Open door days as devices for segmentation of local educational markets: The case of post-compulsory education

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the role of Open Doors Events as key institutional devices to position schools in local education markets. The paper draws on data from a qualitative study based on observation in 25 Open Doors Events in secondary schools in the city of Barcelona. The findings show, on the one hand, how promotional actions are mediated by the school’s position in the local hierarchy and by objectively unequal features in terms of type of ownership, social composition and programs offered. On the other hand, they reveal how, from these unequal positions, schools display different logics of action aimed at informing about their status among families and students from different social backgrounds. Overall, the paper presents a typology of schools that contributes at better understanding the hierarchy of the local education market in the transition to upper secondary education.