The impact of school tracking on school misconduct: variations by migration background in England, The Netherlands, and Sweden

Abstract

According to the differentiation-polarisation hypothesis, educational tracking will cause a polarisation of students' school attitudes and behaviours: while students in high tracks will develop pro-school attitudes and behaviours, students in low tracks come to reject school. This hypothesis may be too crude, as the effect of tracking on school misconduct could vary across students. Based on the literature on the immigrant aspiration-achievement paradox and the oppositional culture hypothesis, I argue that the tracking effect will be different for students with a migration background. Using two-wave panel data from three educational systems with different types of tracking (i.e. England, the Netherlands, and Sweden), I find some support for the differentiation-polarisation hypothesis among students from the native majority, yet effect sizes are small. In line with the literature on the immigrant aspiration-achievement paradox, no support for the differentiation-polarisation hypothesis is found among students with a migration background. There are no statistically significant differences in these patterns across the three different educational systems.

Support From Parents, Peers, and Teachers Is Differently Associated With Middle School Students’ Well-Being

“…Three major school forms can be distinguished: lower-track schools (which finish with grade 9 or 10), higher-track schools (which finish with grade 12 and certify students to attend university), and mixed-track schools (where various school leaving exams can be undertaken, and classes go up to grade 13). As the school tracks vary with respect to school culture, future career perspectives, and academic demands, students from higher-track schools have been shown to exhibit different levels of exhaustion from schoolwork ( Salmela-Aro et al, 2008 ), perceived stress ( Kulakow et al, 2021 ), and school satisfaction ( Van Houtte, 2006 , 2017 ; Geven, 2019 ) compared with students from lower-track schools.…”

School‐related pressure and parental support as predictors of change in student stress levels from early to middle adolescence

“…With respect to high‐track and low‐track school cultures, different emphasis may be placed on achievement and therefore students' stress may differ when attending high‐track schools which prepare students for university vs. low‐track schools that prepare students for vocational careers. In fact, the “differentiation‐polarization hypothesis” states that tracking leads to a polarization of students, such as a pro‐school culture related to positive emotions towards school is more prevalent in students from high‐track schools, whereas an anti‐school culture related to high stress levels and low school satisfaction is more prevalent in students from low‐track schools (Berends, 1995; Hargreaves, 1967; Van Houtte, 2006, 2017; see Geven, 2019; Hoferichter et al, 2020). Both COR and the “differentiation‐polarization hypothesis” lead to the conclusion that the specific school culture found in high‐track vs. low‐track schools may shape students' stress perception differently and by analyzing the predictive power of school culture on the development of students' stress, important insight for stress prevention and intervention may be derive.…”

The adaptation of educational expectations in response to ability tracking: Variations by migration background

“…While educational tracking seems to channel educational expectations, these tracking effects may not be uniform for all students. Scholars have warned against an essentialist take on students' responses to tracking, as there are large differences between students within the same track (Gamoran & Berends, 1987;Geven, 2019).…”