Stratified Failure

Abstract

Country rankings based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) invite politicians and specialists to speculate about the reasons their countries did well or failed to do well. Rarely, however, do we hear from the students on whose performance these rankings are based. This omission is unfortunate for two reasons. First, research suggests that how students explain their academic performance has important consequences for their future achievements. Second, prior studies show that students’ attributions of success and failure in education can develop into explanations for social inequalities in adulthood. This article draws on PISA 2012 data on 128,110 secondary school students in 24 countries to explore how educational stratification shapes students’ explanations of their academic performance. I find that students in mixed-ability groups tend to attribute their mathematics performance to their teachers and to (bad) luck, whereas vocational- and academic-track students are more likely to blame themselves for not doing well. These differences between mixed-ability group students and tracked students are more pronounced in school systems where tracking is more extensive. I conclude by discussing how these findings speak to the broader impact of educational stratification on students’ psychology and cognition and the legitimation of inequalities.

Inequality Is a Problem of Inference: How People Solve the Social Puzzle of Unequal Outcomes

“…Men and women explain sex differences in status and income in meritocratic terms, in the absence of exposure to diversity in status and gender [82][83][84][85][86][87]. Students who experience heterogeneity develop a more structural understanding of school outcomes [90] and unequal outcomes more generally [93], whereas students without such experiences became more convinced that theirs is a meritocratic society [93][94][95]. Future research will show the uses and limits of the inferential model of belief formation here presented.…”

“…Students who cross boundaries, in other words, are more likely to see discrimination than those who do not make these journeys" [74]. Mijs describes how secondary school students in more (socioeconomically) homogeneous school environments are more likely to explain poor school results in individualist terms and internalize failure, compared to students in more heterogeneous environments, who see school outcomes as the result of a range of factors both within and beyond their control [90]. Crucial evidence that inequality beliefs are open to change, comes from longitudinal studies of college students.…”

Escala de Atribuições de Causalidade e Rendimento Escolar: Estudo de Evidência de Validade de Critério

“…Entende-se que estes dois aspectos interferem na compreensão e expressão das atribuições de causalidade intrapessoais, aliados às diferenças entre os gêneros e ao impacto na motivação para aprender em decorrência do número de retenções dos alunos do Ensino Fundamental II, tal como proposto no modelo testado (Bzuneck et al, 2014;Martinek & Grifith, 1994;Nascimento & Peixoto, 2012). Outros pontos que não foram analisados neste estudo, e que podem estar associados à constituição das crenças atribucionais nos alunos em relação ao rendimento escolar e à autopercepção de rendimento, dizem respeito às diferenças de idade, ao papel do professor, à organização da sala de aula e às metas de realização adotadas pelos alunos (Almeida & Guisande, 2010;Brasil, 2017;Martinek & Grifith, 1994;Mijs, 2016;Paiva & Boruchovitch, 2010;Zambon & Rose, 2012).…”

“…Vale destacar que elas são, também, avaliadas pelo Sistema de Avaliação da Educação Básica (SAEB), com a finalidade de verificar o desempenho dos alunos e a qualidade do ensino ofertado na Educação Básica do Brasil (Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira [INEP], 2017). Além disso, a literatura aponta para a existência de investigações empíricas das atribuições de causalidade intrapessoais em razão dos resultados de êxito e fracasso na língua do país e na Matemática, uma vez que estas situações se associam à constituição das crenças atribucionais dos alunos ao longo do processo de escolarização (Bzuneck et al, 2014;Mijs, 2016;Miranda, Almeida, Boruchovitch, Almeida, & Abreu, 2012;Zambon & Rose, 2012).…”

Ascription, Achievement, and Perceived Equity of Educational Regimes: An Empirical Investigation

“…Shedd and Hagan [55] add to this that segregated learning environments restrict the frame of reference of youngsters; for example, racially segregated schools could lead to an underestimation of ethnic (dis-)advantages. Recently, Mijs [56] suggested that stratification matters as to how pupils attribute failure and success at school. Distinguishing between external factors, such as luck or the quality of the teacher, and internal factors, in particular (a lack of) ability, Mijs (2016) showed that "students in mixed-ability groups tend to attribute their mathematics performance primarily to external factors, whereas segregated vocational-and academic-track students are more likely to blame themselves for not doing well".…”