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Unmet goals of tracking : within-track heterogeneity of students’ expectations about the future

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

Over the last two decades, researchers in the educational field have raised concerns regarding the high educational expectations among American youth. Studies have identified the detracking movement as one of the most important causes of this college-for-all norm. The assumption is that tracked secondary education systems, in contrast to comprehensive systems, lead to realistic expectations because of students’ clear track placement. In other words, tracking creates groups of students with homogeneous expectations. Inspired by the rich literature on the unequal selection present in tracked systems, this article questions this assumption concerning students’ allocation. We examine homogeneity of expectations in a rigidly tracked system, using data from 2,354 students in 28 schools (2013–2014) in Ghent (Belgium). Results from ordinary least squares (OLS) regression show that even in a stringently tracked system, the vocational track has the lowest homogeneity of expectations. We discuss the unmet goals of tracking in view of tracking policy.
Journal: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
ISSN: 1533-8673
Issue: 5
Volume: 61
Pages: 728 - 747
Publication year:2018
BOF-keylabel:yes
IOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:0.1
CSS-citation score:1
Authors:National
Authors from:Higher Education
Accessibility:Closed