“I do not want to poach pupils from other schools” – German primary schools and their role in educational choice processes

Within the German education system, primary schools underlie the ideal of a comprehensive and local school. However, this perception is changing: Increasingly, parents are carefully selecting the “right” primary schools for their children, and in some federal states, school catchment areas have been abolished to encourage “responsible competition” among schools. Whereas most studies on school choice focus on parents’ educational strategies, this paper analyses the role of primary schools within this choice process. It notes the divergent ways in which primary schools – depending on the social geography of the city and their position within the educational market – respond to these policy changes and the changing parental demands confronting them.