Local segregation patterns and multilevel education policies

Education systems in contemporary cities have been characterized by a progressive segmentation of the student population – based on their ethnic differentiation as well as on their different social backgrounds. The rising level of school segregation impacts new specific forms of social and spatial differentiation, exacerbating the social inclusion of the most vulnerable social groups. Whereas research has mainly focused on the role of parental school choice in exacerbating school segregation, less attention has so far been paid to the different institutional regulations and policies affecting these trends in different countries and cities. The chapter compares two educational contexts that have recently undergone opposite policy changes: one introducing more parental choice in a context where geography played a key role (Mülheim a/d Ruhr, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany) and the other where parental choice was very free and is now coupled to place of residence (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).