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Given the increased segregation of students (based on their class and migration backgrounds) in the Swedish educational system during recent decades, this chapter tells two different school stories. More than 98% of pupils in both schools are descendants of lower-class immigrant families. The first school (South school) is among those Swedish schools identified as ‘failing’, a typical school in a socioeconomically marginalised and segregated immigrant neighborhood with poor educational results. The second school (East school) is also located in a high-poverty district with the same school composition, which has succeeded in improving pupils’ educational achievements. It has been done through the ‘empowerment’ of pupils – that is creating an inclusive and supportive pedagogical school environment for students with working-class and immigrant backgrounds. This chapter aims to explore how different types of ‘school culture’ may affect initial inequalities, academic achievement and well-being of students with migrant background in marginalized communities. The case of East school indicates that even schools in such areas are able to equalise educational opportunities through building an alliance between students, parents and community activists on the one hand and bi-class and bi-cultural brokers like teachers and social workers on the other. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Paul Downes, Jim Anderson, Alireza Behtoui and Lore Van Praag; individual chapters, the contributors.

The aim of this study is to explore whether and how school-based social capital (SSC) may increase or reduce inequalities in the academic achievement and well-being of students from different backgrounds (class, gender, and ethnicity). SSC here refers to those qualities of social relationships and the degree of interconnectedness between students, teachers, and parents that can support the educational attainment and social adjustment of young people. As the results of our ethnographic studies indicate, there is a significant association between SSC and school composition—i.e., the class and ethnic background of students in a school. The association indicates the stratification effect of social capital in schools as a predominant pattern. In a school with students from higher socio-economic backgrounds, we observed more qualified and motivated teachers, an intensive parental involvement, and, consequently, more constructive and friendly relationships among students. In contrast, in a school located in a disadvantaged area, the social relations were quite the reverse. We then found a third category. In a school with children from lower social class backgrounds placed in an immigrant-dense area, highly committed school staff were able to create an emotional closeness and trust between them, the pupils, and their parents. School-based social capital in this context introduced a sense of solidarity and created a pro-educational climate.

A great deal of previous studies on early school leavers have concentrated on the individual characteristics of young people and neglecting the social relations that cause them to drop out. This chapter highlights the importance of and the way in which the social relations between young people with significant people in their immediate social environment, e.g. relationships with family members, the school staff and their friends, affect their educational expectations. In line with earlier research, we have assumed that the educational expectations of students are a crucial predicator of early school leaving (failure, frustration and, ultimately, disengagement and dropout), i.e. having fewer educational expectations predicts a higher risk of ESL. The data used in this study were collected in schools in marginalized urban areas of Sweden during the period 2014-2016 as a part of the RESL.eu project in Sweden. By using a mixed-methods approach with both survey material, in-depth interviews and participant observation in a selected group of schools, we have tried to highlight these complex relationships between social relations and educational expectations. As our results demonstrate, these relationships and the social capital they provide play an important role in forming the educational expectations of young people.