Abstract
In countries with high differentiation between academic and vocational education, an individual’s
future prospects are strongly determined by the educational track to which he or she is assigned.
This large-scale, cross-sectional study focuses on low-performing students in academic tracks who
face being moved to a vocational track. If more is understood about these students, measures could
be taken to improve their performance and keep them within academic education. The study investigates
performance patterns in academic tracks in the first three years of secondary school in the
Netherlands. By identifying patterns that reveal how competence levels in different domains are
related at different stages of development and by comparing low performers with other students,
the study sheds light on individual and educational aspects that may be amenable to intervention.
School grades were analysed for 1596 students. School performance was found to reflect three
domains—languages (language of schooling and modern foreign languages), social studies and science
and math—that appear to interact in a process of co-construction. General language skills were
robustly related to performance in other domains—particularly social studies—throughout the first
three years of secondary school. By comparison, proficiency specifically in the language of schooling
was less strongly related to social studies and science and math performance after the first year. Suggestions
are given as to how educators and curriculum developers could use these insights to accommodate
individual and developmental differences and to develop learning materials that may help low
performers keep on track.
future prospects are strongly determined by the educational track to which he or she is assigned.
This large-scale, cross-sectional study focuses on low-performing students in academic tracks who
face being moved to a vocational track. If more is understood about these students, measures could
be taken to improve their performance and keep them within academic education. The study investigates
performance patterns in academic tracks in the first three years of secondary school in the
Netherlands. By identifying patterns that reveal how competence levels in different domains are
related at different stages of development and by comparing low performers with other students,
the study sheds light on individual and educational aspects that may be amenable to intervention.
School grades were analysed for 1596 students. School performance was found to reflect three
domains—languages (language of schooling and modern foreign languages), social studies and science
and math—that appear to interact in a process of co-construction. General language skills were
robustly related to performance in other domains—particularly social studies—throughout the first
three years of secondary school. By comparison, proficiency specifically in the language of schooling
was less strongly related to social studies and science and math performance after the first year. Suggestions
are given as to how educators and curriculum developers could use these insights to accommodate
individual and developmental differences and to develop learning materials that may help low
performers keep on track.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 48-71 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | British Educational Research Journal |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2015 |