1,721,105 research outputs found
School-based Process Indicators and the Development of Youths' Xenophobic Attitudes
No full textAccording to a publication of Baumert, Koller and Schnabel (2000), school tracks in Germany form differential contexts, not only for the development of academic outcomes but also for adolescents' xenophobic attitudes. The present paper tries to clarify whether the development of adolescents' xenophobic attitudes is influenced by 1) different percentages of pupils in classes with a foreign background (cultural-contact hypothesis), 2) different qualities of social relationships within classes (class-climate), 3) different cultural milieus within classes caused by the composition of the classes, and 4) different developmental courses of political knowledge. Cross-sectional as well as longitudinal multi-level analyses were conducted on the basis of a longitudinal data set of the BIJU-study (N = 3062). Although predictive power was low, competitiveness within classes, liberal values at the class-level, and political knowledge turned out to be significant indicators for school-based processes
Reproduction or mobility? The effects of family process variables on intentions to enter higher education
No full textSocial disparities in educational participation emerge primarily at points of transition in the education system. Empirical educational research has already documented social disparities at the transition from primary school to the different tracks of the secondary system. Moreover, several studies have shown that not all students take equal advantage of the opportunity to enter higher education, but that college entry is also linked to social background characteristics. The design of many of these studies made it impossible to distinguish between primary and secondary effects of the social background, however. The present article investigates the effects of family structure and process variables on the intentions of final-year Gymnasium students to enter higher education, distinguishing between primary and secondary background effects. Bourdieu's cultural reproduction theory and DiMaggio's cultural mobility theory provide the theoretical framework. The database (N = 4,730) is drawn from the "Transformation of the Secondary School System and Academic Careers " (TOSCA) study. Findings confirm that primary and secondary disparities influence the decision on whether or not to enter higher education. Moreover, the results show that an analysis of social disparities focusing exclusively on family structure variables cannot provide a complete picture of the effects of family background characteristics. Although family structure variables are largely mediated by family process variables, the latter also have effects on the intention to enter higher education that are independent of social background
Reproduction or mobility? The effects of family process variables on intentions to enter higher education
No full textSocial disparities in educational participation emerge primarily at points of transition in the education system. Empirical educational research has already documented social disparities at the transition from primary school to the different tracks of the secondary system. Moreover, several studies have shown that not all students take equal advantage of the opportunity to enter higher education, but that college entry is also linked to social background characteristics. The design of many of these studies made it impossible to distinguish between primary and secondary effects of the social background, however. The present article investigates the effects of family structure and process variables on the intentions of final-year Gymnasium students to enter higher education, distinguishing between primary and secondary background effects. Bourdieu's cultural reproduction theory and DiMaggio's cultural mobility theory provide the theoretical framework. The database (N = 4,730) is drawn from the "Transformation of the Secondary School System and Academic Careers " (TOSCA) study. Findings confirm that primary and secondary disparities influence the decision on whether or not to enter higher education. Moreover, the results show that an analysis of social disparities focusing exclusively on family structure variables cannot provide a complete picture of the effects of family background characteristics. Although family structure variables are largely mediated by family process variables, the latter also have effects on the intention to enter higher education that are independent of social background
Implications of Ability Grouping for Development in General and Domain-Specific Self-Concepts of Ability After the Transition to Secondary Education
No full textThis longitudinal study examines whether students assigned to different school and class types (comprehensive school, standard Gymnasium classes, Gymnasium classes with a mathematics/science or bilingual profile) show differential developmental trajectories in general self-concept of ability and domain-specific self-concepts in mathematics and German after the transition to secondary education. All participants were grade 5 students who had received a Gymnasium recommendation: 139 attending a Gymnasium with three standard classes and two classes with special profiles and 99 attending a comprehensive school. General self-concept of ability was measured at five points and domain-specific self-concepts at three points in the first semester of secondary education. The analyses reveal that students in high-ability classes with special profiles showed a decrease in general self-concept of ability, but not in mathematics or German self-concept
Family background, competence development, and selective decisions within the tiered school system compared internationally - An extensive analysis of PISA data
