In Estonia, 45 percent of basic school students and 59 percent of high school students do not attend the school closest to their home. While greater mobility among high school students is expected, the extent of movement among primary school children is somewhat surprising.

According to Eneli Kindsiko, an expert at the Foresight Center, a study conducted by Statistics Estonia in 2015 already showed that the average school commute for primary school children is twice as long as it could be.

Kindsiko noted that there is a clear difference between urban and rural areas in these statistics. "In rural and particularly sparsely populated areas, the percentages are rather low," she said.

For example, in Tallinn, 63 percent of children do not attend the nearest school. In Setomaa Municipality, this figure is 34 percent, in Mustvee Municipality, it is 36 percent, and on the island of Muhu, only 11 percent of children attend a school further away.

"In rural and peripheral areas, these figures are below 20-30 percent," Kindsiko confirmed.

Häädemeeste Municipality has four schools. The director of Häädemeeste High School, Aule Kink, said that most primary school students attend the school closest to their home, with minor movement between Tahkuranna and Uulu schools.

"Tahkuranna is a primary school, while Uulu is a suburban school with limited space. Parents sometimes worry about whether their child will be able to continue at Uulu after finishing primary school, so they may enroll their child there from the first grade. But overall, we don't have major concerns — our parents trust and support their local school," Kink explained.

According to Kindsiko, the reasons for choosing a more distant school vary between urban and rural areas.

"The most interesting emerging trend is that parents in cities are looking for a safe, bullying-free and child-friendly environment. This likely indicates that a new generation of parents wants a different learning environment than they had," Kindsiko said. "This was recently identified as a key reason in a study on Tallinn. However, in rural areas, the full-day school model is crucial. If a child has extracurricular activities available at or near the school, that becomes a strong argument for choosing a particular school."

Naturally, logistical connections also play a role in school choice. As children grow older, educational migration increases, Kindsiko added.

At the high school level, academic performance and reputation are the main factors influencing school choice.

Aule Kink noted that although Häädemeeste High School has nothing to be ashamed of academically, some students still choose to continue their studies in Pärnu each year.

"Pärnu Sütevaka High School is attractive for its humanities focus, while Koidula State High School has a strong science program. But what middle school graduates often say is that they simply want a change of environment," Kink added.

While school choice and mobility offer more opportunities, Kindsiko pointed out that large-scale educational migration leads to educational inequality, as both students and teachers tend to gravitate toward certain schools and only wealthier families can afford to send their children farther away.

"This highlights how difficult it is to plan the education network at the municipal level today. That is the strongest conclusion," Kindsiko said.

"Teachers, especially in cities, inevitably concentrate in the most popular schools. The best teachers end up in these schools," she noted. "More socially mobile students receive a better education than others. The deepening of educational stratification in Estonia is quite pronounced."

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