ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors consider the ways in which the families in their sample made their 'choices' from amongst a range of wider factors and contexts. They also consider their views of their own education and that of their partners and whether or not it impinged upon their specific decisions or their processes of reaching a 'decision'. The authors explore what the parents' hopes and expectations were for their children's education beyond secondary schooling, and whether or not that might influence the ways in which they thought about the types of secondary schools to which they would send their children. They consider the parents' general 'political' views about different types of education, such as comprehensive schools, private and/or independent schools and single-sex education. The authors examine a number of questions about the parents' general attitudes to types of secondary schools, such as the differences between single-sex as opposed to mixed schools, and secular versus religious education for their children.
