Attitudes towards school tracking - analyses of profiles and predictors of school leaders in Switzerland
Loading...
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2026
Type of student thesis
Course of study
Type
01A - Journal article
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Education Sciences
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Related research data
Series
Series number
Volume
16
Issue / Number
3
Pages / Duration
490
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
MDPI
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
Through their influence on various inner-school factors, school leaders can be considered relevant with regard to how tracking policies are enacted at the school level. However, research on attitudes of school leaders vis-à-vis school tracking is sparse. We examine profiles of tracking-related attitudes and predictors of profile membership at the individual (i.e., gender, age, work experience, self-efficacy beliefs, leadership competencies) and contextual level (i.e., school size, school level, social context, size of municipality). Data were collected from 1162 school leaders of pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary schools in Switzerland. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), three profiles were identified: inclusion, tracking-separation, and average. School leaders in the inclusion profile showed positive attitudes towards inclusive education and the abolition of grades, a disapproval of early tracking, and negative attitudes towards tracking and its transparency. Leaders in the tracking-separation profile showed negative attitudes towards inclusive education and the abolition of grades, an approval of early tracking, and positive attitudes towards tracking and its transparency. Most school leaders were in the average profile, with neither especially favorable nor especially critical attitudes. While gender, school level, and the size of a municipality were found to be predictors of profile membership, other variables were not. The results give indications as to what factors are relevant in predicting certain attitudes towards tracking. This knowledge can be used for further research as well as for designing targeted interventions.
Keywords
Subject (DDC)
Event
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
Conference end date
Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
2227-7102
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Gold
License
Citation
Tulowitzki, P., Garrote, A., & Köferli, S. (2026). Attitudes towards school tracking - analyses of profiles and predictors of school leaders in Switzerland. Education Sciences, 16(3), 490. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16030490