Work

Tracking and social inequalities in school belonging - A difference-in-differences approach

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Drawing on ten studies from PIRLS, PISA and TIMSS, we study social inequalities in school belonging in the context of early tracking. We investigate whether a) there are social inequalities in school belonging b) early tracking has an effect on levels of school belonging c) tracking exacerbates social inequalities with respect to school belonging. We constructed a large database which covers a wide range of countries and representative student populations in both primary and secondary schools. We exploit that no country tracks their students in primary school and use a difference-in-differences approach to study the effect of tracking. Our findings show a positive association between students’ socioeconomic status and school belonging but no effect for tracking. Likewise, we found no evidence that tracking exacerbates social inequalities in school belonging. Multiverse analysis underlines the general robustness of these findings. • Social Inequalities extend to Students Emotional Well-Being. • The Association of Tracking and School Belonging is consistently negative. • Tracking does not appear to exacerbate Social Inequalities in School Belonging.

Source: Social Science Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103075

Authors: Maximilian Brinkmann, Nora Huth-Stöckle, Reinhard Schunck, Janna Teltemann

Institutions: University of Hildesheim, University of Wuppertal

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,060