How tracking gets under the skin: German education system and social consciousness of Turkish descent students in basic secondary school tracks

Abstract

Students of Turkish heritage are overrepresented in basic secondary vocational schools and underrepresented in university-track academic secondary schools in Germany. Macro-level studies analyzing this achievement gap generally focus on the effects of family resources, institutional practices, and discrimination. Yet, the impact of macro-level factors, such as the effects of institutional mechanisms on students’ identities, remains relatively unquestioned. Drawing on the ethnicization framework and utilizing in-depth interviews and ethnography, this study examines the social consciousness of a group of male Turkish descent students in German secondary school tracks. The study analyzes the relationship between social consciousness and the broader educational context, suggesting that this relationship involves ethnicized oppositional elements stemming not from culture but from class and ethnic stratifications affirmed and lived out in German schools on a daily basis.