Abstract
In tracked and highly stratified educational systems, where educational reproduction is particularly strong, the chances of students to achieve more education than their parents did are truncated. Little is known, however, what may help students raised in lower-educated families to become upwardly mobile at the transition to upper-secondary education. In tracked educational systems, this transition is decisive for ultimate educational attainment across the life course. The study addresses this research gap by examining whether quality of social relationships (i.e., social capital) among students, parents, and teachers matters for student and teacher assessment of students’ agentic capabilities (i.e., work habits) at age 15. If so, the question is whether these assessments help students become enrolled in high-status upper-secondary school tracks at age 18, thus achieving educational upward mobility. The analyses are based on 401 students from two cohorts in the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, interviewed at the ages of 15 (T1) and 18 (T2) (60.35% females, Mage 15 = 15.2, SDage 15 = 0.2; 58.35% older cohort), including data collected by questionnaire from primary caregivers and teachers at student age of 15. The students come from families where highest parental education attainment is below the high-status academic or vocational baccalaureate in upper-secondary education. They may thus experience the opportunity to gain access to these high-status tracks at the transition to upper-secondary education. A structural equation model reveals the role of student assessment of their agentic capabilities and teacher assessment of these competencies in mediating the relation of social capital accrued at home and at school to educational upward mobility. This novel evidence on mechanisms of social advancement may be prone to inform interventions helping students from less-educated families to succeed in tracked and stratified educational systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
This study does not investigate whether teachers reward these competencies unequally by social group membership and other student characteristics, thus potentially contributing to the reproduction of social inequality.
Structural social capital, referring to the availability of social relationships (for this distinction, see Baumert et al. (2003)), is not taken into account in view of the research question of interest.
This study does not consider social capital accrued in the peer context, despite the importance of social relationship quality with peers in adolescence. Empirical evidence shows that the quality of social relationships with peers is particularly predictive of social behaviors in the school context, for example, prosocial behavior (Wentzel 1998; Wentzel et al. 2016). This is not the analytical focus of this study.
Coefficients of the binary endogenous variables used in the model (upward mobility, parental educational aspirations, cohort, and gender) represent standardized probit coefficients. Standardized coefficients involving a binary independent variable indicate the change in y, if x changes from 0 to 1 (Muthén and Muthén 2009: 577).
References
Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2010). Multiple imputation with Mplus. MPlus Web Notes. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.570.9342&rep=rep1&type=pdf. accessed 18 May 2020.
Baeriswyl, F. C., Wandeler, C., Trautwein, U., & Oswald, K. (2006). Leistungstests, Offenheit von Bildungsgängen und obligatorische Beratung von Eltern. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaften, 9, 373–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-006-0056-6.
Barnette, J. J. (2000). Effects of stem and Likert response option reversals on survey internal consistency: if you feel the need, there is a better alternative to using those negatively worded stems. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60(3), 361–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131640021970592.
Baumert, J., Watermann, R., & Schümer, G. (2003). Disparitäten der Bildungsbeteiligung und des Kompetenzerwerbs. Ein institutionelles und individuelles Mediationsmodell (Disparities in educational participation and attainment: an institutional and individual mediation model). Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 6, 46–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-003-0004-7.
Blanchard, S., & Muller, C. (2015). Gatekeepers of the American Dream. How teachers’ perceptions shape the academic outcomes of immigrant and language-minority students. Social Science Research, 51, 262–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.10.003.
Blossfeld, H.-P., Buchholz, S., Skopek, J., & Triventi, M. (Eds.) (2016). Models of secondary education and social inequality: an international comparison. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785367267.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1990). Reproduction in society, education, and culture. 2nd edition Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss (Vol. III). loss, sadness, and depression. New York: Basic Books.
Brinkworth, M. E., McIntyre, J., Juraschek, A. D., & Gehlbach, H. (2018). Teacher-student relationships: the positives and negatives of assessing both perspectives. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 55, 24–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.09.002.
Buchmann, M., Kriesi, I., Koomen, M., Imdorf, C., & Basler, A. (2016). Differentiation in secondary education and inequality in opportunities. The case of Switzerland. In H.-P. Blossfeld, S. Buchholz, J. Skopek, & M. Triventi (Eds), Models of secondary education and social inequality: an international comparison (pp. 111–128). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785367267.00016.
