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“Streaming” in the 10th grade in four Canadian provinces in 2000
Harvey Krahn
Department of Sociology, University of Alberta
and
Alison Taylor
Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta
Introduction
Findings
Conclusion
“Streaming” or “tracking” of high school students through different sequences of core courses (e.g., english, science, mathematics) has been practised in Canada and other developed countries for decades. The practice has also been vigorously debated.1 This article examines the extent to which streaming of tenth-grade students was occurring in four provinces – Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia – in 2000, using data obtained from Cycle 1 of Statistics Canada’s Youth in Transition (YITS) Survey. It also focuses on the impact of social background on the course-selection choices made by 15 year-old high school students.
Proponents of “streaming” or “tracking” argue that students with different abilities and aptitudes should have the opportunity to take different sequences of courses while completing high school. Those most academically inclined should have the opportunity to take the most advanced courses, which will challenge them. In contrast, students who are less academically inclined should be encouraged to take the level of course that best meets their learning needs and which allows them to develop to the fullest of their abilities. Continuing with this line of argument, proponents suggest that students learn better and develop more positive attitudes when grouped with others like themselves and that teachers can better accommodate differences in more homogeneous classes. Also, current skilled labour shortages in several provinces have led to complaints that high schools are not providing sufficient opportunities for students to explore trades and technical careers and as a result there are calls for more vocational streaming.
Opponents argue that an unintended consequence of
channelling young people from less advantaged backgrounds into secondary
course streams is that their chances of getting into
postsecondary programs leading to better paying and higher status careers
maybe limited.2 In
other words, even if these students have the ability to do well in
advanced courses, a variety of subtle factors (e.g., parents’ limited knowledge
of the secondary and postsecondary system, few learning resources in the
home, fewer role models in the family or community, teachers’ lower expectations)
reduce the probability of their enrolling in and completing these courses.
In short, the argument is that streaming recreates social inequality. For
example, Oakes concludes that: “in virtually every study that has considered
this question, poor and minority students have been found in disproportionately
large percentages in the bottom groups.”3 Davies
and Guppy report similar Canadian research showing a pattern whereby students
from wealthier and more advantaged family backgrounds are more inclined
to enter academic programs while students from poorer and disadvantaged
family origins enter vocational programs in disproportionate numbers.4
The few recent studies of “streaming” in the Canadian school system have
typically relied on small samples within specific communities or school
divisions. Therefore, we have had little sense of the extent to which streaming
is occurring in secondary school systems across the country. This article
addresses this gap.
Research methods
Our data source is Cycle 1 of the 2000 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), a national study of 15 year-olds completed in 2000 by Statistics Canada.5
Among many other questions, students were asked: “what is the level of
your current or most recently taken mathematics, science and english
course”. They were asked to choose their answer from a list specific
to their province. We made numerous telephone calls to representatives
from provincial departments of education and teacher associations to
ask whether response categories describing types of classes would have been
understandable for 15 year-old students in 2000 (given on-going curriculum
changes in several jurisdictions) and to confirm that certain levels
of courses were prerequisites for university entrance, college entrance,
or work destinations. These conversations were extremely useful, since they
frequently highlighted distinct differences between provincial educational
policies and practices. In four provinces -- Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta
and British Columbia -- the distinctions between the levels of courses
taken by 15 year-old students (open PSE options vs college-only options)
were clearest. As a result, the analysis reported here is based on data
from those four provinces which accounted for about two-thirds of Canadian
15 year-olds in 2000.
In each of these four provinces, for each course (math, science, english), we identified two groups – those whose grade 10 course selection was likely to restrict their PSE options (particularly university) and those whose course led to university as well as to other PSE options (open PSE options). We decided not to differentiate further because the line between college and university course streams typically appeared to be better defined than that between college and workplace-oriented streams.
Table 1 shows the proportion of grade 10 students in four provinces with all PSE options available to them, based on level of math, science and english course. The proportion of students with open PSE options was typically highest in english, while the proportion of students with open PSE options based on their level of math course was always lowest. As a result, when we focus on those students who have open PSE options in all three of these courses (row 4 in Table 1) in each province, it is math that reduces the proportion of students with the most open PSE options.
