Local solutions to structural inequalities: compensatory school practices in urban and rural school environments

This article examines how two Swedish lower secondary schools, one in a disadvantaged urban area and the other in a rural municipality, enact the compensatory mission of promoting educational equity. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews, the study applies Nancy Fraser’s three-dimensional theory of justice to analyse compensatory practices as redistribution, recognition, and representation. The findings show that both schools pursue redistribution through the organisation of teaching, staffing, and learning environments that support conditions for learning. Recognition is enacted by shifting attention from student deficits to teaching quality, relationships, and trust. Representation is expressed mainly through professional agency and staff participation in decision-making. Although these practices take different forms across contexts, they share a commitment to enhancing students’ opportunities for knowledge development and participation. The study identifies a structural paradox: while schools can mitigate educational inequalities, their capacity to do so remains constrained by the broader social conditions that produce them.