This study aims to explore the social and ethnic background of pupils admitted to private schools at the compulsory level in Iceland so as to identify possible social class segregation between public and private schools. Additionally, we examine how parents reason their choice of private education for their children. Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, symbolic power and distinction are used to think through our findings. Data consist of descriptive statistics and interviews with parents. Our findings show that many of the private schools attract privileged parents, but that this is contingent upon the schools’ geographical location. Parental discourse links good behaviour and ambition with the private schools, while simultaneously labelling the public schools as failing. Parents who align with the intellectual fraction show signs of experiencing a moral dilemma over their choice. Overall, our findings suggest that to some extent, private schools serve as a tool for educational distinction.

中文翻译：

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选择私立义务学校：区分班级或负责任育儿的手段吗？

这项研究旨在探讨冰岛义务教育阶段被私立学校录取的学生的社会和种族背景，以查明公立和私立学校之间可能存在的社会阶层隔离。此外，我们研究了父母如何为子女选择私立教育。布迪厄的资本，象征权力和区别的概念被用来思考我们的发现。数据包括描述性统计数据和与父母的访谈。我们的发现表明，许多私立学校吸引有特权的父母，但这取决于学校的地理位置。家长话语将私立学校的良好行为和志向与私立学校联系在一起，同时将公立学校标记为失败。那些与知识分子保持一致的父母会表现出在选择上遇到道德困境的迹象。总体而言，我们的发现表明，在一定程度上，私立学校可以作为区分教育的工具。