No full textSocial disparities in educational careers are the result of a combination of primary and secondary background effects on social selectivity of access to institutions of secondary and higher education. The article focuses on an international comparative study of social selection regarding enrollment at secondary schools. Secondary disparities are analyzed in four different countries with tiered secondary school systems (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Flemish part of Belgium). Social background is examined in detail and the relative importance of structural and process-related characteristics is studied. These analyses point to a difference in enrollment quota at higher educational institutions. In all countries, both primary and secondary social disparities could be revealed. Despite overall comparable patterns in the results concerning the effects of social background characteristics in all four countries examined, differential effects of family-related structural characteristics and process features could be detected
Between Educational Betterment and Career: Studies' Views on Non-Traditional Students
No full textThis contribution looks at a series of qualitative and quantitative investigations on the study success and study behavior of so-called non-traditional students. Of particular interest are two aspects: the combination of qualitative and quantitative findings, which are mutually complementary and in a sense present plausible corrections for one-sided observations, and controlled observations over a long period of time, as the first studies were carried out within the framework of an international study in 1998 and the last one within the framework of a project sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 2007. This longer time period certainly increases the plausibility of the cautious diagnoses made, which attempt to capture the relevant changes in this field of research. Such mixed methods research (Derzin 1970, 1989; Flick 1992) - i.e. the link between quantitative and qualitative research and survey methods often termed "triangulation" (cf. Prein/Kelle/Kluge 1993; Flick 1995) - has the advantage that a complex field of research can be scanned using different instruments and through a type of "convergence model" (Jacob 2001) the data won from different methods can be used to mutually validate the results. The qualitative material used in this study comes from theoretical sampling (cf. Glaser 1965; Strauss/Corbin 1996) of data from six German higher education institutions from two points in time (1998 and 2005; n=2x c. 400 surveyed respondents). The quantitative analysis, which was especially carried out for our study, profits from the fact that 2500 interested people responded to our recruitment search for biographic-narrative interviews. This group of people was then asked to participate in a special online survey in 2007 - a cooperative initiative in which around one third of the initial respondents took part. That does, however, mean that the quantitative study is not representative. Our overall research design remains complex, but retains an exploratory character
Effekte der Öffnung von Wegen zur Hochschulreife auf die Studienintention am Ende der gymnasialen Oberstufe
No full textSince PISA, social inequality in educational participation has once more become a focus of debate in educational sociology. There is consensus that this inequality emerges at points of transition in the education system through the interplay of primary and secondary effects of social background. This article addresses the question of whether educational aspirations deriving from the social background continue to have an effect even at a relatively late stage of a person's educational biography - at the transition to higher education. If this is the case, to what extent does opening up alternative access routes to higher education help to reduce the influence of primary and secondary effects of social background? Findings from a representative sample of students (N=4370) in the final year of traditional (academic) and vocational Gymnasium schooling show that, where the intention to study is concerned, a) such primary and secondary effects have a lesser impact in vocational than in traditional Gymnasium schools, and that b) the specialized preparation for higher education provided at vocational Gymnasium schools is more influential than the educational provision of traditional Gymnasium schools. In conclusion, there is evidence that vocational Gymnasium schools reduce social inequality in access to higher education
Family background, competence development, and selective decisions within the tiered school system compared internationally - An extensive analysis of PISA data
No full textSocial disparities in educational careers are the result of a combination of primary and secondary background effects on social selectivity of access to institutions of secondary and higher education. The article focuses on an international comparative study of social selection regarding enrollment at secondary schools. Secondary disparities are analyzed in four different countries with tiered secondary school systems (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Flemish part of Belgium). Social background is examined in detail and the relative importance of structural and process-related characteristics is studied. These analyses point to a difference in enrollment quota at higher educational institutions. In all countries, both primary and secondary social disparities could be revealed. Despite overall comparable patterns in the results concerning the effects of social background characteristics in all four countries examined, differential effects of family-related structural characteristics and process features could be detected
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