Toward a Multivocal Research Agenda on School Gentrification: A Critical Review of Current Literature

Abstract

Debates on gentrification’s effects on public education motivated two independently conducted literature reviews about (a) how the increasing presence of middle- and upper-class residents affected public schools in gentrifying communities, and (b) what were gentrification’s effects on the schooling experiences of students who resided in the communities prior to changes in neighborhood demographics (i.e., long-term and racial and ethnic minority families). Drawing from 32 peer-reviewed studies, we find that, contrary to assumptions about gentrification’s universal benefits, the lower income and minority children of long-time residents did not always benefit from investments that usually accompany gentrification. Further, low-income and minority parents were often marginalized from middle- and upper-class social networks, and central office and school personnel were less responsive to their concerns and needs. Findings from this review reveal that existing research largely centers the perspectives of (mostly white) middle- and upper-class families in gentrifying communities. We propose a research agenda that centers critical perspectives and multivocal literatures to expand the field’s understanding of gentrification’s effects on a broader array of stakeholders and on public schools.