Using data from the European Social Survey, this study asks if selective education systems can moderate the effects of our origins on later success in the labor market while controlling for education. It finds no effect, regardless of the extent to which selection is based on the student’s abilities. The sample consists of nearly 40,000 … Read more
Like parents, like children. Does the stratification of education systems moderate the direct effect of origins on destinations?
The stratification of education systems and social background inequality of educational opportunity
This study asks two questions about the relationship between academic selection and social inequality: does increasing selection lead to a deeper social divide in education? And does postponing the age at which academic selection takes place help mitigate that inequality? The research uses data from the European Social Survey. It focuses on individuals born between … Read more
How does exposure to a different school track influence learning progress? Explaining scissor effects by track in Germany
The researchers in this study use the German National Educational Panel Study to compare data on the reading and mathematics scores of almost 1600 pupils in the upper and intermediate school tracks between 2010 and 2015. Even after controlling for differences in students’ backgrounds and prior attainment, they find that those on the upper track … Read more
Does tracking really affect labour-market outcomes in the long run? Estimating the long-term effects of secondary-school tracking in West Germany
This paper investigates to what extent track attendance in secondary education affects labour-market prospects of West German individuals with similar starting conditions. The article also focuses on whether track attendance has a role in widening social inequality. Using pooled data from two panel studies on West Germans born between 1964 and 1986, the researchers investigate … Read more
Educational tracking and long-term outcomes by social origin: Seven countries in comparison
This paper uses longitudinal data from seven countries to assess how systems of educational tracking can impact on social mobility. Studies which simply compare comprehensive and tracked systems may be flawed, the research suggests, because of differences in how countries separate students for instructional purposes. The researchers used large-scale longitudinal data from Denmark, England, Finland, … Read more
Tracking and Sorting in the German Educational System. Literature review and analyses of the birth cohorts 1970-1980
This report reviews the key modes of creating social dispersion in the German educational system by sorting students into distinct groups based on performance or choice. It describes the basic structure of the German educational system and the specific modes of sorting at the different stages of education from early childhood education and care until … Read more