“I want them to be better than me” : Parents from different socio-economic backgrounds reflect on their children’s schooling and education in Mexico City

Sammanfattning: Academics within the field of education have produced extensive research. The purpose of previous studies has often been to explain the underlying causes, with a generalizing result, to how education operate within a nation. To contribute with an urban perspective, this studies aim is to research how parents from different socio-economic backgrounds in Mexico City are reasoning about their children’s schooling and education. What individual choices they have made and how the social context has impacted on these choices. The respondents were selected through a snowball selection using interviews with semistructured questions for data collection. The material was coded into two themes, individual level and societal level. The respondents with wealthier and poorer socioeconomic background were analysed separately and then compared and summarised. The theoretical framework is a combination of the human capability approach together with the findings in previous research. A finding in the research is that education is perceived differently depending on the socio-economic background. The respondents with wealthier socio-economic background are referring to the future work career and economic security as benefits for their children. The respondents with poorer socio-economic background are mentioning the opportunity to change their lives and “to not become like them”. Despite the different benefits mentioned, all respondents’ value education as the most important investment in life for their children. The conclusion drawn from the study is, that no matter what their socio-economic background is education a high priority.