Blowing hot and cold about diversity: white middle-class gentrifiers and ethnically mixed schooling in Belgium

It has been argued that white middle classes act in the best interest of their offspring, even when these actions clash with their values. In urban contexts, parents often do this by avoiding ethnically diverse educational settings. Drawing on 35 interviews, this article aims to gain a deeper understanding of the school-choice process of white gentrifiers going against a dominant, white middle-class norm by selecting an ethnically mixed school in the context of Ghent (Belgium). Making use of critical race theory, it is suggested that, although these white gentrifiers have in their actions gone against the grain, they have done less so in their motives, as these are permeated by instrumental reasons.