Playing Locally but Commuting to a Better School: Urban Planning and Education Policies in Parental Involvement Practices and Local Community Formation

Abstract

In this article, we analyse the formation of local communities from the perspective of the practices of parental involvement. Adopting a practice-based approach to empirical research on six estates in three Polish cities, we reconstruct the connections between the spatial logics of the housing areas, national education, and housing polices, and their impact on the everyday life practices inside and outside the estate. Using the category of practice of parental involvement, we show the complex, long-term impact of state and local education policies on everyday life and, as a result, on the processes of structuring or fragmentation of territorial communities. The results of our qualitative studies not only develop knowledge about the connections between national polices and everyday life practices but also, we hope, could help to design effective public policies.