Byrne, B. M (2012). Structural equation modeling with Mplus. Basic concepts, applications, and programming. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203807644.
Cattell, R. B., Weiss, R. H., & Osterland, J. (1977). Grundintelligenztest (CFT). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Coleman, J. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 94–120. https://doi.org/10.1086/228943.
Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Crosnoe, R. (2004). Social capital and the interplay of families and schools. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66, 267–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2004.00019.x.
Dika, S. L., & Singh, K. (2002). Applications of social capital in educational literature. A critical synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 72(1), 31–60. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543072001031.
DiPrete, T. A., & Jennings, J. L. (2012). Social and behavioral skills and the gender gap in early educational achievement. Social Science Research, 41, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2011.09.001.
DiStefano, C., Liu, J., Jiang, N., & Shi, D. (2018). Examination of the weighted root mean square residual: evidence for trustworthiness? Structural Equation Modelling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 225(3), 453–466. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2017.1390394.
Doo, H. K., & Schneider, B. (2005). Social capital in action. Alignment of parental support in adolescents’ transition to postsecondary education. Social Forces, 84, 1181–1206. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0012.
Dufur, M. J., Parcel, T. L., Hoffmann, J. P., & Braudt, D. B. (2016). Who has the advantage? Race and sex differences in returns to social capital at home and at school. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 45, 27–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2016.07.001.
Dufur, M. J., Parcel, T. L., & Troutman, K. P. (2013). Does capital at home matter more than capital at school? Social capital effects on academic achievement Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 31, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.08.002.
Dunkake, I., Kiechle, T. H., Klein, M., & Rosar, U. (2012). Schöne Schüler, schöne Noten? Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Einfluss der physischen Attraktivität von Schülern auf die Notenvergabe durch das Lehrpersonal (Good looks, good grades? An empirical analysis of the influence of students‘ physical attractiveness on grading by teachers). Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 41, 142–161. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfsoz-2012-0206.
Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York: Guilford Press.
Epstein, J. L (2011). School, family, and community partnerships. preparing educators and improving schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494673.
Fan, X., & Chen, M. (2001). Parental involvement and students’ academic achievement. A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009048817385.
Farkas, G., Grobe, R. P., Sheehan, D., & Shuan, Y. (1990). Cultural resources and school success gender, ethnicity, and poverty groups within an urban school district. American Sociological Review, 55(1), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095708.
Flora, D. B., & Curran, P. J. (2004). An empirical evaluation of alternative methods of estimation for confirmatory factor analysis with ordinal data. Psychological Methods, 9, 466–491. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989×.9.4.466.
Grob, U., & Maag Merki, K. (2001). Überfachliche Kompetenzen. Theoretische Grundlegung und empirische Erprobung eines Indikatorensystems (Cross-disciplinary competencies. Theoretical foundations and empirical trials of an indicator system). Bern: Verlag Peter Lang.
Grundmann, M., Groh-Samberg, O., Bittlingmayer, U. H., & Bauer, U. (2003). Milieuspezifische Bildungsstrategien in Familie und Gleichaltrigengruppe (Milieu-specific educational strategies in families and peer groups). Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 6, 25–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-003-0003-8.
Hango, D. (2007). Parental investment in childhood and educational qualifications. Can greater parental involvement mediate the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage? Social Science Research, 36, 1371–1390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.01.005.
Hattie, J (2008). Visible learning. A synthesis of meta-analyses relating to achievement. London, UK: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203887332.
Heckman, J. J., & Rubinstein, Y. (2001). The importance of noncognitive skills. Lessons from the GED testing program. The American Economic Review, 91(2), 145–149. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.2.145.
Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school. A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45, 740–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015362.
Hughes, J. N. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and school adjustment. Progress and remaining challenges. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672288.
Hughes, J. N., & Cao, Q. (2018). Trajectories of teacher-student warmth at the transition to middle school. Effects on academic engagement and achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 67, 148–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2017.10.003.
Jussim, L., & Harber, K. D. (2005). Teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies. Knowns and unknowns, resolved and unresolved controversies. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 131–155. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0902_3.
Jussim, L., Robustelli, S. L., & Cain, T. R. (2009). Teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies. In K. R. Wentzel, & A. Wigfield (Eds), Handbook of Motivation at School (pp. 349–380). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203879498.
