This study examines the effects of ability grouping on students’ affective outcomes which is measured by ‘educational aspiration’. For the purpose, this study employed various research methods, not only quantitative analysis methods such as multiple r ...
This study examines the effects of ability grouping on students’ affective outcomes which is measured by ‘educational aspiration’. For the purpose, this study employed various research methods, not only quantitative analysis methods such as multiple regression analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis but also qualitative research methods such as deep interview with teachers. Through the quantitative analysis using representative data from the Korean Education Longitudinal Study (KELS), the study indicates that ability grouping is closely related to a student’s educational aspirations. To put it concretely, students who participated in ability grouping in both English and math classes have relatively lower aspirations, comparing with students who have no experience of homogeneous grouping. Also, the results show that the effects of ability grouping on educational aspirations vary depending on whether students are assigned to an advanced track or remedial track. Ability grouping is the most beneficial for students placed in the advanced track for both English and math subjects, whereas it was the most harmful for students in a remedial class for both subjects. Furthermore, this study attempted to test the interaction effect of ability grouping and a student’s socio-psychological traits such as ‘competitive tendency’ on educational aspirations. The results indicate that when highly competitive students attend homogeneous grouping, they tend to exhibit lower educational aspirations relative to students who have no experience with grouping practices.
These results indicate that ability grouping has negative effects on students’ aspiration unless students are placed in advance-level classes. In other words, students who are placed in advanced classes for both English and math will experience the benefits of this policy, but this result does not hold for other students. Moreover, when students are placed in lower-level classes for both English and math, their educational aspirations are likely to decrease. In addition, extensive research about ability grouping has indicated that lower-level classes progress slowly and that teachers have a tendency to teach relatively easier content to students in lower-level classes, and give lower expectation on them. In such a classroom environment, students come to believe that teachers expect little from them in the way of achievement and thus lose confidence and suffer from diminished aspirations. Also, the fact that the students placed in lower-level classes are more likely to experience negative effects on their aspiration suggests that homogenous grouping actually widens the gap in aspirations and achievement. This, however, should come as no surprise: ability grouping is a policy which, from the outset, segregates low achievers into lower-level classes and, by this very separation, seems to create an environment of diminished expectations. In addition, students’ competitive characteristics as a moderator in the relationship between ability grouping and educational aspirations deserve more attention. Our findings indicate that if competitive students are placed in lower classes for both English and math, their aspirations decrease. That is, students who always want to best others experience a psychologically detrimental effect when placed in lower classes. This result implies that the impact of ability grouping is likely to be more negative in the hyper-competitive South Korean education system. Ability grouping, therefore, seems to have a stronger negative impact on students who are placed in remedial classes within an educational environment that emphasizes staying ahead of others. Policymakers and educators must pay particular attention to students who are in low-level classes so that these students do not fall behind and, eventually, out of the educational system. Further inquiry into the connection between placement in low-level classes and diminished aspirations is also necessary. In addition, researchers and policymakers should seek ways to break the vicious circle in which low achievers are placed in low-level classes, which then leads to lower achievement. As above, such a solution will likely involve ways to remove the stigma of being placed in these low-level classes. In this way, underprivileged groups will have greater educational opportunities within a system that uses ability grouping and, by extension, the prospect of a better life.