Emotional experiences and stigma among families benefiting from Barcelona's shock plan against school segregation and for inclusion and equal opportunities and educational success

Abstract This article examines the emotional experiences and processes of stigmatisation encountered by families benefiting from the Shock Plan Against Segregation and for Inclusion, Equal Opportunities and Educational Success (SP), implemented in Barcelona. Drawing on 67 in‐depth interviews, the study explores the contexts in which stigma‐related emotions are intensified, and how these emotions are shaped by key variables such as migrant background, school type and institutional practices. The findings reveal a complex and ambivalent emotional landscape among beneficiary families, marked by a coexistence of relief and gratitude alongside feelings of shame, guilt and distress. These experiences are especially pronounced among migrant mothers whose children are enrolled in private subsidised schools or in schools with medium‐to‐high socio‐economic compositions. Stigmatisation is intensified in educational settings that lack inclusive practices and that reproduce exclusionary dynamics, thereby generating environments of symbolic violence. While the SP seeks to ensure a more equitable distribution of students across schools, the study finds that, in the absence of deliberate inclusion strategies, such policies may inadvertently reinforce exclusion and stigmatisation. The article calls for a shift from structural diversity ( social mix ) to meaningful interaction ( social mixing ), arguing that emotional dynamics are central for understanding the success or failure of such policies in advancing equity and inclusion within the education system.