In our research we aim at studying the effects of social class, ethnicity and migration background in schools and the patterns of migrant integration and/or social exclusion in education, as well as evaluating critically the market theory of education. Our objective in this work is to evaluate the extent of school differentiation in urban areas, trace the sources and mechanisms of school differentiation, and measure the effects of ethnicity on social inclusion in school/classroom. We use our data to view Russian urban schools in comparative European perspective.

Ethnic segregation related to socio-economic differentiation is a pervasive feature of urban education systems. The mechanism of segregation vary as the education systems vary in degree of autonomy of schools and autonomy of parental choice from market-oriented system in England to administrative choice of tracks for students in most of German lands. Despite the effort of integration within the schools and often effective inclusion of ethnic minorities in school environment and networks the segregation between schools persists in all European countries (for example, Baerveldt et al., 2007; Ball, 2008; Burgess et al., 2005; Gibson, 2000; Gomolla, 2006; Gomolla & Radtke, 2002; Karsten et al., 2003; Seppanen, 2003; Vermeij et al., 2009; Van Houtte & Stevens, 2009; Van Zanten, 2007)

Market orientation is a recent feature of Russian educational system. Under the Communist regime equal educational opportunities were emphasized as a part of Socialist ideology, while schools were tightly controlled and supposed to be uniform. Indeed, in Soviet Russia urban schools differed in quality of teaching and in curriculum content, but only a few specialized schools (e.g. with extended foreign language education) were available mainly to high-status families. In Perestroika the education was at the forefront of changes, and people demanded liberation and diversification of educational system.

New freedom allowed the existence of urban market of educational services regulated by supply and demand rather than by considerations of social policy. Post-Soviet changes along with recent educational reforms created competitive urban school systems with highly unequal opportunities. According to recent scheme government funds are allocated on per capita basis, and while schools have certain small ‘catchment’ areas from which they have to enroll all the children, students (or rather their parents) have a choice in selecting schools. Some schools are growing in enrollment and attracting both governmental funds and parental support while for some schools enrollment goes down along with funds and the quality of teaching.

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