Intercultural relations and trust in schools: perceptions of immigrant families in the city of Barcelona

Previous research in Spain has shown that immigrant families' views regarding the education offered to their children are on the whole positive. This article adds to the current literature by exploring how immigrant families' perceptions about their relationships with the school staff and other families affect their trust in schools. The article looks at immigrant families' predominant perception of their relations with schools and other families, whether they perceive discrimination or positive contact, and how this affects their trust in the schools. The study is based on qualitative interviews as well as on participant observation with immigrant parents from differing origins in four neighbourhoods in Barcelona. The results show that the trust that immigrant parents place in schools varies according to three main perceptions of intercultural relations: (i) blatant and subtle discrimination, (ii) intercultural tension with the school, and (iii) intercultural tension with other immigrant parents.