The second pattern seen in Table 1 involves large provincial differences in the proportion of students with all PSE options open. The highest proportion of students with all three academic options open was in Saskatchewan (87%), followed by British Columbia (66%), Ontario (64%), and Alberta (59%).
Chart 1 highlights gender differences. While small gender differences are evident across these four provinces, it is only in Ontario and Alberta where the proportion of females with open PSE options (all three subjects) was significantly higher than for males.
Chart 1
Proportion of grade 10 students with postsecondary education options open, by gender and province, 2000
Sources: Table 2
Chart 2 compares 15 year-olds from families where neither parent had acquired a university degree with those from families where one or both parents had completed university. In each of the four provinces, young people from university-educated families were significantly more likely to have open PSE options.
Chart 2
Proportion of grade 10 students with postsecondary options open by parents' education, by province, 2000
Sources: Table
3
Table 4 tells a similar story about the impact of family income on course selections. While the differences are not as pronounced as those observed for parents’ education, there is still a clear pattern evident in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, whereby young people from more affluent families were more likely to be enrolled in grade 10 courses that would keep their postsecondary options open. The differences across family income groups observed in Saskatchewan were not significant.
Previous research in the U.S. has suggested that certain visible minority
groups and students whose first language is not English are disproportionately
placed in streams that restrict PSE options. However, YITS findings
for Ontario and British Columbia (Chart 3) show that a higher proportion
of immigrant students have open PSE options. Table
6 reveals
a similar pattern for visible minority status and whether or not English
or French was the student’s first language, with statistically significant
differences noted for both variables in Ontario, Alberta, and British
Columbia. This is consistent with research that indicates that the educational
aspirations of immigrant youth and their parents are higher than those
of Canadian-born youth.6 However,
these differences were not nearly as pronounced as those observed for
parents’ education
and income.
Chart 3
Proportion of grade 10 students with postsecondary options open by immigrant
status by province, 2000
Note:
* Small sample size for immigrant students in Saskatchewan make estimates
unreliable
Sources: Table 5
Table 7 compares patterns of streaming in schools of different sizes and types. One might expect to find a correlation between the availability of course streams and the size of the school, with smaller high schools (more likely in rural areas) being more limited in their range of offerings. Our analysis reveals such a pattern in Ontario, but not in Alberta, Saskatchewan or British Columbia.7
The YITS questionnaires for school administrators asked if the school was
non-sectarian (no religious affiliation) or sectarian / separate (including
Catholics schools and private religious schools). When we link these
school-level data with student data (see bottom panel of Table
7), we find that a significantly higher proportion of students in sectarian
/ separate schools in Ontario and Alberta have all PSE options open.
While this variable has not been a focus of previous Canadian research, these
findings are consistent with those of a recent U.S. study which suggests that
Catholic schools tend to take a more inclusive approach to ability grouping.8
The various factors influencing the extent of streaming among grade 10 students in these
four provinces are inter-related. For example, university-educated parents are typically also higher-income parents. Further statistical analysis was used to identify the contributions of each factor, while accounting for the influence of the others.
Taking the effects of the other factors into account, the results show that the strongest impact on the odds of a 15 year-old having all PSE options open in grade 10 was province of residence. Compared to young people living in Saskatchewan, those resident in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia were much less likely to have open PSE options.
The next strongest effect was that of parental education. The odds of having all PSE options open were two and a half times higher for 15 year-olds who had at least one university-educated parent as they were for their peers whose parents had not completed university. In addition to this parental education effect, family income also played a role.
In addition, young women were more likely than young men to have open PSE options, as were visible minority immigrant youth, young people attending sectarian schools, and those enrolled in larger schools. But compared to the effects of family background (parents’ education and income) these effects were not as strong.
These findings suggest that social background continues to play a significant role in the course-selection choices made by 15 year-old high school students. Specifically, students’ academic placement in grade 10 math, science, and english courses was found to be strongly related to their parents’ education and family income. Young people from more advantaged families were more likely than those from families where neither parent had a postsecondary education and where family incomes tended to be lower to be taking the type of math, science, and english courses that would keep all their postsecondary options open.
