Minorities in Spanish Secondary Education: School Segregation, Between Reality and Official Statistics

Abstract

The deepening of social inequality in Spain during the last decade due to the global financial crisis has brought a growth in residential and school segregation in urban areas. This article analyses ethnic segregation across four public secondary schools in the Northern Area of Alicante (Spain), covering six disadvantaged neighbourhoods with a high concentration of immigrant and Roma populations. To this end, the student bodies were examined according to their national and ethnic composition and their expectations for the future. Field work findings show that official statistics do not reflect the real situation of ethnic diversity in these schools, concealing the worrying dimensions of school segregation in marginalized areas, a phenomenon which has negative impacts on minority students’ aspirations and equal opportunities.