Kanka, M. H., Wagner, P., Buchmann, M., & Spiel, C. H. (2019). Gender-stereotyped preferences in childhood and early adolescence: A comparison of crosssectional and longitudinal data. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 16(2), 198–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2017.1365703.
Kellmer, A. (2015). Biografische Orientierungen von Bildungsaufsteigerinnen in der Studienentscheidung. Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung & Sozialisation, 35(2), 187–203. https://doi.org/10.3262/ZSE1502187.
Kriesi, I. & Buchmann, M. (2014). Beginning school transition and academic achievement in mid-elementary school: does gender matter? In I. Schoon & J. Eccles (Eds), Gender differences in aspirations and attainment. A life course perspective (pp. 53–78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139128933.005.
Krkovic, K., Greiff, S., Kupiainen, S., Vainikainen, M.-P., & Hautamäki, J. (2014). Teacher evaluation of student ability: what roles do teacher gender, student gender, and their interaction play? Education Research, 56(2), 244–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2014.898909.
Lazarides, R., Viljaranta, J., Aunola, K., & Nrumi, Ja-E. (2018). Teacher ability evaluation and changes in elementary student profiles of motivation and performance in mathematics. Learning and Individual Differences, 67, 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.08.010.
Lee, J.-S. (2012). The effects of the teacher–student relationship and academic press on student engagement and academic performance. International Journal of Educational Research, 53, 330–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.04.006.
Lleras, C. (2008). Do skills and behaviors in school matter? The contribution of noncognitive factors in explaining differences in educational attainment and earnings Social Science Research, 37, 888–902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2008.03.004.
Lorenz, G., Gentrup, S., Kristen, C., Stanat, P., & Kogan, I. (2016). Stereotype bei Lehrkräften? Eine Untersuchung systematisch verzerrter Lehrererwartungen [Stereotypes among teachers? A study of systematic bias in teacher expectations.]. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 68, 80–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-015-0352-3.
Mayger, L. K., Hochbein, C. D., & Dever, B. V. (2017). Childhood social capital and postsecondary educational attainment. Social Science Research, 68, 74–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.09.002.
McNeal, R. B. (1999). Parental involvement as social capital. Differential effectiveness on science achievement, truancy, and dropping out. Social Forces, 78, 117–144. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/78.1.117.
Meissel, K., Meyer, F., Yao, E. S., & Rubie-Davis, Ch. M. (2017). Subjectivity of teacher judgements: exploring student characteristics that influence teacher judgments of student ability. Teaching and Teacher Education, 65, 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.02.021.
Moser, U. (1997). Messinstrumente zu Unterricht und Leistungsbereitschaft in TIMSS. Projektdokumentation (Measuring instruments for class and motivation in TIMSS). Bern: Amt für Bildungsforschung.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2009). MPlus. Statistical analysis with latent variables. User’s guide. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. (2014). NICHD Study of early child care and youth development (SECCYD)—teachers’ questionnaire. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). http://secc.rti.org/abstracts.cfm. Accessed 5 Mar 2014.
Neuenschwander, M. P., & Malti, T. (2009). Selektionsprozesse beim Übergang in die Sekundarstufe I und II. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 12, 216–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-2009-0074-2.
Oliver, C., & Kettley, N. (2010). Gatekeepers or facilitators. The influence of teacher habitus on students’ applications to elite universities. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(6), 737–753. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2010.515105.
Parcel, T. L., & Dufur, M. J. (2001). Capital at home and at school. Effects on student achievement. Social Forces, 79, 881–912. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0021.
Ready, D. D., & Chu, E. M. (2015). Sociodemographic inequality in early literacy development. The role of teacher perceptual accuracy. Early Education and Development, 26, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.1004516.
Reichelt, M., Collischon, M., & Eberl, A. (2019). School tracking and its role in social reproduction: reinforcing educational inheritance and the direct effect of social origin. British Journal of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12655.
Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement. A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81, 493–529. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311421793.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.68.
Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2012). Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672262.
Sacchi, S. (2006). Dokumentation der Stichprobengewichtung zur Erstbefragung der drei ‘COCON’-Kohorten (Documentation of sample weights for the first survey of the three ‘COCON Cohorts’). Zurich, Switzerland: cue-sozialforschung.
Schnell, P., & Fibbi, R. (2016). Getting ahead. Educational and occupational trajectories of the ‘new’ second-generation in Switzerland. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 17(4), 1085–1107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0452-y.