Our analysis also shows that, although the effects are weaker, visible minority and immigrant students, and students for whom English or French is not their first language (i.e., ESL or FSL students), are somewhat more likely to have all PSE options open. This is in contrast with earlier research by Curtis et al.9 which suggested that some visible minority groups and ESL students were disproportionately found in streams that would restrict their educational and career options, but it is consistent with more recent research which suggests that visible minority immigrant youth aim high.10 That said, further research is needed to determine whether these broad categories conceal differences among sub-populations (for example, for immigrant students from different source countries or for Aboriginal students). In addition, it would be interesting to investigate whether the age at which a student is integrated into an English or French language school has an effect, as well as the level of ESL/FSL resources and support.
Finally, there are large provincial differences in streaming. A grade 10 student in Saskatchewan, for example, is much more likely to be able to have university options open than a student in British Columbia, Ontario or Alberta. These findings raise important questions about how provincial educational policies and practices combine to produce educational attainment outcomes for students. Further research on this topic would be valuable.
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The Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) data analyzed in this chapter were collected by Statistics Canada and accessed via the University of Alberta Research Data Centre (RDC). The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors, not of Statistics Canada. We gratefully acknowledge the research assistance provided by Julie Hudson and Diane Wishart.
Notes
-
Loveless, T. 1999. The Tracking Wars. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Curtis, B., D. Livingstone, and H. Smaller. 1992. Stacking The Deck: The Streaming Of Working-Class Kids In Ontario Schools. Toronto: Our Schools/Our Selves. Oakes, J. 2005. Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 65.
Davies, S. & N. Guppy. 2006. The Schooled Society. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
The analysis reported here includes only 15 year-olds enrolled in Grade 10 in 2000 (82% of all 2000 Youth in Transition Survey respondents).
Krahn, H. and A.Taylor. 2005. “Resilient teenagers: explaining the high educational aspirations of visible minority immigrant youth in Canada.” Journal of International Migration and Integration, 6(3/4). p. 405-434.
We also checked to see if community size affected the likelihood of streaming. We found a slightly higher proportion of grade 10 students in the very largest communities (i.e., Toronto and Vancouver) had all their postsecondary options open, based on their math, science, and english courses. However, the effect was quite weak and not statistically significant in a multivariate analysis (not shown) controlling on school size and other predictor variables.
Hallinan, M. and B.Ellison. 2006. “The practice of ability grouping:: Sector differences in implementation.” In M. Hallinan (ed.). School Sector And Student Outcomes. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. p. 125-152.
-
Curtis, B., D. Livingstone & H. Smaller. 1992.
Stacking The Deck: The Streaming Of Working-Class Kids In Ontario
Schools. Toronto: Our Schools/Our Selves.
Krahn, H. and A. Taylor. 2005. “Resilient teenagers: explaining the high educational aspirations of visible minority immigrant youth in Canada.” Journal of International
Migration and Integration, 6(3/4). p. 405-434.
Tables:
Table 1: Proportion of grade 10 students with PSE options open based
on level of grade 10 course/s by province, 2000
| |
Ontario1 |
Saskatchewan1 |
Alberta1 |
British Columbia1 |
| Percent |
| Math |
70 |
(76) |
90 |
(96) |
62 |
(66) |
72 |
(79) |
| Science |
73 |
(78) |
93 |
(99) |
83 |
(88) |
80 |
(86) |
| English |
76 |
(82) |
93 |
(99) |
79 |
(84) |
88 |
(99) |
| All 3 subjects2 |
64 |
(70) |
87 |
(96) |
59 |
(63) |
66 |
(77) |
| N |
9,172 |
(8,287) |
854 |
(780) |
2,273 |
(2,103) |
3,162 |
(2,716) |
1 For each province, the first column contains proportions of the total sample of grade 10 students (i.e., study participants who did not answer the question, or who answered “another level,” are included and counted as not being in a university preparation course). The second column contains proportions based on the smaller sub-sample of 15 year-olds who did identify the specific type of course in which they were enrolled.
2 Proportion of students taking university preparation courses in all three subjects. Differences between provinces are statistically significant (Chi-square test; p < 0.001) with the exception of the Ontario-British Columbia difference.
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
Table 2: Proportion of grade 10 students with
postsecondary education options open, by gender and province, 2000
| |
Male |
Female |
Both sexes |
| Ontario |
60 |
67 |
64 |
| Saskatchewan |
85 |
90 |
87 |
| Alberta |
56 |
61 |
59 |
| British Columbia |
67 |
65 |
66 |
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
Table 3: Proportion of grade 10 students with
PSE options open by parents' education by province, 2000
| |
No degrees |
One or two degrees |
| Ontario |
57 |
81 |
| Saskatchewan |
86 |
93 |
| Alberta |
52 |
97 |
| British Columbia |
61 |
77 |
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
Table 4: Proportion of grade 10 students with PSE options open (all three subjects)1 by family income by province, 2000
| Family Income |
Ontario |
Saskatchewan |
Alberta |
British Columbia |
| Less than $30,000 |
49 |
83 |
50 |
59 |
| $30,000 - $44,999 |
52 |
83 |
52 |
60 |
| $45,000 - $59,999 |
59 |
88 |
53 |
60 |
| $60,000 - $74,999 |
65 |
93 |
56 |
70 |
| $75,000 - $89,999 |
70 |
89 |
62 |
69 |
| $90,000 or more |
73 |
89 |
68 |
73 |
| Total |
64 |
87 |
59 |
66 |
1 For each province, proportions are based on the total sample of grade 10 students (i.e., study participants who did not answer the question are included and counted as not being in a university preparation course). Income differences in Saskatchewan are not statistically significant (p > 0.001).
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
Table 5: Proportion of grade 10 students with
PSE options open by immigrant status by province, 2000
| |
Immigrant parents |
Native born |
| Ontario |
68 |
62 |
| Saskatchewan |
F |
88 |
| Alberta |
62 |
58 |
| British Columbia |
70 |
64 |
F Small sample size for immigrant students in Saskatchewan make estimates unreliable
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
Table 6: Proportion of grade 10 students with
PSE options open (all three subjects)1 by visible minority
status and first language, by province, 2000
| |
Ontario |
Saskatchewan |
Alberta |
British Columbia |
| Visible Minority |
|
| Yes |
69 |
F |
69 |
71 |
| No |
62 |
88 |
57 |
64 |
| First Language |
|
| English/French |
62 |
87 |
58 |
65 |
| Other language |
70 |
F |
68 |
70 |
| Total |
64 |
87 |
59 |
66 |
F too unreliable to be published
1For each province, proportions are based on the total sample of
grade 10 students (i.e., study participants who did not answer the question
are included and counted as not being in a university preparation course).
Visible minority and first language differences in Saskatchewan are not statistically
significant (p > 0.001).
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
Table 7: Proportion of grade 10 students with
PSE options open (all three subjects)1 by school size and
school type by province, 2000
| |
Ontario |
Saskatchewan |
Alberta |
British Columbia |
| Number of students in school |
|
| 400 or less |
45 |
89 |
62 |
58 |
| 401 – 800 |
55 |
85 |
59 |
64 |
| 801 – 1,200 |
65 |
88 |
53 |
68 |
| 1,201 – 1,600 |
68 |
F |
61 |
65 |
| 1,601 or more |
66 |
F |
58 |
69 |
| School type |
|
| Non-sectarian |
61 |
87 |
57 |
66 |
| Sectarian / separate |
68 |
89 |
67 |
69 |
| Total |
64 |
87 |
59 |
66 |
F too unreliable to be published
1For each province, proportions are based on the total sample of
grade 10 students (i.e., study participants who did not answer the question
are included and counted as not being in a university preparation course).
School size and school type differences in Saskatchewan and British Columbia,
and school size differences in Alberta, are not statistically significant
(p > 0.001).
Source: 2000 Youth in Transition Survey. Statistics Canada.
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