Just how flexible is the German selective secondary school system? A configurational analysis

Glaesser, J.

doi:10.1080/17437270802212254

Just how flexible is the German selective secondary school system? A configurational analysis

Glaesser, J.

Authors

J. Glaesser

Abstract

School systems may be usefully characterized according to Turner's proposed ideal types of sponsored and contest mobility. Germany is a critical case with respect to this typology because its secondary school system is stratified and selective, and yet it offers the opportunity for upward and downward mobility. Drawing on an analysis of a German longitudinal dataset, this paper addresses the question of flexibility or rigidity of the school system, exploring the ways in which factors other than pupils' ability influence selection processes within that system. Both academic ability and ascriptive factors act together to facilitate or hinder changes of academic routes within the school system. The methodological focus of the paper is on the introduction to an innovative method, Charles Ragin's Qualitative Comparative Analysis, a method based on set theory. It involves the identification of necessary and sufficient conditions for a given outcome, taking conjunctions of causal conditions into account.

Citation

Glaesser, J. (2008). Just how flexible is the German selective secondary school system? A configurational analysis. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 31(2), 193-209. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270802212254

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jun 20, 2008
Deposit Date	Apr 30, 2014
Publicly Available Date	May 1, 2014
Journal	International Journal of Research & Method in Education
Print ISSN	1743-727X
Electronic ISSN	1743-7288
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	31
Issue	2
Pages	193-209
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270802212254
Keywords	Selective school system, Educational mobility, Germany, Qualitative Comparative Analysis.

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Copyright Statement
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Glaesser, J. (2008) 'Just how flexible is the German selective secondary school system? A configurational analysis.', International Journal of Research and Method in Education., 31 (2). pp. 193-209. 2008 © Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17437270802212254.