Working paper 04/094 - Abstract

Parallel lives? Ethnic segregation in the playground and the neighbourhood (PDF, file 407 KB) (PDF, 407kB)

Simon Burgess, Deborah Wilson and Ruth Lupton, March 2004

We provide evidence on the extent of ethnic segregation experienced by children across secondary schools and neighbourhoods (wards). Using 2001 Schools Census and Population Census data we employ the indices of dissimilarity and isolation and compare patterns of segregation across nine ethnic groups, and across Local Education Authorities in England. Looking at both schools and neighbourhoods, we find high levels of segregation for the different groups, along with considerable variation across England. We find consistently higher segregation for South Asian pupils than for Black pupils. For most ethnic groups children are more segregated in the playground than in their neighbourhood. We analyse the relative degree of segregation and show that high population density is associated with high relative school segregation.

Published in Urban Studies vol 42, issue 7, 1027-1056 (2005)

Note: some of the documents on this page are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader