Blokland, Talja
A icle — Published Ve sion
Mo he ing, Habi us and Habi a : The Role o Mo he ing
as Mo al Geog aphy o he Inequali y Impasse in U ban
Educa ion
Tijdsch i oo economische en sociale geog a ie
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
John Wiley & Sons
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Blokland, Talja (2023) : Mo he ing, Habi us and Habi a : The Role o Mo he ing as
Mo al Geog aphy o he Inequali y Impasse in U ban Educa ion, Tijdsch i oo economische en
sociale geog a ie, ISSN 1467-9663, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, Vol. 115, Iss. 2, pp. 206-220,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/ esg.12576
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Tijdsch i oo Economische en Sociale Geog a ie – 2024, DOI:10.1111/ esg.12576, Vol. 115, No. 2, pp. 206–220.
© 2023 The Au ho s. Tijdsch i oo Economische en Sociale Geog a ie published by John Wiley & Sons L d on behal o Royal
Du ch Geog aphical Socie y / Koninklijk Nede lands Aa d ijkskundig Genoo schap.
MOTHERING, HABITUS AND HABITAT: THE
ROLE OF MOTHERING AS MORAL GEOGRAPHY
FOR THE INEQUALITY IMPASSE IN URBAN
EDUCATION
TALJA BLOKLAND
Uni e si ä ss aße 3b, Be lin, Ge many. E- mail: [email p o ec ed] (Co esponding au ho )
Recei ed: June 2023; accep ed June 2023
ABSTRACT
Following Bou dieu, esiden ial loca ion as habi a may p o ide spa ial p o i when i ma ches
wi h a habi us – bu how? How can we concep ualize si ua ions o misma ch be ween habi a
and habi us, and wha may hey mean o u ban inequali ies? This a icle explo es his opic
h ough he lens o mo he ing p ac ices in elemen a y schools. Quali a i e in e iews in wo
neighbou hoods in Be lin, Ge many, sugges how mo al geog aphies a in e sec ions o class and
ace/e hnici y s uc u e pa en s’ oppo uni ies o o ganize esou ces o child en in hei speci ic
spa ial con ex s. I a gues ha mo he ing p ac ices can help us see no jus ha , bu how habi us
and habi a a e ela ed. Empi ically, i sugges s ha he mo al geog aphies in which hese schools
a e embedded ein o ce he exclusiona y consequences o hei ins i u ional p ac ices. I heo ize
ha he mo al geog aphies o neighbou hoods as si es o mo he ing p ac ices is- à- is he class-
based s a e logics in ins i u ions may con ibu e o an u ban impasse o educa ional inequali y.
Key wo ds: Mo al geog aphy; mo he ing; pa en s; u ban educa ion; Be lin; quali a i e
in e iews
INTRODUCTION
Seg ega ed ci ies ha e unequal neighbou -
hood ou comes, o example, in educa ion
(Sykes 2011; Be nelius & Vaa o aa a 2016;
Bo e man e al.2019). Depending on whe e chil-
d en li e (Blokland & Vie 2021), elemen a y
schools wo k di e en ly o hem, and social po-
si ions a e ep oduced ( an Zan en2003). The
li e a u e shows ha he condi ion o ou exis-
ence, o habi us (Bou dieu1990, p. 52), plays an
essen ial ole in such ep oduc ion, as he habi us
gene a es ‘no ma i e p opensi ies o ac ual social
p ac ices’ in ac ual places like neighbou hoods
(F iedmann 2008, p. 316; also Sa age 2011).
Neighbou hoods may hus p o ide spa ial p o i
when he place whe e we a e ‘si ua ed’, o ou
habi a (Bou dieu2018, p. 107, Bou dieu 1994),
ein o ces ou habi us. Bu wha happens when
ou habi us is ou o place? Wha sub le exclu-
sions may ake place hen? How can we concep-
ualize misma ches be ween habi a and habi us?
And could such a concep ualiza ion con ibu e
o ou unde s anding o he u ban impasse in
educa ional inequali y (c . an Zan en2005)?
Public elemen a y schools a e good cases
o s udy he e e yday spa iali y o (sub le) ex-
clusions a he in e sec ion o ace/e hnici y,
class and gende bo h ho izon ally be ween ci -
izens and e ically in ci izen- s a e ela ions. In
Be lin, Ge many, he public school sys em wi h
ca chmen a eas and a s ong no m ha chil-
d en should be able o walk o school makes
schools impo an local ins i u ional hubs.
These schools a e also examples o spa ially
ixed s a e ins i u ions.
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i s License, which
pe mi s use and dis ibu ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, he use is non-comme cial and no
modi ica ions o adap a ions a e made.
MOTHERING, HABITUS AND HABITAT 207
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S a e logics, one o he co e concep s in he
in oduc ion o his hema ic issue, a e pu o
p ac ice in schools. On he scale o ‘mic o- social
p ocesses’ (Go don1996, p. 420) such as hose
in schools and neighbou hoods, ules, egula-
ions and no ms a e implemen ed h ough ela-
ions. Educa ional ou comes a e hus con ingen
on ‘social ela ions and pe cep ions’ (Go don,
idem). This is one way in which inequali ies o po-
si ions and loca ions a e ‘s abilized’ (also: G i i h
& Smi h 2005, p. 126). I has o en been said
ha a gene al alue sys em o e en hegemony
o middle- class alues ules educa ion pe se
(Bou dieu & Passe on 1990; Ka s en2003). Bu ,
ollowing Smi h (1987), he e e ydayness o such
ulings mus be s udied: i is unclea how such ul-
ing o ela ions is done.1 How does i happen?
The eme gence o uling egula ions can be
cap u ed wi h he b idging concep o mo al
geog aphies, place- oo ed cul u es de eloping
om people doing hings. Th ough he lens o
‘mo he ing’, his a icle shows no jus ha , bu
how habi us and habi a a e ela ed. I hus ex-
pands G i i h and Smi h’s a gumen (G i i h
& Smi h 2005, p. 127) ha amily- school e-
la ions o m one o he engines o inequali y
as hey ‘in e lock’ he educa ional wo k ha
women do in and o schools. My a icle is no
p ima ily mean as an empi ical con ibu ion.
I do no add ess he educa ional choices and
s a egies o pa en s. I compa e p ac ices o
mo he ing in schools in wo neighbou hood
con ex s o explo e he possible alue o apply-
ing he concep o mo al geog aphy o ‘b idge’
habi a and habi us. I de elop he hesis ha
a misma ch con ibu es o an u ban impasse
o educa ional inequali y: whe e mo he s a e in
he ci y in luences no ms o mo he ing p ac-
ices. This, in u n, may in luence inequali y.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Two se s o li e a u e help shed ligh on his
hesis. Fi s , Bou dieu’s wo k on habi us and
habi a , which is also cen al in many s udies
o school seg ega ion (Bu le & Hamne 2007;
Reay 2007; Vowden 2012). Rep oduc ion
o class inequali ies elies on people doing
hings, as well- s udied o he middle classes
(Bu le & Robson2003; Skeggs2004). As an
Zan en(2009) w o e, bo om- up p ac ices a ec
he shape o educa ional policies (and school’s
o ien a ions ollowing hese). Such p ac ices
hus ma e o inequali y, as does space.
School choice esea ch abundan ly makes
his poin (Ball & Niki a 2014; B eidens ein
e al.2014; La eau & Goye e2014). I in es i-
ga es how pa en s assess and selec s o ci cum-
en he ins umen al and exp essi e o de s
o speci ic schools (Be ns ein 1977 ci ed in
Vowden 2012, also Kosunen 2014) while
sea ching o a ‘good mix’ (Vowden 2012).
As Ra eaud and an Zan en (2007) demon-
s a ed o London and Pa is middle classes,
his en ails e hical dilemmas. Kosunen shows
ha Finish middle- class pa en s make school
choices h ough e alua ions o school epu a-
ion especially by ‘social su oundings in he
school’ (Kosunen2014, p. 449, my i alics) o he
school’s o ganiza ional habi us (see also Reay
e al. 2001; Nas 2016, 2020; Vaughan2008). In
Bell’s (2009) wo k on De oi ’s pa en al sec-
onda y school choices, pa en s asc ibe mean-
ings o loca ions o schools be o e making
decisions. Be nelius e al.(2021, p. 162) show
ha pa en s in Helsinki d aw on na a i es o
neighbou hood hie a chies o o m iews on
school epu a ions. Neighbou hoods, howe e ,
a e p edominan ly discussed as spa ial imagi-
na ies in his wo k, and less s ongly de eloped
as ela ional se ings (Blokland2017).
This schola ship aims o unde s and school
choice. I does no discuss how neighbou hoods
as ela ional se ings eed in o how pa en ing is
done in schools. Indeed, mos s udies add ess
pa en s’ s a egies be o e en e ing schools
(Teske & Schneide  2001; No eisch 2007;
Gold ing & Phillips2008; Bu gess e al.2015) o
ge one’s child in he ‘ igh ’ school o e en class-
oom (Ra eaud & an Zan en2007; Blokland
& G osse- Lösche 2016). This is no enough o
secu e cul u al capi al, gi en how eache s clas-
si y s uden s (Oa es2003; Diamond e al.2004;
Redding2019). Teache s also assess pe cei ed
pa en al quali ies (Combe  1998; Why e &
Ka abon2016): ‘close, coope a i e and ‘posi-
i e’ amily- school ela ionships’ inc ease edu-
ca ional ou comes (Weininge & La eau2003,
p. 376; Eps ein1987). Schools ha e ‘s anda d-
ized iews o he p ope ole o pa en s in
schooling’, acco ding o La eau(1987, p. 73).
Pa en s hus need ‘cul u al knowledge’ o ‘how
ins i u ions wo k’ (La eau2015, p. 2).
TALJA BLOKLAND208
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Du ch Geog aphical Socie y / Koninklijk Nede lands Aa d ijkskundig Genoo schap.
Bu do schools ha e one s anda d iew?
Nas  (2016) e hnog aphically in es iga ed
how wo Be lin neighbou hoods in luenced
o ganiza ional p ac ices in schools o anal-
yse wha di e en neighbou hoods p o ide
a he han wha agg ega ed ou comes hey
p oduce (Nas  2016, p. 52 a e Blokland
e al. 2016). Depending on he neighbou -
hood con ex , ‘o ganiza ional p ac ices’ o
eaching, ul illing o mal and ecognizing
p oblems and needs ‘di e [ed] conside -
ably be ween [ he wo schools]’ (Nas 2016,
p. 190). Pa en s c ea ed ‘islands’ o hei
own child en in ce ain class ooms (Nas
2016, p. 191). In schools wi h e y di e se
popula ions, social seg ega ion wi hin class-
ooms be ween s uden s may occu ( o ex-
ample: K onenbe g e al. 2021). Nas and
Blokland(2014) showed, howe e , ha child-
ela ed social capi al may also eme ge among
pa en s ac oss bounda ies. They a gued ha
he wo kings o he spa iali y o social and
cul u al capi al may equi e addi ional wo k
om a ela ional angle.
Geog aphy’s ela ional u n o ‘ ela-
ions h ough which space is cons uc ed’
(Massey 2005, p. 101) esona es wi h e-
la ional sociology. This app oach can be
summa ized in he image o inequali y as
‘donu - shaped’ (Ze uba el 1991, p. 77).
Ou wa ds, ela ional bounda y wo k pushes
people o e edges a he in e sec ion o hei
ace/e hnici y, class and gende by ac i e
exclusions.2 Inwa ds, p ocesses o ‘oppo u-
ni y hoa ding accumula e ad an ages on one
side o he o he o a ela ion, o i ied by
cons uc ion o social ca ego ies ha jus i y
and sus ain unequal ad an age’ (Tilly2001,
p. 362). Bou dieu e e ed o such bounda y-
wo k as club- e ec s. When club- e ec s con-
cen a e spa ially, he assumes ‘spa ial p o i ’.
In o he wo ds, Bou dieu expec s ha he
o i ying o ca ego ies ma ch habi us – he
condi ioning associa ed wi h pa icula con-
di ions o exis ence as people cons i u e i in
p ac ice (Bou dieu1990, p. 52) – wi h habi-
a . Bou dieu de ines habi a as ‘ou come’ o
habi us leading o whe e ‘each agen being
cha ac e ized by he place whe e he o she is
si ua ed mo e o less pe manen ly (…) and
by he ela i e posi ion ha he localiza ions
(…), occupy in ela ion o he localiza ions
o o he agen s.’ (Bou dieu 2018, p. 107).
Bou dieu’s habi a is hus no an ecological
uni . I does no desc ibe a neighbou hood
o a speci ic ins i u ion, like a school. Habi a
is he cha ac e iza ion o he agen h ough
his o he asc ibed loca ion, usually a place o
esidence. I includes he many p opensi ies
o ac ual p ac ices o o he s in his loca ion
ha con i m he dis/cong uence wi h one’s
indi idual habi us. When people use music
classes, playg ounds, swimming lessons o
school class ooms locally, hese ins i u ional
se ings p o ide a cong uen habi a whe e
pa en s wi h simila posi ions can lean on
one ano he o ep oduce s a us. In highly
he e ogeneous neighbou hoods, neighbou -
hood ins i u ions may no uncondi ionally
acili a e such a habi a . Bou dieu does, how-
e e , li le o show how habi us and habi a
connec . While he e a e many dimensions o
a habi a , one is he se o ideas and p ac ices
o wha i means o ‘mo he ’, and his is he
ocus o his a icle. This dimension may wo k
as a mo al geog aphy: ‘a localized discou se
[on] wha is conside ed igh and w ong
in he aising o child en’ (Holloway 1998,
p. 31; Philo1991).
This idea d aws on he second se o li -
e a u e: li e a u e on mo he ing. Mo he ing,
as a subse o pa en ing mo e gene ally
(Ga ell2005, pp. 145– 147) is a se o p ac-
ices o women doing ca e wo k o de-
penden child en. I eaches beyond he
‘ins umen al ac o mee ing child en’s
needs’ (E e ingham 1994, p. 6), some imes
discussed as ‘emo ional capi al’ (Reay2000;
Alla 1993; Hochschild1989), and is embed-
ded in spa ial se ings:
While nu u ing, women a e guided by he pa -
icula i ies o hei si ua ion. Thei decisions a e
con ex - dependen and embodied, esponsi e o,
and o en highly p eoccupied wi h, he a ec i e sig-
nals o hose a ound hem. (E e ingham1994, p. 7)
Mo he ing as a no ma i e ideal o he e o-
sexual women in nuclea amilies s aying
home o ake ca e o child en does no
ma ch wi h many women’s and child en’s
eali ies (Young 1997; Glenn e al. 1994;
DiQuinzio1993). As imagina ion, i cen al-
izes whi e middle- class women’s posi ions
o e o he posi ionali ies (Glenn e al.1994;
MOTHERING, HABITUS AND HABITAT 209
© 2023 The Au ho s. Tijdsch i oo Economische en Sociale Geog a ie published by John Wiley & Sons L d on behal o Royal
Du ch Geog aphical Socie y / Koninklijk Nede lands Aa d ijkskundig Genoo schap.
Collins 2000). I is poli ically necessa y o
b oaden his iew o mo he ing. Bu when
go e nmen s alk abou pa en ing, hei
‘benchma k o good pa en ing’ is s ill wha
women in he e ono ma i e amily se ings do
(Ga ell2005, p. 3). I is he e o e use ul o
include he gende ed na u e o habi us, hab-
i a and he mo al geog aphies ha ame
women’s ac ions.
Mo he ing is a his o ically a iable, no na -
u al se o ‘dynamic in e ac ions and ela ion-
ships, loca ed in a socie al con ex o ganized
by gende and in acco d wi h he p e ailing
gende belie sys em’ (A endell2000, p. 1193;
Ge son & Peiss1985, p. 320; Hays1996, p. 6)
and ‘his o ically, socially, cul u ally, poli ically
and impo an ly, mo ally shaped’ (Mille 2005,
p. 3). To no e he dominance o his imagina-
ion in ‘socie y’ alone does no explain well
how i wo ks.
The ‘mo he ing obliga ion’ ha women
‘a e cha ged wi h (…) o he mo al ain-
ing o hei child en’ (Kaplan 1997, p. 67)
b ings women’s emo ional capi al in a pa ic-
ula ela ionship o he s a e ( an den Be g
& Duy endak2012, p. 557). This ci izen- s a e
ela ionship is ac ualized in localized posi ions
o women in e ac ing wi h ins i u ions like ele-
men a y schools. Schooling a child is no only
pa en ing o he bes o one’s child, as dis-
cussed in much o he educa ion s udies which
see educa ion as consump ion (Holloway
e al.2010). I is also he ac ing ou o a ela ion
o s a e and ci izens, each om hei logics.
S a e demands on women a e ‘gea ed owa ds
ein o cing exis ing o ms o s a e and socie y’
(Pa eman 1989, pp. 10– 11). Mo he ing his
is no an isola ed p ac ice behind he doo s
o he home, no a se o pa en ing decisions
alone, bu a p ojec in which socie y has es ed
in e es s. Neo- libe aliza ion has inc eased he
‘ ole o e e yday agen s’ as ‘idealized ci izens’
in public (Holloway & Pimlo - Wilson2012,p.
640; Boye 2020). Mo he ing, as G i i h and
Smi h (2005) showed, consis s o mundane
asks o mo he s ensu ing o schools ha
schools unc ion.
Much mo he ing li e a u e e alua es i s
challenges wi hou explici a en ion o spa-
iali y, and ocusses on he home (Johnson &
Johns on 2019, p. 14). Geog aphies o child
ea ing (Ka s en2003) and amily o ma ions
(Duncan & Smi h 2002; Hall 2016; Tu ne &
Almack 2019) discuss mo al geog aphies as
‘place- oo ed cul u es’ ha ‘shape and alida e
mo he s’ choices’ (Holloway 1999, p. 456).
This schola ship impo an ly connec s class
o space, and mo he ing o powe ela ions
(Johnson & Johns on2019, p. 12).
Class, howe e , is o en asc ibed and no
ela ionally s udied (Eps ein1987; G aue &
Walsh1998; Vincen & Ball2007). In ensi e
mo he ing, ‘wholly child- cen ed, emo-
ionally in ol ing, and ime consuming’
(A endell2000, p. 1201) and ‘conce ed cul-
i a ion’ (La eau 2015) a e ound in whi e
middle class, he e osexual dual- pa en nu-
clea amilies ha laws and policies gene ally
assume as no ma i e model. The li e a u e
desc ibes well ha women eel p essu ed
o do igh by hei child en: a class- based
ideology ep oduces he middle classes and
‘ci ilizes’ o he s in o good ci izens. I also
demons a es powe ully how women in e -
nalize his in child- ea ing iews and school
choice mo i es. Less clea is how such iews
a e pu in o p ac ice when mo he s do hings
in locali ies. How do ‘cul u es oo in place’
(Holloway 1999, p. 456) and how do habi us
and habi a ela e?
METHODOLOGY
My explo a ion o his ques ion d aws on
‘Mo he ing in he Me opolis’, a esea ch
p ojec on how women o ganize esou ces
o child en in a ious neighbou hood con-
ex s, consis ing o semi- s uc u ed in e -
iews and e hnog aphic no es be ween 2010
and 2014. We conduc ed 39 in e iews in a
Be lin neighbou hood ‘Dee ield’ and 37
in ‘Fo es Lake’, ansc ibed and coded in
MAXQDA.3 Pa icipan s we e ec ui ed in
public elemen a y schools h ough emailing
pa en s in wo classes in a Fo es Lake school,
a school- wide email in one Dee ield school
(D1), and snowballing om ou con ac s in
school D2. All bu wo pa en s who ag eed o
in e iews iden i ied as women. Fou in e -
iewees had child en on a second Fo es Lake
school; in Dee ield, 18 in e iewees had
child en in school D1, 16 in school D2 and
5 in a hi d school.4 In e iewe s isi ed mos

TALJA BLOKLAND210
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Du ch Geog aphical Socie y / Koninklijk Nede lands Aa d ijkskundig Genoo schap.
in e iewees a hei homes and, in Dee ield,
in he school’s ca é (D2). In e iews las ed
om 40 minu es o 2.5 hou s. Two public
schools had special educa ional p og ams:
a Mon esso i p og am (Fo es Lake), and
a p og am o in ellec ual gi edness (D1).
S ic ly speaking, hese schools we e no
neighbou hood schools as hei admissions
did no depend on ca chmen a eas. Ye ,
all bu h ee in e iewees li ed close o he
schools. D1’s p og am may ha e made he
school socio- economically mo e di e se han
D2 (bu Be lin makes no s a is ics a ailable
on his). Wi h no sys ema ic sampling, i is
impossible o d aw empi ical gene aliza ions
om he da a, no is his in ended. Following
a p agma ic- ealis app oach, I compa e he
con ex ual condi ions (as in Saye  2000,
p. 118) o he p ac ices o mo he ing (as
women e old hem when hey spoke wi h us)
in pa icula schools in pa icula neighbou -
hoods5 whe e hey we e posi ioned and lo-
ca ed in o de o add ess a heo e ical conce n.
Fo es Lake is an ea ly 20 h cen u y ‘ illa
colony’, bu also has ou - s o y 1970s apa -
men buildings. Dee ield was buil o wo ke s
in he la e 19 h cen u y, wi h housing s ock e-
newed and added a e WWII. The indica o s
in Table1 sugges di e ences in economic and
cul u al capi al, which was he eason o choose
he esea ch si es. Dee ield sco es low in s a is-
ics on school pe o mance. Fewe pupils con-
inue in he uni e si y- p epa a ion high- school
acks han in Fo es Lake (Vie 2014). As we
will see, mo he s wi h s ong cul u al class po-
si ions in Dee ield cons uc ed ad an ages ou
o his di e ence, whe eas mo he s wi h cul-
u al esou ces di e gen om local s anda ds
in Fo es Lake did no .
MOTHERING THROUGH PARTICIPATION
Schools depend on he habi us o eache s,
child en and pa en s o do hings, in cong u-
ence wi h unw i en ules, localized expe i-
ences and expec a ions, embedded in s a e
logics o law and o s a e policy demands
(Holloway & Pimlo - Wilson 2012, p. 641).
Schools hus e eal he ela ion o ci izens and
he localized s a e, because habi us gene a es
‘common sense beha io s’ possible wi hin
‘limi s o egula ions’ and excluding ‘ex a -
agances’ (Bou dieu1990, p. 57). The habi us
enables an ins i u ion i s ‘ ull ealiza ion’:
An ins i u ion (…) is comple e and ully iable
only i i is du ably objec i ied no only (…) in
he logic, anscending indi idual agen s o a
Table 1. S anda d demog aphic da a on Dee ield & Fo es lake.
Dee ield Fo es lake
S anda d demog aphic da a (in e iews)
Numbe o in e iews 39 37
Numbe o child en (mean) 2.24 2.32
Numbe o child en (median) 2 2
Sha e o single mo he s 23.68% 18.75%
Mo he s wi h highe educa ion (M.A., Ph.D.) 16.66% 66.66%
Mo he s wi h seconda y school deg ee o less 22.22% 20%
Median Income (based on a e aged income classes) 16.500 € 71.500 €
A e age Income (based on a e aged income classes) 20.821 € 66.000 €
S anda d da a o neighbou hoods (ci y council)
Popula ion ( o al) 29,707 11,156
Sha e o child en unde 12 9.54% 9.63%
Sha e o popula ion wi h mig a ion backg ound 51.45% 28.9%
Sha e o unde age popula ion wi h mig a ion
backg ound
75.26% 29.34%
Fo eign ecipien s o social wel a e 31.03% 4.47%
Child po e y (child en li ing o social wel a e) 51.7% 4.06%
Sha e o unemployed 7.51% 1.29%
Sou ce: Am ü S a is ik Be lin– B andenbu g; own calcula ions.
