Track prejudice in Belgian secondary schools : examining the influence of social-psychological and structural school features

While considerable educational research has established objective and subjective status differences between tracks and focused on the influence of ability grouping on students’ educational and broader outcomes, there is virtually no research that explains variability in students’ prejudices towards educational tracks. Tracking is the organizational structure of educational systems that groups students in various curricula based on their ability. In Belgium the academic track prepares students for higher education, the technical track consists of general and technical-theoretical courses, and the vocational track focuses on training students for a craft and is oriented towards the labor market. Society generally values higher education oriented tracks higher. This study relies on theoretical insights from social psychology, ethnic and school effects research to develop hypotheses about the influence of individual- and school-level features on students’ track prejudice. Drawing on data from the School, Identity and Society Survey, involving 4,500 adolescents from 64 Belgian schools, using multilevel modelling (HLM6), this study demonstrates the relevance of social identity theory and social norms in students judging tracks, since the academic and technical track students evaluate tracks in accordance to the societal norm. Additionally, it shows that chauvinistic attitudes negatively impact the opinion towards groups ‘lower’ in the status hierarchy, whereas patriotic ingroup attitudes have a positive influence on students’ opinions of technical and vocational track students. Cross-track friendships are associated with more positive attitudes towards other tracks, as was hypothesized. Implications of this study for future research and policy will be discussed.

ISBN:9782958158606

Jaar van publicatie:2021

Toegankelijkheid:Closed