Resumo

CRUZ OROZCO, Ivania de la. Choosing a professional degree: Prestige as a determining factor for students and their families. Innov. educ. (Méx. DF) [online]. 2016, vol.16, n.70, pp.111-130. ISSN 1665-2673.

The objective of this article is to identify and analyze the criteria on which families base their choice of the school in which their children study their upper secondary education. Based on information collected through interviews of graduates, current students and teachers, the case of a school located in the capital of Oaxaca is analyzed; prestige is the main reason for which students and their parents choose this school. The prestige of said institution is based on three elements: the quality of the education, the activities of the area of human development and the idea that its graduates have higher chances of admission to university. This prestige attracts families which we label "tenacious", because they are comprised of parents who inform and prepare themselves so that their children study in a prestigious public school, and of students with good performance in secondary school and aspirations to study higher education.

Palavras-chave : Choice of schools; educational institutes; family; school of Baccalaureate; upper secondary education.