MOTHERING, HABITUS AND HABITAT 211
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pa icula ield, bu also in bodies, in du able
disposi ions o ecognize and comply wi h he de-
mands immanen in he ield. (ibid, p. 58)
Mo he ing means de eloping a eel o ‘ he
game’ (a e Bou dieu 1990) called ‘pa ic-
ipa ing’ in school. This sec ion highligh s
di e ences in Dee ield and Fo es Lake o
mo he ing in schools, a he in e sec ion o
e hnic/ acial and class posi ions o women.
Ge man s a e law6 gi es pa en s a igh
o in o ma ion and o ganiza ion. The
Gesam el e n e e ung (GEV) (gene al pa -
en s commi ee, wi h elec ed ep esen a-
i es om each class) delega es membe s
o he Schulkon e enz (assembly o school
leade ship, eache s, pa en s and s uden s)
and a ious commi ees. In each class,
eache s mus pe iodically call pa en mee -
ings (PMs). No legally equi ed bu com-
mon a e Schul ö de e eine (SFV), olun a y
membe ship- based associa ions ha suppo
educa ional goals. Be lin public schools hus
ha e o malized pa en s’ in ol emen . PMs
and GEVs wo k wi h agendas, chai s, elec-
ions and minu es. The minis y o educa ion
has long ecognized ha pa icipa ion is no
ideal in all Be lin schools. I sees he de ici s
in pa en s:
[…] Especially schools in so called ‘social ho
spo s’ [soziale B ennpunk e] [ha e] di icul-
ies inding pa en s o he GEV. Many pa -
en s don’ know wha school looks like oday
and wha hei ole in coope a ion could be.
Di e en language and cul u al backg ounds
and di e en socializa ion expe iences o
school biog aphies o pa en s and eache s and
he expec a ions, p ejudices and ole images
make coope a ion di icul .7
A minis e ial b ie ing in 2008 connec s pupils’
de ici s – low es esul s – di ec ly wi h de ici s
o pa en s:
o no u he widen he gap be ween “educa ion-
o ien ed pa en s”, who can use [ he] […]
pa icipa ion- possibili ies in in e es o hei chil-
d en and pa en s wi h mig a ion backg ound,
whom o en a e no awa e o he alue o coop-
e a ion wi h he school o he lea ning de elop-
men o hei child en, pa icipa ion o e s mus
be made ha a e be e ailo ed o he p econ-
di ions and con ex s o pa en s wi h mig a ion
backg ound.8
The policy b ie illus a es he s a e logic o-
wa ds in eg a ion: pa en s need ‘posi i e in-
eg a ion expe iences and agency o a i e
a a posi ion o unde s and he Be lin edu-
ca ion sys em and pa icipa e in i . This will
help [ hem] de elop accep ance and es eem
o educa ion.’ This e lec s Ge many’s pub-
lic deba e ha de ines educa ional inequali y
as p oduc o ci cums ances wi hin amilies
wi hou ‘enough’ pa en al suppo . Such am-
ilies a e o en called bildungs e n, ansla ing as
‘uneduca ed’, bu li e ally meaning ‘ a om
educa ion.’ The e m easily acqui es a mo al
conno a ion o no in e es ed in educa ion.
By consequence, schools in a eas wi h high
concen a ions o ‘bildungs e ne’ amilies a e as-
sumed o be low pe o ming.
Neighbou hood as mo al geog aphy in
pa en – pa en ela ions – In Dee ield and
Fo es Lake, elec ed whi e middle- class
mo he s (and some a he s) un he SFVs and
GEVs. In Dee ield, hey alked abou hei
engagemen s wi h a gene al e e ence o he
school’s loca ions in a disad an aged a ea
wi h ‘many o eigne s and people who do no
ha e much ‘Bildung’. Whi e s ay- a - home mum
Y e a li ed on he edge o Dee ield acing a
pa k, had an M.A. deg ee and was ma ied
o a lobbyis . She was ice- chai o he SFV a
D2. She called Dee ield ‘ e y mul icul u al
bu no child- iendly’, busy, ‘lacking good
in as uc u e’ and ‘wi hou nice places o go
o.’ She did no use i s playg ounds, as he
child en had many o ganized ac i i ies, and
used only speci ic local shops. She explained
a leng h how she an school ac i i ies,
ini ia ed sponso ships and had pu o wa d
ideas. She no ed lowe pa icipa ion among
mig an mo he s: ‘ o o eign child en i is
mo e likely he a he s … because depending
on eh… he mo he s do no lea e he house
so much’ and ‘language is a ba ie because
we canno and do no wan o ansla e
e e y hing.’ Y e a explained ha p ac ical
e en s, ‘Kleink am’ (‘inciden als’), go done
by a ‘ a he sepa a e ci cle’ o mo he s,
ac i a ed h ough he school’s social wo ke ,
mo he s ‘ om he pa en s’ ca é.’