Shahrokni, S. (2018). The collective roots and rewards of upward educational mobility. The British Journal of Sociology, 69(4), 1175. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12349.
Simons, R. L., Lorenz, F. O., Conger, R. D., & Wu, C.-I. (1992). Support from spouse as a mediator and moderator of the disruptive influence of economic strain on parenting. Child Development, 63, 1282–1301. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131533.
Spera, C. (2006). Adolescents’ perception of parental goals, practices, and styles in relation to their motivation and achievement. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 26(4), 456–490. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431606291940.
Spiegler, T. (2018). Resources and requirements of educational upward mobility. British Journal of Sociology and Education, 39(6), 860–875. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1425131.
Spiegler, T., & Bednarek, A. (2013). First-generation students. What we ask, what we know and what it means: an international review of the state of research. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 23(4), 318–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2013.815441.
Steinhoff, A., & Buchmann, M. (2017). Co-development of academic interest and effortful engagement and its role for educational attainment in a tracked school system. Research in Human Development, 14(2), 122–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2017.1305810.
Swiss Federal Research Council (2020). Federal act on research involving human beings. https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20061313/index.html.
Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Marsh, H. W., Köller, O., & Baumert, J. (2006). Tracking, grading, and student motivation: using group composition and status to predict self-concept and interest in ninth-grade mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 788–806. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.4.788.
Veenstra, R. (2008). Prosocial and antisocial perception of the behavior of girls and boys. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025408089274.
Verschueren, K., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2012). Teacher-child relationships from an attachment perspective. Attachment & Human Development, d14(3), 205–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672260.
Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school. The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.90.2.202.
Wentzel, K. R., Muenks, K., McNeish, D., & Russell, S. (2017). Peer and teacher supports in relation to motivation and effort. A multi-level study. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 49, 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.11.002.
Wentzel, K. R., Russell, S., & Baker, S. (2016). Emotional support and expectations from parents, teachers, and peers predict adolescent competence at school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(2), 242–255. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000049.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mathis Schnell for his support in data preparation and Stecy Sharon Kalumba for her support in the literature search and in the formatting of the manuscript. The authors also thank the children, parents, and teachers for participating in the study and all the undergraduate research assistants who supported this research project. We also thank participants of several international scientific conferences for their helpful comments on the presentation of this study.
Authors’ Contributions
M.B. is the PI of the COCON study, conceived of the study, participated in the design of the study and in the interpretation of the data, drafted the manuscript, and revised it critically for important intellectual content; I.K. participated in the design of the study and in the interpretation of the data, supervised the statistical analysis, drafted the manuscript, and revised it critically for important intellectual content; S.B. participated in the design of the study and in the interpretation of the data, revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; F.B. performed the statistical analysis, participated in the interpretation of the data, and revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; St.B. performed preliminary statistical analysis and revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
The Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 405240_69015, 10fI13_122365, 10F14_150996) and a grant by the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich supported this research.
Data Sharing Declaration
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the FORSbase repository, https://forsbase.unil.ch/project/study-public-overview/14366/1/ and https://forsbase.unil.ch/project/study-public-overview/14366/2/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards of the American Psychological Association and the Helsinki Declaration. In addition, the study’s adherence to the Human Research Act was monitored by the national funding agency, the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Human Research Act is based on the Swiss Federal Constitution with the purpose to protect the dignity, privacy, and health of human beings involved in research (Swiss Federal Research Council 2020).
Informed Consent
Before each interview, caregivers provided their informed consent (i.e., written consent for the first survey wave, followed by detailed written information and oral consent before each subsequent survey wave). In addition, oral assent of the child was requested and they were able to withdraw from the study at any time. Parents and their children were informed that this study addressed the development of children in different life situations and their educational tracks. They were informed that their data were being used for scientific purposes and published in scientific journals, with a focus on the complete sample instead of individual data points and their personal information being anonymized. At the time of the interview, caregivers and their children provided their informed consent for contacting the child’s teacher for administering a questionnaire and provided the teacher’s name and address.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Buchmann, M., Kriesi, I., Bayard, S. et al. Upward Mobility of Students from Lower-educated Families in Stratified Educational Systems: The Role of Social Capital and Work Habits. J Youth Adolescence 50, 391–407 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01257-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01257-3