How Do Students With Different Profiles Develop in an Inclusive School Setting?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Success Stories in Transitions

Abstract

Looking at educational transitions in a selective education system is very important, especially because research shows that mainly the socio-economic status of the family, gender and linguistic background are factors influencing whether students and parents choose to attend academic secondary school or follow the vocational track (c.f. Jacob & Tieben, 2010; Jonkmann, Maaz, Neumann & Gresch, 2010; Tiedemann & Billmann-Mahecha, 2007). The background of the students is said to be one of the main factors when it comes to school success, but within the theoretical framework of the capability approach following Sen (2009) it is important if students have opportunities to achieve the things they value. The question arises: Is an inclusive school setting able to help students develop high career aspirations, high learning motivation and lower learning barriers?
Data for the paper are drawn from a longitudinal study carried out within the NOESIS-project. Data is collected at the end of primary school (fourth grade) until the end of compulsory education (9th grade). Parent survey data (N = 332), collected at the end of primary school in May 2010 was used to profile the students based on their migrant status and their socio-economic background. Data of the profiled students (grade 5, 6, 7: N = 311, N =247, N = 249) were analyzed over time.
Using cognitive diagnostic analysis, four groups of students differing in socio-economic status and migration status were set up, to answer the research question: Is an inclusive school setting able to help students develop high career aspirations, high learning motivation and lower learning barriers independent of their profiles?
Crosstabs comparing students with the four profiles with their career aspiration reveal no differences between observed and expected relations. MANOVAS were used to find differences between students with different profiles in the scales learning motivation and perceived learning barriers – here differences were revealed, indicating that students with low socio-economic status and migrant background are the ones having higher scores in learning motivation while experiencing fewer learning barriers.
In this paper the question is focused on whether socio-economic status and migrant status play an important role in school trajectories, especially for the development of career aspirations and for learning motivation. It was expected that students who have a better support system in the background would experience fewer learning barriers than students who came from a background that could be characterized as “not supportive” or “not the right support system to survive in the education system”.
Surprisingly, these hypotheses did not hold. Students in New Middle Schools, who came from a weak socio-economic background, having migrant background, feel supported in school. The results indicate that it is important to create a learning environment where students feel supported and become acquainted with the opportunities available to them in future life. The strengthening of academic self-concepts, learning motivation and cooperation among peers would seem to be important issues to address when it comes to the question of how to deal with students from different backgrounds in inclusive school settings.

Author

• Corinna Geppert, University of Vienna