Hannah, whi e p o essional esiden o
Dee ield, membe o he GEV a D1, explained
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ha he school’s p og am o gi edness was
also a ended by child en who li ed in an ad-
jacen , mo e middle- class a ea. This mean
ha ‘we ha e people ha a e eally supe - i
(…) who can b ing a lo (…) and ha sa es
he school a li le (…) because (…) he e a e
pa en s om he o he [non- special p og am]
classes, bu he e a e clea ly ewe , who eh…
who help ou .’ She explained ha women like
he sel , ‘wi h a be e educa ion who a e mo e
engaged’ el ecognized o ‘ he mo e con-
s uc i e c i icism hey b ing o wa d’. Such
ecogni ion depended on doing some hing
be e han o he s in he school ha needed o
be ‘sa ed’ om i s loca ion in a disad an aged
neighbou hood. No e ha he necessi y ha
Hannah el o poin ou ha pa en s came
om ou side cons uc s a mo al geog aphy:
i asc ibed a place- oo ed cul u al ai (see
abo e).
Hannah and Y e a cons uc ed a hie a chy
in who did wha ha posi ioned hem as es-
pecially skilled middle- class whi e women in a
mo al geog aphy o localized p ac ices o socia-
bili y and p ac ical help. Bo h epo ed ‘sho
lines’ o he school in case hey needed o o -
ganize access o hei own child en. Taking
p ide in add essing he p incipal wi h ‘Du’,
Ge man’s in o mal add ess o o he people
o ‘you’ which adul s o e o one ano he o
signi y closeness o downplay hie a chies (‘das
Du anbie en’) and alking ‘on he highes le el’,
Y e a emphasized he impo ance o he wo k
o he school.
Dee ield wo king- class mo he s spoke
di e en ly abou hei pa icipa ion. Awa e
o he expec a ion o be ‘in ol ed’, some
women juggled his wi h limi ed ime e-
sou ces. Sha on, a sec e a y, belie ed being
‘in ol ed’ had ‘ alue’: ‘I I wasn’ a single
pa en , maybe I had mo e capaci ies and
I could ge in o he social ne wo k o he
school mo e.’ Josie, a whi e woman, planned
o ge ‘mo e in ol ed’: ‘I eally could no
[ge in ol ed] because I had my new son and
I was in my oca ional aining. I was a lo
o s ess, oo. Now I simply y, as much as
I can, I y o keep ack’. Simone, a whi e
wo king- class s ay- a - home mo he , wo ked
on D2’s ga den p ojec and was a GEV ep-
esen a i e, because she belie ed i helped
he o ‘know wha happened’ in school. Ayse,
bo n in Be lin o pa en s om Tu key, ull-
ime mo he ma ied a e seconda y school
o a logis ics wo ke , explained:
I am always in ouch wi h he eache s, a all he
mee ings, I am always he e. I ha e always ied
o be, when possible, elec ed o some hing, so
ha I always ha e insigh (…) I y o p o ec my
child en.
Sil i, om Be lin wi h Tu kish amily oo s,
wi h a oca ional aining deg ee, was a pa -
en ep esen a i e o ensu e o ‘ha e an idea
(Ahnung) o all aspec s’ o he D2 school.
In hese in e iews, women s i ed o en e
ne wo ks o secu e knowledge, in a con ex
whe e leade s o SFV o GEV assumed ha
hey we e no in e es ed o compe en . They
amed pa icipa ion as joining, no lead-
ing, aimed a being in o med, no unning
hings. While Ayse ied o always be ‘ he e’
and Josie ‘ o keep ack’, Y e a and Hannah
spoke o pa icipa ion wi h owne ship. Thei
‘ ecognizable, accep ed p ac ices’ ga e le-
gi imacy o and ein o ced he ins i u ional
logics o pa icipa ion.9 The o mal pa ic-
ipa ion s uc u es mean ha one mus ac-
qui e he ‘language’ o he cul u al p ac ices
(Mille 2005, p. 39). All hese accoun s sug-
ges ha GEV and SFV p ac ices alida ed
ce ain cul u al esou ces (Skeggs 2004)
ha ma ched wi h a habi us usually associ-
a ed wi h middle classes, while d awing on
a mo al geog aphy o he neighbou hood as
bildungs e n.
