Abstract

This article explores the implementation of the Inclusion Law within schools from the middle-classes perspective. The study is framed on the 'zone of mediation' approach to desegregation policies, and is based on a case study of three private-subsidized schools of Magallanes-which educate different middle-class fractions and have undergone changes in their social composition since the introduction of the New School Admission System. The findings highlight the powerful normative and political forces embedded on parents' resistance to the reform, underscore the construction of symbolic distinctions and pressures for separation between old/new students within communities, and point to the weak role of schools in confronting families' apprehensions. Based on these findings, the article discusses the complexity of implementing the Inclusion Law in middle-class schools and the challenges of moving toward desegregation within schools.