The Increasing Replication of Territorial and Social Inequalities in Public Education in Hungary—Causes, Components, Practices and Mechanisms

Abstract

Over the past decade, the approach to socio-spatial inequalities has increasingly focused on references to the complexity of this phenomenon and on the role of its trans-economic components (mechanisms of reproduction, institutional frameworks, local specificities). Among the institutional structures of social reproduction, public services play a prominent role, including the system of education and training. In my analysis, in addition to reviewing the inequalities within the education system and their causes, I focus on a detailed exploration of the mechanisms that shape people’s access to services. In Hungary, according to the unanimous opinion of domestic analyses, changes in school inequalities (especially in the last decade) have been in the opposite direction in comparison with similar countries. Inequalities between schools have increased significantly and school segregation has become increasingly common (and accepted). My study first reviews the general structural features of the education system and its most important changes, then takes a case study approach, conducting a detailed analysis of primary school education in four municipalities in Hungary in order to explore the specific mechanisms of operation from a bottom-up perspective. The analysis of the local context also allows the specificities of the ‘place’ and the effects of hierarchies and networks beyond it to be isolated, and permits the interpretation of diverse local practices.