In Fo es Lake, mo he ing included a -
ending mee ings as well as baking and e en
cleaning. In he school applica ion p ocess,
pa en s answe ed a ques ionnai e, including:
‘in ou school, pa en s engage hemsel es a
lo . How will you engage in ou school?’ Once
a place is o e ed, pa en s a end wo kshops
on Mon esso i pedagogy, one o he esul s
o Schulkon e enz ac ions.10 This landed well
in he neighbou hood, an a ea conduci e o
‘conce ed cul i a ion’ (La eau 2015), wi h
i s in as uc u e o music lessons, dance
schools, spo s clubs, c ea i e a s cou ses
and he apis s. Wi h g ades 1– 3 in one class-
oom, new pa en s always en e ed an al eady
es ablished g oup o pa en s a he PM, who
ew ques ioned he gende ed school ou-
ines. Mo he s’ in ensi e use o he local
MOTHERING, HABITUS AND HABITAT 213
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in as uc u e made he school one o he
si es o a mo al geog aphy, sus ained by eco-
nomically se led, he e ono ma i e amilies
wi hou mig a ion backg ounds. Tha women
unde s ood mo he ing as a mo al geog aphy
in which hey localized and posi ioned hem-
sel es showed hei compa isons o o he
neighbou hoods. They exp essed ‘ o une’ o
no ha ing o deal wi h ‘di icul ’ pupils, es-
ona ing Be nelius e al.(2021)’s inding ha
di icul beha iou was loca ed in ‘no o ious’
neighbou hoods. They asc ibed o hei a ea
a common sense o ‘se iousness’ abou child
aising. Mo e han in Dee ield, women e-
po ed o s ay home in o de o be ully a ail-
able as mo he s. Pa icipa ion wen beyond
legally equi ed s uc u es. GEV, p incipal
and eache s ag eed ha he egula class-
oom cleaning wasn’ enough. On a (bi- )
mon hly basis, 3– 4 mo he s signed up a he
PM o ge he class oom key a e ecess and
washed shel es, desks and ma e ials. Food o
school- e en s like he Ch is mas baza mus
be eshly p epa ed o home baked. Ilse, a
whi e lawye wi h wo child en, ela ed:
Ou school is eally ac i e he e, so o say […]
and he pa en s a e igh om he s a hen e-
qui ed [au ge o de ] o ge hemsel es in ol ed,
as a pa en p esen a i e o a membe o he SFV
o some so o ac ions aking place in he class-
oom […].
When au ho i a i e knowledge o wha chil-
d en ‘need’ is ins i u ionalized (Mille 2005,
p. 30), i s na u aliza ion ‘lea es li le cul-
u al space o al e na i e ways o knowing’
(Mille 2005, p. 40). This became appa en 11
when Ma ia’s son go in ol ed in a class oom
con lic . Ma ia, en ing in he apa men
buildings, was a whi e single pa en o ou
boys. He younges was in 3 d g ade. She
wo ked shi s as an ai po baggage handle
and egula ly picked up he son in wo k
clo hes. The con lic was discussed a he PM
in he absence. He child’s beha iou was
in e p e ed as an ‘absence’ o ‘pa en ing’
( ehlende E ziehung). Someone commen ed
ha ‘o cou se she doesn’ ca e so much, she
doesn’ ha e he ime o aise he child en
p ope ly because she is always wo king’. Ma ia
was no isibly pe o ming in ensi e pa en -
ing. The cul u al alida ion o all o ms o
pa icipa ion as a necessa y display o p ope
mo he ing disquali ied Ma ia. The Fo es
Lake school depended on such a mo al geog-
aphy o mo he ing o ope a e as i did.
Mo al geog aphies o mo he ing in
pa en – school ela ions – In Fo es Lake,
pa en s en e ed he educa ional se ings o
class ooms, o example, when Sheila, a s ay-
a - home mo he wi h a eache ’s deg ee, had
a newbo n. She appea ed wi h he baby in
he class o 3 d g ade son, and she and he
eache augh sexual educa ion oge he .
The school d ew on localized expec a ions
ha pa en s will engage, and all assumed
hei willingness o adhe e o his no m. This
engagemen is child- and school- o ien ed and
less o ien ed on ne wo king among pa en s.
Ne wo king happened as a by- p oduc
in he school and o he neighbou hood
si es cons an ly: ‘e e yone seems o know
e e yone’, Sheila no ed. The high- cul u al
capi al o pa en s ed a ma ch o habi us and
habi a . High cul u al and economic capi al
o he neighbou hood popula ion who could
easonably access he school’s loca ion as
hey li ed nea by mean ha mo he ing
h ough pa icipa ion did li le bounda y
wo k. Bu lack o pa icipa ion did wo k o
exclude, as in Ma ia’s case. No ms, howe e ,
mus be ca ied ou o de elop a pe manency.
Newcome s mus be socialized in o he
habi ual no ms. La ge- scale ideologies in
socie y do no explain how hings ge done:
habi ua ion and socializa ion a e p ac ices.
Such p ac ices o e y day- o- day doings o
small hings h ough habi ua ion become a
habi a . Nina, a whi e s ay- a - home mo he
ma ied o a diploma e, explained:
You ha e o pa icipa e always an aw ul lo , (…) I
was ac i e in he lib a y, a he momen I ca e o
he aqua ium in he class oom. Tha is my ask.
Bu you always ha e o engage in some hing, and
hey a e all so e y engaged. Those a e inc edibly
engaged pa en s.
Fo es Lake mo he s o en elabo a ed ha
hey pa icipa ed as di ec in es men o
hei child en. They ound ways in o he
class ooms: hey olun ee ed as ‘ eading
mum’ (Lesemu e ) o spend ime in hei
child en’s class oom and obse e he eache .
TALJA BLOKLAND220
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