Teacher Expertise vs. Parental Expertise: Responding to the needs of socioeconomically disadvantaged children with a migration background in Belgium

In response to persistent educational inequalities, (progressive) educationalists and practitioners across the Western world have called for significant reforms that emphasize multilingual instruction, democratic pedagogies, and child-centred curricula. Yet, despite their commendable intentions, these initiatives might overlook the voices of the very families they seek to support. This study, therefore, engages with this tension by focusing on a (progressive) primary school situated in a culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged neighbourhood in Ghent, Belgium. Drawing on 29 interviews with both members of the school staff and socioeconomically disadvantaged minoritized mothers of whom the children are enrolled at the school, it is concurred that what (progressive) educationalists think best for children not necessarily coincides with what parents think best. Rather than determining who is right and who is wrong, the study concludes by highlighting the value of conflict and offering progressive educationalist a potential roadmap to navigate discord in a meaningful way.