Private School Choice and Post-Materialism: What Values are at Stake?

Abstract

School choice is a global phenomenon with significant variations in terms of conception, design, and viability. In the city of Buenos Aires, State funding to the private sector of education allows for free choice. The purpose of this study is to analyze the values that are at stake in the family process of school choice. I draw on the theory of cultural evolution (Inglehart, 2018) to analyze the interviews. I interviewed 30 parents who live in the city of Buenos Aires and had to choose school for their children. It was possible to infer four categories that condense the materialistic and post-materialistic values: preeminence of materialistic values relative to security and protection; preeminence of materialistic values relative to academic achievement; preeminence of post-materialistic values relative to socialization and preeminence of post-materialistic values relative to political concerns.

Citation

Gottau, V. (2020), "Private School Choice and Post-Materialism: What Values are at Stake?", Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2019 (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 39), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 305-319. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920200000039024