly complex system, very much different from the Polish one; moreover, school 
choice plays a much more important role within the UK system, especially at the level of secondary 
education. We found that while some parents acted as ‘disconnected choosers’ (Gewirtz, Ball, Bowe 
1995) following the strategy they would use in Poland and simply enrolling their children in the nearest 
available school, others attempted to make an informed choice. In looking for schools, parents first 
and foremost turned to co-ethnic networks for advice and support; nevertheless, parents who attempted 
to make an informed choice typically lacked ‘insider knowledge’ and often held misconceptions 
about the British education system. The one feature of the system Polish parents were very much 
aware of, however, was the existence of Catholic schools; therefore, religious beliefs played a key role 
in school choice among Polish parents (with some seeking and others avoiding Catholic schools). The 
‘active choosers’ also made choices based on first impressions and personal beliefs about what was 
best for their child (e.g. in terms of ethnic composition of the school) or allowed their children to make 
the choice. Parents of disabled children were most restricted in exercising school choice, as only certain 
schools cater for complex needs. All in all, the Polish parents in our sample faced similar barriers 
to BME (Black Minority Ethnic) parents in exercising school choice in the UK and, regardless of their 
own levels of education, their school selection strategies resembled those of the British working class 
rather than of the middle class. However, the risk of ‘bad’ initial school choice may be largely offset 
by a generally strong preference for Catholic schools and parents’ high educational ambitions for 
their children.