Self-esteem of academic and vocational students: Does within-school tracking sharpen the difference?

Abstract

Research into the effects of ability grouping has usually been conducted within schools. In the British and North American context, where the bulk of this kind of research has been carried out, ability grouping commonly occurs within schools. In Flanders – the Dutch-speaking, northern part of Belgium – as in other European countries, there are not only tracks within schools, but schools themselves can be distinguished by the curriculum they offer. This study questions whether students’ global self-esteem is affected differently by processes of within-school tracking (multilateral schools) compared to processes of between-school tracking (categorial schools). Analyses are based on a subsample of the Flemish Educational Assessment, gathered in 2004–2005, encompassing 10 multilateral and 56 categorial schools with 3,758 academic and 2,152 vocational students. Multi-level analyses (HLM6) show that academic students have a significant higher self-esteem than vocational students and this difference is larger in multilateral schools. Academic students in multilateral schools have a slightly higher self-esteem than those in categorial schools. Conceivably, academic students compare themselves with the vocational track students, leading to a higher awareness of status gratification, resulting in a higher self-esteem.