Reflections on studying school segregation in Europe through community engagement and its connections with QuantCrit

The article addresses the challenges and opportunities of implementing the QuantCrit perspective in European contexts where ethnic and racial data are not collected. It highlights how knowledge production in Europe tends to ignore racism when analyzing school segregation, using nationality as an indicator, which masks institutional racism. Community-engaged research and the QuantCrit approach help to reveal inequalities produced by racism. The case study of Salt demonstrates how anti-segregation policies fail to consider ethnoracial origins, thus perpetuating segregation. The article concludes that it is essential to generate and use data that reflect discrimination and segregation dynamics in the educational system. The QuantCrit perspective is crucial for overcoming color blindness and creating strategies that highlight racial discrimination and privileges. By engaging with communities affected by racism, researchers can challenge the dominant analysis and contribute to a more equitable understanding of school segregation. • Studies on school segregation in Europe often overlook racism as a key factor. • Using nationality as an indicator masks institutional racism in school segregation. • Community-engaged research connects with QuantCrit approach. • Both approaches allow us to bring to light the inequalities produced by racism.